Bridging Green Transition and Economic Growth: The Role of Fiscal Policies in Reducing Corporate Green Premiums in China

This study examines foreign aid effectiveness in poverty reduction in Africa with focus on the role of regional fiscal policy on education and health. The study employs panel dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) estimation technique and covers the period 1980-2017. The results reveal that foreign aid augmented with effective fiscal policy on education significantly improves the income level in all the regions except Central Africa, and consumption in the Western and Central regions. When augmented with effective fiscal policy on health foreign aid enhances households’ income in West and Central Africa and consumption in West and Southern regions. Furthermore, foreign aid augmented with effective fiscal policy in education (health) reduces poverty headcount in the West and Central (in all regions except Central) regions of Africa. The study concludes that foreign aid augmented with fiscal policy on education improves income in all regions except Central Africa; and West and East Africa when augmented with health expenditure. To sustain the effectiveness of foreign aid in Africa there is the need to improve governments’ allocation to the health and education sectors to deepen households’ income.

The commercial residential industry has high added value and comprehensive economic benefit so the commercial residential industry is naturally a hot-spot issue. The core issue of the commercial housing is the price. This thesis conducts the descriptive statistic analysis of residential real estate prices, urban resident income and other relevant data in China’s 30 provinces (excluding Tibet) from 1998 to 2006. The change trend and the difference feature of both the residential real estate price and the urban resident income in those regions are revealed, which is expected to make a contribution to the macro-control in China’s real estate. In recent years, the real estate market in China is growing rapidly. On the one hand, it plays a vital role in both promoting the national economic growth and improving the living standards of urban residents. On the other hand, some problems in the development of China’s current real estate market have been fully exposed, such as the overheated investment, the unbalance in supply and demand, insufficient financing channels, soaring property prices and so on. In particular, the rapid growth in the housing price has brought challenges to the sound development in both China’s real estate market and the whole national economy and it has also become a hot-spot and difficult issue in the current academia. Such relevant research as whether the rapid growth of China’s housing prices has become disjointed with resident income seriously or not and what the rules of the changes in income and housing prices in China’s different regions are is realistically significant for guiding the micro-control in China’s real estate. I. Index Selection and Disposal of Comparability The samples selected in this thesis are composed of the fluctuating residential real estate prices in China’s 30 provinces (excluding Tibet) from 1998 to 2006, urban resident income and other relevant panel data that are from various years of China Statistical Yearbook. The data of the real estate prices adopts the real estate prices in urban areas. The income indexes adopt the annual per capita disposable income of urban residents. In order to remove the impacts of the price and make indexes of various types had comparability in time series, the disposal of comparability has been conducted in indexes of different types in the thesis and their present value has been turned into the value of the constant price, namely, on the basis of the constant price in 1998, the concrete calculation method is that the housing price is deflated by the housing sales price index and the disposable income is deflated by the consumer price index of urban residents. II. Analysis of Commercial Housing Price Variance among Provinces According to the average housing prices and their growth rates in provinces from 1998 to 2006, thirty provinces, cities and autonomous regions across the country can be divided into three types in accordance with the mean and the growth rate of their average housing prices. It’s found that the provinces, cities and autonomous regions of the three types also have common in geographic areas so they can be divided into such three regions as the eastern region, the central region and the western region on the basis of their geographic areas. For the regional division of the average housing price in China, Figure 1 compares the changes in the average housing prices in the central, western and eastern regions from 1998 to 2006. It’s found that the average housing price in the east is prominently higher than those in the western and International Conference on Education Technology, Management and Humanities Science (ETMHS 2015) © 2015. The authors Published by Atlantis Press 1100 central regions and the trend of its average housing prices is on the rise. In particular, the rising trend of the average housing prices is obvious after 2004. The changes in the average housing prices in eastern and western regions are comparatively similar. However, the average prices in the central region are rising slowly while for the western region, a small decline also appears in its slightly rising process. Besides, the average housing prices in the eastern region surpass those in the western region after 2004. III. Analysis of the Differences in the Income Change among Regions Figure 1: Changes in the housing prices in the central, eastern and western regions Figure 2: Changes in the income in the central, eastern and western regions For the regional division of the average housing price in China, Figure 2 compares the changes in the income in the central, western and eastern regions from 1998 to 2006. It’s found that the per capita income in the east is prominently higher than those in the western and central regions and its trend is uniformly on the rise.

