Research data of the article "Unpacking the Drivers of Environmental Enforcement: Evidence from China"

Environmental enforcement is widely recognized as a cornerstone of regulatory governance, yet its determinants remain insufficiently understood. Existing research has either emphasized the consequences of enforcement or examined isolated drivers, overlooking the complex and evolving constellations of factors that shape enforcement intensity. This study addresses these gaps by applying dynamic fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to panel data from 31 Chinese provinces between 2015 and 2023. The analysis identifies four distinct pathways leading to strong enforcement and eight alternative configurations resulting in weak enforcement, thereby underscoring the asymmetric and conjunctural nature of causal relations. The results reveal that robust enforcement arises not from any single factor but from different context-dependent alignments: societal demand and fiscal capacity in economically advanced regions, judicial oversight in less industrialized provinces, and vertical inspections where polluters wield significant bargaining power. Conversely, weak enforcement can emerge from multiple institutional failures, such as insufficient resources, ineffective oversight, or entrenched local protectionism. Theoretically, the study extends principal–agent perspectives by demonstrating how vertical, horizontal, and societal supervision interact with local capacity and polluter power across time and space. Methodologically, it advances the use of dynamic QCA to capture temporal fluctuations and regional heterogeneity. Practically, the findings provide actionable insights for tailoring enforcement strategies: empowering societal participation in developed regions, strengthening judicial oversight in the West, and deploying central inspections strategically where local capture persists. Together, the study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of how multi-level governance mechanisms sustain—or undermine—environmental enforcement in complex institutional settings.