Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the relationship between water pollution and economic growth: a case study in Nansi Lake catchment, China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Investigation of water pollution–economic growth nexus is an important component for the sustainable development of eco-environment and socio-economy. This study combined the improved Grey relational degree (GRD) model with the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) to quantitatively and qualitatively investigate the relationships between water pollution and economic growth in Nansi Lake catchment (Jining, Zaozhuang, and Heze) under the context of the Five-Year Plan in Shandong. Results showed that the relational degree of industrial wastewater and economic growth was Heze (0.652) > Zaozhuang (0.581) > Jining (0.538), and of domestic wastewater and economic growth was Jining (0.722) > Heze (0.721) > Zaozhuang (0.650). Meanwhile, the EKC of industrial wastewater rose and then declined, whereas that of domestic wastewater increased upwards. Overall, coordinated development had been gradually obtained between industrial wastewater emissions and economic growth. And, uncoordinated development between domestic wastewater emissions and economic growth still existed, indeed, in recent years it had intensified. Further, domestic wastewater emissions continue to rise, to the point where they now constitute one of the main sources of water pollution in Nansi Lake catchment. Results of this study indicated that combining the improved GRD model with the EKC provides a new approach to comprehensive investigation of the water pollution–economic growth nexus from a qualitative and quantitative perspective.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akbostancı E, Türüt-Aşık S, Tunç Gİ (2009) The relationship between income and environment in Turkey: is there an environmental Kuznets curve? Energy Policy 37:861–867

    Google Scholar 

  • Apergis N, Ozturk I (2015) Testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Asian countries. Ecol Indic 52:16–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Camerer CF (2011) Behavioral game theory: experiments in strategic interaction. Princeton University Press

  • Dasgupta S, Laplante B, Wang H, Wheeler D (2002) Confronting the environmental Kuznets curve. J Econ Perspect 16:147–168

    Google Scholar 

  • Diao XD, Zeng SX, Tam CM, Tam VWY (2009) EKC analysis for studying economic growth and environmental quality: a case study in China. J Clean Prod 17:541–548

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldridge SM, Ashby D, Kerry S (2006) Sample size for cluster randomized trials: effect of coefficient of variation of cluster size and analysis method. Int J Epidemiol 35:1292–1300

    Google Scholar 

  • Fodha M, Zaghdoud O (2010) Economic growth and pollutant emissions in Tunisia: an empirical analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve. Energy Policy 38:1150–1156

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao Z, Miao X, Zou C (2004) EKC characteristics in Jiangsu Province. Rural Eco-environment (01):41-43+59 (in Chinese)

  • Grossman GM, Krueger AB (1991) Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement. National Bureau of Economic Research

  • Guo R, Yang K (2003) Political economy of transnational water pollution: what do the LMB data (1985–2000) say? Environ Manag 32:433–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-003-0016-3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hao J (2008) Residents’ knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and willingness to pay for non-point source pollution control: a study of Nansihu Lake watershed, China. The Ohio State University

  • Hettige H, Mani M, Wheeler D (2000) Industrial pollution in economic development: the environmental Kuznets curve revisited. J Dev Econ 62:445–476

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu Y, Cheng H (2013) Water pollution during China’s industrial transition. Environ Dev 8:57–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Kijima M, Nishide K, Ohyama A (2010) Economic models for the environmental Kuznets curve: a survey. J Econ Dyn Control 34:1187–1201

    Google Scholar 

  • Kuo Y, Yang T, Huang G-W (2008) The use of grey relational analysis in solving multiple attribute decision-making problems. Comput Ind Eng 55:80–93

    Google Scholar 

  • Lai C, Chen X, Chen X et al (2015) A fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model for flood risk based on the combination weight of game theory. Nat Hazards 77:1243–1259

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee C-C, Chiu Y-B, Sun C-H (2010) The environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for water pollution: do regions matter? Energy Policy 38:12–23

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li C, Shao B, Peng L (2011) Shift-share analysis of industrial structure in southern four Lakes Basin. J Anhui Agric Sci 39(07):4143–4145 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu E, Shen J, Zhang E et al (2010) A geochemical record of recent anthropogenic nutrient loading and enhanced productivity in Lake Nansihu, China. J Paleolimnol 44:15–24

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Wang W, Lu S, Wang YF, Ren Z (2016) Analysis of the relationship between economic growth and industrial pollution in Zaozhuang, China—based on the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:16349–16358

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu T, Deng Y, Chan F (2018) Evidential supplier selection based on DEMATEL and game theory. Int J Fuzzy Syst 20:1321–1333

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Zhang Z, Zhang F (2019) Challenges for water security and sustainable socio-economic development: a case study of industrial, domestic water use and pollution Management in Shandong, China. Water 11:1630

    Google Scholar 

  • Luo S, Ma W, Wang X et al (2003) A case study onindicator system of urban environmental protection and ecological construction. Acta Ecol Sin 23:45–55

    Google Scholar 

  • Ng DKW (1994) Grey system and Grey relational model. SIGICE Bull 20:2–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen HT, Aviso KB, Kojima N, Tokai A (2018) Structural analysis of the interrelationship between economic activities and water pollution in Vietnam in the period of 2000–2011. Clean Techn Environ Policy 20:621–638