Elucidating the complex mechanism between urbanization, economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions is fundamental necessary to inform effective strategies on energy saving and emission reduction in China. Based on a balanced panel data of 31 provinces in China over the period 1997–2010, this study empirically examines the relationships among urbanization, economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at the national and regional levels using panel cointegration and vector error correction model and Granger causality tests. Results showed that urbanization, economic growth and CO2 emissions are integrated of order one. Urbanization contributes to economic growth, both of which increase CO2 emissions in China and its eastern, central and western regions. The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in the western region was larger than that in the eastern and central regions. But economic growth had a larger impact on CO2 emissions in the eastern region than that in the central and western regions. Panel causality analysis revealed a bidirectional long-run causal relationship among urbanization, economic growth and CO2 emissions, indicating that in the long run, urbanization does have a causal effect on economic growth in China, both of which have causal effect on CO2 emissions. At the regional level, we also found a bidirectional long-run causality between land urbanization and economic growth in eastern and central China. These results demonstrated that it might be difficult for China to pursue carbon emissions reduction policy and to control urban expansion without impeding economic growth in the long run. In the short-run, we observed a unidirectional causation running from land urbanization to CO2 emissions and from economic growth to CO2 emissions in the eastern and central regions. Further investigations revealed an inverted N-shaped relationship between CO2 emissions and economic growth in China, not supporting the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Our empirical findings have an important reference value for policy-makers in formulating effective energy saving and emission reduction strategies for China.

This research investigates the disparities and convergence in higher education fiscal expenditures across different regions in China. The study utilises Gini coefficient analysis and σ-convergence/β-convergence tests to quantify the extent of disparities and explore convergence trends over a twelve-year investigation period (2007–2018). The results shed light on the imbalances in resource allocation and provide valuable insights into the efforts required to achieve a more equitable distribution of fiscal resources for higher education. The findings reveal significant disparities in higher education fiscal expenditures between the Eastern, Central, Western, and Northeastern regions, with the Eastern region exhibiting the largest gap compared to others. Remarkably, the disparity between the Eastern and Central regions is even greater than that between the Eastern and Western regions, emphasising the need for targeted interventions to address regional imbalances. Over the study period, the gap between the Eastern and Central regions remained consistently higher than other regional disparities. Moreover, the research shows a general trend towards narrowing regional fiscal expenditure disparities, with the most pronounced convergence observed between the Central and Northeastern regions. The Western region exhibits slightly larger disparities than the Central and Northeastern regions, possibly attributed to greater fiscal policy support and lower student enrollments. Nevertheless, the fiscal expenditure gap between the Western and Central regions has shown a trend towards reduction. The study also explores absolute and conditional β-convergence, revealing notable convergence patterns in the Eastern and Central regions. However, the Western and Northeastern regions exhibit varying degrees of convergence, indicating the necessity for region-specific convergence mechanisms. To achieve a balanced allocation of financial resources for higher education across regions, the study recommends targeted fiscal policies, additional funding, and improved transparency and accountability. Policymakers should focus on enhancing convergence mechanisms to ensure a more equitable distribution of resources and foster the sustainable development of higher education throughout the country. While this research provides valuable insights, it is essential to consider other potential factors influencing fiscal expenditure disparities, such as policy orientation, economic disparities, and demographic structures, for a more comprehensive understanding. Future research may benefit from qualitative investigations to further explore the complexities of higher education fiscal expenditure imbalances and identify effective policy interventions.

