Foreign direct investment, geographic condition, and their influence on haze pollution: evidence from prefecture-level cities in China

Current literature only focuses on the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and haze pollution, while giving little attention to the effect of geographic conditions on the relationship between FDI and haze pollution. Given this drawback, we conducted an empirical research to explore the impact of FDI and geographic condition on the haze pollution using data from 283 prefecture-level cities in China, including geographical location, geographical environment, and geographical proximity elements. The results indicated that: (1) FDI affected haze pollution, however the impact of FDI on haze pollution demonstrated significant heterogeneity in different areas; (2) the regional heterogeneity in haze pollution was induced by geographical environmental elements such as the population density and temperature; and (3) haze pollution and FDI have a notable spatial spillover, degrading the air quality in surrounding cities. Therefore, when the government formulates plans, the importance of geographic conditions for economic development and environmental capacity should be emphasized. Because of the spatial spillover effect of haze pollution, provinces and municipalities should be encouraged to improve their collaboration on elimination of haze pollution and implement joint steps to prevent and control haze pollution.