数字监测技术与空气质量：来自中华人民共和国的证据（英）

ASIAN DEVELOPMENT BANKTheADB Economics Working Paper Seriespresents research in progress to elicit commentsand encourage debate on development issuesin Asia and the Pacific. The views expressedare those of the authors and do not necessarilyreflect the views and policies of ADB orits Board of Governors or the governmentsthey represent.ADB Economics Working Paper SeriesPinghan Liang, Yadi Liu, and Shu TianNo. 788 | July 2025Digital Monitoring Technology and Air Quality:Evidence from the People’s Republic of China Pinghan Liang (liangph5@mail.sysu.edu.cn)and Yadi Lou (lydsnowy@163.com) are professorsat the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University.Shu Tian (stian@adb.org) is a principal economistat the Economic Research and Development ImpactDepartment, Asian Development Bank. Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)© 2025 Asian Development Bank6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City, 1550 Metro Manila, PhilippinesTel +63 2 8632 4444; Fax +63 2 8636 2444Some rights reserved. Published in 2025.ISSN 2313-6537 (print), 2313-6545 (PDF)Publication Stock No. WPS250251-2DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/WPS250251-2The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policiesof the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and accepts no responsibility for anyconsequence of their use. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers does not imply that theyare endorsed or recommended by ADB in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned.By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area in this document, ADB does notintend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.This publication is available under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/. By using the content of this publication, you agree to be boundby the terms of this license. For attribution, translations, adaptations, and permissions, please read the provisionsand terms of use at https://www.adb.org/terms-use#openaccess.This CC license does not apply to non-ADB copyright materials in this publication. If the material is attributedto another source, please contact the copyright owner or publisher of that source for permission to reproduce it.ADB cannot be held liable for any claims that arise as a result of your use of the material.Please contact pubsmarketing@adb.org if you have questions or comments with respect to content, or if you wishto obtain copyright permission for your intended use that does not fall within these terms, or for permission to useCorrigenda to ADB publications may be found at http://www.adb.org/publications/corrigenda.In this publication, “$” refers to United States dollars.ADB recognizes “China” as the People’s Republic of China. www.adb.orgthe ADB logo.Notes: ABSTRACTSince the early 21st century, air quality concerns in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) havegarnered significant attention from both the public authorities and society. This study investigatesthe effects of digital environmental monitoring technology on air pollution. Specifically, we explorethe data from government procurement of digital environmental monitoring technologies over the2014–2019 period. The baseline results indicate that on average, each additional environmentalcontract per 100,000 residents signed by governments is associated with an 8-percentage pointreduction in city PM2.5 levels. This effect arises from more accurate pollutant identification, whichstrengthens enforcement of environmental regulations, facilitating any necessary transition and,where applicable, orderly exit of heavily polluting enterprises, and fosters green innovation.Further, this effect exhibits regional variation in the extent of environmental concern and the levelof information disclosure. The results suggest that technology-driven environmental governance,supported by public engagement and policy frameworks, plays a crucial role in enhancing airKeywords:digital environmental monitoring, PM2.5, public monitoring, information disclosureThis study was prepared as a background material for Harnessing Digital Transformation for Good: AsianDevelopment Policy Report and funded by the Republic of Korea e-Asia and Knowledge Partnership FundTA 6920 (Promoting Digitalization for Green and Inclusive Growth in Asia). quality in the PRC.JEL codes:O18, O33, Q50_______________________ 1. INTRODUCTIONThere is increasing interest from the public, city administrators, and regulators in air quality, assafe, clean air is essential for cities and communities to thrive (Smith and Doe 2020). In 2010, thePeople’s Republic of China (PRC) became the world’s second-largest economy; however, thisgrowth came at a significant environmental c