This research measures the green economic efficiency (GEE) of 30 regions in China from 2009 to 2021 and verifies the financial agglomeration and environmental regulation impacts on GEE with the Tobit model. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The average GEE value in China is 0.596—which is still at a low level—and is highest in the eastern region and lowest in the western region. (2) Financial agglomeration can promote GEE in the whole country, in both the eastern and western regions; however, the western region effect is very low. In the central region, due to the “siphon effect” produced by the eastern region, the financial resources concentrated in the east thus suppress GEE. Environmental regulation inhibits GEE nationally and in the western region while showing a promotion effect in the eastern and central regions, but it is not significant in the central region. (3) Industrial structures inhibit GEE nationally and in the central and western regions, while industrial structures promote GEE in the eastern region; the GDP (gross domestic product) per capita also inhibits GEE nationally and in the central and western regions and promotes GEE in the eastern region. Government intervention inhibits green economic development in all regions, and urbanization inhibits GEE nationally and in the central and western regions while promoting GEE in the eastern region.

The impact of logistics development on the economy covers many aspects, such as production, cost, employment, international trade, etc. It is an indispensable part of the modern economy, which helps to improve overall economic efficiency and social prosperity. This study studies the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution characteristics of China's logistics development from 2008 to 2018 and explores its impact on economic growth in multiple dimensions of time and space. The research findings indicate the following: (1) From 2008 to 2018, China's logistics development level (LDL) exhibited a clear upward trend. The differences between the eastern, central, and western regions showed fluctuating downward patterns, ultimately converging towards a high-level concentration. Concerning spatial distribution, China's logistics development demonstrated a trend towards the west and south. However, the spatial pattern of "strong in the east and weak in the west " has existed for a long time. Moreover, the "T-shaped" pattern between coastal provinces and those along the Yangtze River Basin deepened, and the LDL in the central and western regions significantly improved. (2) The advancement of China's LDL effectively promotes its economic growth, confirming that the Belt and Road Initiative enhances the role of logistics development in driving economic growth. Regarding regional differences, logistics development positively influences economic growth in the eastern and western regions, with a less significant impact on the central region. Regarding the strength of influence, logistics development has a more substantial effect on promoting high-ranking provinces in the entire country, the eastern region, and the central region, as well as boosting economic growth in low-ranking provinces in the western region.

Exploring the effects of economic growth, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on China’s CO2 emissions: Evidence from a regional panel analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to explore the impact of environmental pollution and industrial structure upgrading on environmental pollution in different stages based on the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of economic development level and industrial structure upgrading level in eastern, central and western regions of China and discuss whether there is adjustment effect and threshold effect in the process of economic growth affecting environmental pollution, and finally realizes sustainable economic development.Design/methodology/approachBased on panel data from 30 provincial-level administrative regions of China (excluding Tibet and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) from 2000 to 2019, this paper uses the environmental Kuznets curve, regulating effect model and panel threshold model to analyze the impact of economic growth and industrial structure upgrading on environmental pollution.FindingsThe results present that the uneven distribution of natural resources leads to different levels of economic development and industrial structure upgrading in eastern and western regions, and its impact on environmental pollution is also different. Economic growth and industrial structure upgrading have a positive effect on environmental pollution, and the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution is inverted U-shaped. At present, the eastern, central and western regions of China are at the right end of the inverted U-shaped relationship. In general, industrial structure upgrading in eastern, central and western regions has a significant inhibitory effect on environmental pollution. Industrial structure upgrading has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between economic growth and environmental pollution, and the regulating effect is most significant in the central region, followed by the eastern region, and not significant in the western region. The results of panel threshold model show that the industrial structure upgrading can slow down the positive impact of economic growth on environmental pollution and strengthen the negative moderating effect of industrial structure upgrading on economic growth and environmental pollution.Originality/valueThe innovation of this study is to bring economic growth, industrial structure upgrading and environmental pollution into a unified analytical framework, analyze the impact of economic development and industrial structure upgrading levels in different periods on environmental pollution, and select industrial structure upgrading as the moderating variable and threshold variable. It provides a thought for the influence mechanism of different levels of industrial structure upgrading on economic growth and environmental pollution. Based on the panel data in China, this study emphasizes the concept of sustainable development, adheres to green development and proposes relevant policies to improve environmental pollution. And this paper proposes relevant policies to improve environmental pollution from the perspective of transforming economic growth mode and optimizing industrial structure in China, which also has reference significance for developing countries to realize sustainable economic development.

