Environmental Pollution Effects of Regional Industrial Transfer Illustrated with Jiangsu, China

Industrial transfer is reshaping the geographic layout of industries and facilitating the transfer and spread of environmental pollution. This study employs the pollution transfer estimation method to discuss the environmental effect of industrial transfer. By compiling statistics on industries of a certain scale according to time-series data, the researchers compute the pollution load generated by industrial transfer and the difference in pollution emissions for each region and industry. Through the constructed evaluation model, the empirical scope is Jiangsu, which is the most developed industry in China. The results reveal that there is an apparent spatial hierarchy among the transferred industries in Jiangsu. Most industries transfer from the southern Jiangsu region toward the central Jiangsu and northern Jiangsu regions. Environmental pollution is redistributed among prefecture-level cities because of intercity industrial transfer; the spatial characteristics of pollution exhibit a notable hierarchical pattern. Furthermore, the transferred pollution load differs considerably between industries. The textile industry and chemical raw material and chemical product industry are mainly transferred toward the Central Jiangsu and Northern Jiangsu regions, whereas the papermaking and paper product manufacturing industry is primarily redistributed to the Southern Jiangsu region. The empirical results can serve as a reference for analyzing the environmental pollution effects of regional industrial transfer.