Abstract:

Based on the data from 238 cities in China from 2011 to 2019， the influence of environmental protection vertical management reform （EPVMR） on ecological environmental governance ability was explored by using the multi‑period difference‑in‑differences and intermediary effect models. The results showed that environmental protection vertical management reform not only directly improves the ability of ecological environment governance， but also indirectly improves the ability of ecological environment governance by inhibiting the intervention of local governments in environmental governance and promoting the increase of environmental protection expenditure. Compared with the central and western regions， the eastern region， due to its developed economy， high environmental protection tendency and more investment in environmental protection， has a more significant impact on the improvement of ecological environment governance ability. As provincial capital cities are paid more attention to by the government and the public， the implementation effect of environmental protection vertical reform is better than that of non‑provincial capital cities. Local governments should accelerate the environmental protection vertical management reform， improve the vertical management system of environmental protection， improve the channels for public participation in environmental protection， and improve the efficiency of environmental protection expenditure， so as to enhance the ability to manage the ecological environment.

Key words: environmental protection vertical management reform（EPVMR）, territorial management, ecological environment governance ability, multi?period difference?in?differences, quasi?natural experiment