This paper adopts the super-efficient DEA (data envelopment analysis) model to measure the forestry eco-efficiency (FECO) of 30 Chinese provinces and cities from 2008 to 2021, and then introduces the Tobit model to explore the influencing factors of FECO to better understand the sustainable development level of forestry. It draws the following conclusions: (1) The average value of FECO in China is 0.504, which is still at a low level, and the FECO of each region has significant regional heterogeneity; the provinces with higher FECO are mainly concentrated in the eastern region, while the FECO of the central and western regions is lower; (2) In terms of the main factors affecting FECO in China, the regression coefficients of market-based environmental regulations are significantly positive in the national, eastern and central regions, while they are significantly negative in the western region. The coefficient of impact of scientific research funding investment on forestry industry eco-efficiency is negative and shows a significant promotion effect in the eastern region, but the elasticity coefficient in the central and western regions is negative but not significant. Economic development has a positive but insignificant effect on FECO, with the eastern region showing a positive correlation, while the central and western regions are insignificant. Industrial structure has a significant negative effect on FECO in the national, eastern and central regions, but the effect of industrial structure on FECO in the western region is not significant. The effect of foreign direct investment on FECO was negative for the national, central and western regions, but the central region did not pass the significance test, while the eastern region reflected a significant promotion effect.

The Asymmetric Spatial Effects for Eastern and Western Regions of Russia

Objective: To assess the mortality attributable to low fruit intake among people over 25 years old in China, 2013, and its effect on life expectancy. Methods: Based on data collected from China Chronic Disease and Risk Factor Surveillance in 2013, the average fruit intake in different genders and areas were calculated. Potential impact fraction (PIF) was used to examine the impact on deaths, mortality and life expectancy. Results: The average daily fruit intake was (113.3±168.9) g among people over 25 years old, with (103.6±160.1) g for men and (122.7±176.6) g for women, in China in 2013. Fruit intake for urban residents was significantly higher than that in rural residents and higher in eastern regions than that in central or western regions. Scores that attributable to low fruit intake accounted for 15.21% of the total deaths and the population attributable fraction of inadequate intake of fruits to associated diseases was 35.00%. PIF for all the deaths in rural residents (16.50%) appeared higher than that of the urban residents (13.88%), and higher in the residents living in the eastern region (15.48%) than that in the central (16.27%) or western (13.75%) regions. Number of deaths that attributable to low fruit intake was 1.348 4 million. Deaths caused by related diseases appeared as: ischemic heart disease (472.5 thousands), hemorrhagic stroke (338.8 thousands), ischemic stroke (259.0 thousands), lung cancer (208.4 thousands), esophageal cancer (60.7 thousands), laryngeal cancer (5.4 thousands) and oral cancer (3.6 thousands). Numbers of all deaths and related diseases for urban residents were lower than that of the rural residents, with central regions (452.7 thousands) higher than that in the eastern (531.1 thousands) or western (364.6 thousands) regions. The average life expectancy loss caused by low fruit intake was 1.73 years, 1.80 years for men and 1.58 years for women, in this country. Loss of life expectancy in the rural residents was higher than that of the urban residents, and higher in central regions than that in the eastern or western regions. Conclusions: The intake of fruit was far lower than the recommended standard set for the Chinese people. Population attributable fraction was related to the associated diseases caused by inadequate intake of fruits which also made serious impact on life expectancy.

