Do Environmental Regulatory Interviews Promote Urban Employment? Evidence from China using a PSM–DID Approach

This study uses the staggered implementation of environmental protection interviews conducted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment from 2014 to 2019 as a quasi-natural experiment. It applies a propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) model to estimate the effect of environmental protection interviews on urban employment. The results show that environmental protection interviews significantly increase urban employment levels. The interaction results further show that this employment effect is stronger in cities with higher levels of technological innovation and marketization. The main finding remains robust across a series of checks. Heterogeneity analyses reveal structural differences in the employment effects of environmental protection interviews. The policy has significant positive effects on the employment of medium- and high-skilled workers. Positive employment effects are observed across all regions, although statistical precision varies across regions, and a significant positive effect is also found in non-resource-based cities. These findings add city-level evidence on the labor-market implications of China's environmental governance, while the interpretation remains limited to employment outcomes rather than direct environmental performance.