Impact of Environmental Regulation on the Resilience of Marine Economy: A Case Study of 11 Coastal Provinces and Cities in China

Enhancing marine economic resilience is a necessary response to both domestic and international shocks, and it is also key to achieving the sustainable development of the marine economy. In recent years, rising uncertainties both domestically and internationally have posed significant challenges to the resilience of China’s marine economy. In response, China has continuously strengthened its environmental regulations, influencing the resilience of its marine economy through various environmental regulations. This paper measures marine economy resilience index using panel data from 11 coastal provinces and municipalities in China from 2010 to 2019. It empirically examines the direct impact, spatial spillover effects, and mediating mechanisms of environmental regulations on marine economy resilience. The results show that: (1) Environmental regulations significantly enhance the resilience of the marine economy. Among the various environmental regulation tools, command-and-control regulations have a stronger effect in promoting marine economic resilience compared to market-incentive regulations. (2) Environmental regulations exhibit spatial spillover effects in enhancing marine economic resilience, and the spatial influence of different regulatory tools is heterogeneous. (3) The optimization of marine industrial structure serves as a crucial avenue for environmental regulations to enhance the resilience of the marine economy. This study offers theoretical support and a scientific basis for the adjustment and optimization of environmental regulations and the enhancement of marine economic resilience, while also contributing to the sustainable development of the marine economy.