Decoupling of Economic Growth to Industrial Wastewater Discharge in the Yangtze River Delta

School of Finance, Tianjin University of Finance and Economics, Tianjin, China

^* Corresponding author: 1447507823@qq.com

Abstract

Based on inter-provincial panel data from 2010 to 2018, the author conducted quantitative analysis on the decoupling of economic growth and industrial wastewater discharge as well as its driving factors in the Yangtze River Delta. The research shows during the study period, a high level of decoupling between economic growth and industrial wastewater discharge could be seen in the Yangtze River Delta, mainly in the form of strong decoupling, while at the same time, undesirable conditions such as growth linkages and expansive negative decoupling, still existed in a few years and certain regions. Among the studied regions, Anhui Province, Zhejiang Province and Jiangsu Province all share a similar decoupling pattern with a rather stable overall performance. Shanghai, however, performed poorly among the Yangtze River Delta, with undesirable decoupling states detected in a few years. In terms of driving factors, technology is the core factor that drives the decoupling of economic development to industrial wastewater discharge of the region. The structural effect, on the other hand, is another element worth paying attention to as the technology in the region gradually becomes saturated.