ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Does Internet Access Contribute to Residents’
Pro-Environmental Behavior? Evidence
from China
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1
School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Zhejiang, China
2
Silk and Fashion Culture Research Center of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, China
3
Institute of Rural Development, Shandong Academy of Social Sciences, Jinan, China
4
School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Zhejiang, China
Submission date: 2021-12-24
Final revision date: 2022-06-04
Acceptance date: 2022-06-22
Online publication date: 2022-09-08
Publication date: 2022-11-03
Corresponding author
Yongliang Yang
School of Economics and Management, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2022;31(6):5353-5369
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ABSTRACT
Residents’ pro-environmental behavior (PEB) is vital for solving environmental pollution.
This paper uses a micro sample of 10993 respondents from the Chinese General Social Survey.
Propensity score matching was used to assess the effect of Internet access on residents’ PEB,
and the study finds a significant positive impact on private-sphere PEB and public-sphere PEB. This
fundamental conclusion still holds after utilizing the instrumental variable method, changing the
dependent variable, core explanatory variable, and the econometric model. Heterogeneous analysis finds
that Internet access has a more significant positive impact on private-sphere PEB for elderly, women,
low educated and rural residents. Internet access has a more significant positive impact on public-sphere
PEB for the middle-aged, women, higher educated, and urban residents. The mediating test suggests
that Internet access promotes residents’ PEB and raises the overall level of residents’ environmental
awareness through the mediating factor of residents’ PEB. This paper provides the theoretical
and empirical basis that Internet technology can promote PEB at the microlevel, which emphasizes
the positive impact of information and communications technology on eco-environmental improvement