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Orubu CO, Omotor DG (2011) Environmental quality and economic growth: searching for environmental Kuznets curves for air and water pollutants in Africa. Energy Policy 39:4178–4188

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Paudel KP, Zapata H, Susanto D (2005) An empirical test of environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution. Environ Resour Econ 31:325–348

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng L, Yan Z, Shao B et al (2012) Analysis of water pollution caused by the development of three industries in Nansi Lake basin. Shandong Sci 25(2):33–37 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid Gill A, Viswanathan KK, Hassan S (2018) The environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the environmental problem of the day. Renew Sust Energ Rev 81:1636–1642

    Google Scholar 

  • Robalino-López A, Mena-Nieto Á, García-Ramos J-E, Golpe AA (2015) Studying the relationship between economic growth, CO2 emissions, and the environmental Kuznets curve in Venezuela (1980–2025). Renew Sust Energ Rev 41:602–614

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern DI (2004) The rise and fall of the environmental Kuznets curve. World Dev 32:1419–1439

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun Y, Liu N, Shang J, Zhang J (2017) Sustainable utilization of water resources in China: a system dynamics model. J Clean Prod 142:613–625

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson A (2014) Environmental Kuznets curve for water pollution: the case of border countries. Mod Econ 05:66

    Google Scholar 

  • Tian C, Pei H, Hu W, Xie J (2012) Variation of cyanobacteria with different environmental conditions in Nansi Lake, China. J Environ Sci 24:1394–1402

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tian Y, Gao Z, Cui H et al (2013) Study of urbanization development, sewage discharge, and underground water resources in Shandong Province. Water Resour Prot 1:73–76 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Zhang Y, Zheng W (2003) Water resources and potential of seawater desalination in Shandong peninsula. Desalination 157:269–276

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang J, Yang L, Wang Y, et al (2015) Research on the relationship between economic growth and heavy metals pollution of lake sediments in Nansi Lake Basin. In: Adv. Mater. Res

  • Wang W, Liu X, Wang Y, Guo X, Lu S (2016) Analysis of point source pollution and water environmental quality variation trends in the Nansi Lake basin from 2002 to 2012. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23:4886–4897

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang B, Liu L, Huang G (2017) Retrospective and prospective analysis of water use and point source pollution from an economic perspective—a case study of Urumqi, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24:26016–26028

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu P, Tan M (2012) Challenges for sustainable urbanization: a case study of water shortage and water environment changes in Shandong, China. Procedia Environ Sci 13:919–927

    Google Scholar 

  • Wu Y, Lu Z, An B (2011) The dynamic study on total volume of wastewater discharge in China during 1985-2008. Sci-Tech Inform Dev Econ 21(17):183–185 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu P, Gao W, Zhou F et al (2013) New approach to assess the aquatic effects of watershed socio-economic development and its application in Lake Nansihu. Acta Sci Circumst 33(08):2285–2295 (in Chinese)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Q (2009) The south-to-north water transfer project of China: environmental implications and monitoring Strategy1. JAWRA J Am Water Resour Assoc 45(5):1238–1247

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Wang X (2017) Relationship between water pollution and economic development of Shandong Province: regression analysis based on model EKC. Environ Sanit Eng 25(06):44–47 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Xia X, Jia C et al (2009) Analysis of scenario and factors on China’s urban wastewater emission. Resour Dev Market 25(05):397–399 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Wang Z, Lian Y et al (2015) Evaluation of water use structure and regulation to balance supply and demand in the Nansi Lake basin, China. Sustain Water Resour Manag 1:325–334

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang X, Mei C, Chen D, Li J (2016) Feature selection in mixed data: a method using a novel fuzzy rough set-based information entropy. Pattern Recogn 56:1–15

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang C, Wang Y, Song X et al (2017) An integrated specification for the nexus of water pollution and economic growth in China: panel cointegration, long-run causality and environmental Kuznets curve. Sci Total Environ 609:319–328

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang B, Cui B, Zhang S, Wu QY, Yao L (2018a) Source apportionment of nitrogen and phosphorus from non-point source pollution in Nansi Lake Basin, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25:19101–19113

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Wang W, Qu S et al (2018b) A new perspective to explore the hydraulic connectivity of karst aquifer system in Jinan spring catchment, China. Water 10:1368

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao F, Shao B, Zhu Y (2012) Analysis on the tertiary industry in Nansihu Basin. J Anhui Agric Sci 40(9):5413–5415 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research work was financially supported by Key R&D plan of Shandong province in 2019 (Public Welfare Project) (2019GSF110016) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (ZR2016DM10).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Water Conservancy and Environment, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250022, China

    Yi Liu, Liyuan Yang & Wei Jiang

Authors
  1. Yi Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Liyuan Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Liyuan Yang.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Nicholas Apergis

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, Y., Yang, L. & Jiang, W. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the relationship between water pollution and economic growth: a case study in Nansi Lake catchment, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 4008–4020 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07005-w

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07005-w

Keywords

Search

Navigation