ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATION, REGIONAL INNOVATION and URBAN POLLUTION CONTROL. EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE from the YANGTZE RIVER DELTA

Implementing environmental regulations and developing a green economy is conducive to building a resource-saving, environmentfriendly society and is of great significance to promoting the transformation and upgrade of national economic development. Therefore, this paper selects the panel data of 41 prefecture-level cities in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2007 to 2019. Based on the pollution paradise hypothesis and Porter hypothesis , this paper analyses the relationship amongst environmental regulation (ER), regional innovation (RI) and environmental pollution (EP) by using the fixed-effect model. Results show ER policies can effectively accelerate RI and regional pollution control, and RI has a positive regulatory influence on the effect of ER on EP. The research conclusion clarifies the relevance amongst ER, regional technological innovation and regional pollution control, and confirms ER can be used as a reverse force mechanism to promote regional pollution control. This paper has practical significance for the rational implementation of ER policy, the promotion of RI and the realization of green economic development.