Spatial–Temporal Development Trends and Influencing Factors of Government Environmental Information Disclosure: Empirical Evidence Based on China’s Provincial Panel Data

Abstract

Government environmental information disclosure (GEID) plays an important role in promoting the digital transformation of environmental governance, leading the concept of sustainable development, enhancing public oversight capacity, and promoting democratic decision-making governance. Using provincial panel data from China spanning from 2009 to 2021, we conducted spatial data exploratory analysis and used the dynamic spatial panel model to investigate the spatial–temporal development trends and influencing factors of GEID. The results show that (1) GEID in China exhibits significant spatial agglomeration characteristics, with an “H-H” (High-High aggregation type) agglomeration characteristic observed in three national strategic development regions: Yangtze River Delta, southeast coastal areas, and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. (2) The spillover effect from the southeast coastal provinces gradually radiates to the northwest, resulting in an overall westward movement of GEID. (3) GEID exhibits a significant path-dependency feature in the temporal dimension and a “peer effect” in the spatial dimension. (4) Population size has the greatest impact on GEID. Population size, public participation, and the industrial and transportation sectors positively influence GEID improvement at the local level. However, they generate negative spillover effects to neighbouring provinces. Environmental status and the size of the Real Estate sector have no significant effect. Therefore, China should strengthen regional cooperation, narrow regional disparities, cultivate new quality productive forces, establish a government-led proactive disclosure mechanism under public supervision, and improve the level of GEID at the national level.