Abstract: On the basis of considering the strategic interaction characteristics of regional environmental protection investment, a model is established to analyze the impact of endowment and financial capacity differences on the policy objectives of local governments, and the impact of ecological transfer payment policy balancing regional resource endowment on the regional environmental protection joint output level is discussed. The results show that: the introduction of strategic interaction characteristics of regional environmental protection investment can maximize the joint output of environmental protection, corresponding to the moderate difference degree of local government resource endowment. The difference degree is too large or too average, which is not conducive to stimulate the vitality of local governments, and provides stable conditions for high-quality economic sustainable development. In addition, compared with the lump-sum transfer payment policy, the earmarked transfer payment policy can more effectively encourage the local governments to invest in the ecological environment; reducing the information symmetry requirements of the earmarked transfer payment in practice and establishing the horizontal transfer payment based on market-oriented operation fund pool are feasible policies to further increase the regional environmental protection level. From the aspects of coordinating regional economic development differences, ensuring the effectiveness of environmental protection investment, measuring the regional ecological spillover effect, optimizing the earmarked transfer payment policy, establishing market-oriented operation fund pool and increasing the proportion of horizontal transfer payment, countermeasures and suggestions are put forward to improve the utilization efficiency of environmental protection investment funds in China.

Key words: high-quality development; environmental protection investment; strategic interaction; heterogeneity; transfer payment