This study investigates the comparative effect of fiscal and monetary policy on economic growth in Pakistan using annual time series data from 1981 to 2009. The cointegration result suggests that both monetary and fiscal policy have significant and positive effect on economic growth. The coefficient of monetary policy is much greater than fiscal policy which implies that monetary policy has more concerned with economic growth than fiscal policy in Pakistan. The implication of the study is that the policy makers should focus more on monetary policy than fiscal to enhance economic growth. The role of fiscal policy can be more effective for enhancing economic growth by eliminating corruption, leakages of resources and inappropriate use of resources. However, the combination and harmonization of both monetary and fiscal policy are highly recommended.

To analyze the intakes of main food among the children of 6-17 years in different regions of China from 2019 to 2021, and to provide a scientific basis for evaluation and guiding Chinese children to make reasonable diet. Multistage stratified random sampling method was used to collect data in east China, north China, central China, south China, southwest, northwest and northeast seven areas of each random two provinces, randomly selected from each province one urban survey site and one rural survey site, 28 sites of the 13th Five Year National Science and Technology Basic Resources Survey Project-Chinese children aged 0-18 investigation and application of nutrition and health system in 14 provinces of China. The study included 6413 children aged 6 to 17. Three consecutive 24-hour recalls method combined with weighing were used to collect the information of food intake. According to the food classification in the standard version of the food composition list, the food was divided into cereals, tubers, fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, meat and poultry, fish and shrimp, eggs, milk, etc. , and the intake of various foods was calculated for boys and girls aged 6-8, 9-11, 12-14 and 15-17 in different regions. Compared with the average daily food intake of children of the same sex and age in the urban and rural, The average daily intake of cereals and tubers for boys aged 9-17, cereals for girls aged 9-17, tubers for girls aged 12-17, and fish and shrimp for boys of edible population aged 15-17 were higher in rural areas than in urban areas. There were differences in the average daily food intake and consumption rate of fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, meat and poultry, eggs and milk of the same sex and age, which were higher in urban than in rural areas(P<0.05). Compared with the average daily food intake of children of the same sex and age in the south and the north, the average daily intake of cereals and eggs for boys aged 9-14, cereals for girls aged 6-8, and fresh fruits for boys and girls of edible population aged 6-17 were higher in the north than in the south. There were differences in average daily intake and consumption rates of tubers, fresh vegetables, meat and poultry, milk and fish and shrimp of the same sex and age, which were higher in the south than in the north(P<0.05). Compared with the average daily food intake of children of the same sex and age in the eastern, central and western regions, the average daily intake of cereals for boys aged 6-14, cereals for girls aged 6-17, fresh fruits for boys and girls of edible population aged 6-17, and fish and shrimp for boys and girls of edible population aged 15-17 were lower in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. The average daily intake of tubers for boys aged 9-11 and 15-17, for girls aged 9-17 were higher in the western regions than the eastern and central regions. The average daily intake of eggs for boys and girls aged 12-17 was lower in western regions than the eastern and central regions. There were differences in average daily intake and consumption rates of fresh vegetables, meat and poultry and milk of the same sex and age, which were higher in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. (P<0.05). The proportion of coarse grains to cereals was low, between 3.7% and 10.1%. The proportion of pork to meat and poultry was high, between 56.1% and 71.4%. In China, there are differences in daily intake of main food for children aged 6 to 17 years old in urban and rural areas, north and south areas, east, central and west areas.

Based on the cost-benefit data (1980–2002) of farm products and China Agriculture Yearbooks, this paper studies the regional disparity in the changes of the agricultural land use in China during the period 1980–2002 from three aspects such as the degree of intensity, the sown area and the abandoned farmland. The results show that: (1) The degree of intensity of land use in the western region during 1980–2000 has a strong uptrend, but in the eastern and central regions the degree of intensity descends obviously and has shown a continuous downtrend since 1997. (2) The total sown area shrinks notably in the eastern region, while it enlarges constantly in the western region. (3) The sown area in the eastern, central and western regions has gone through a similar cyclic process: down (1980–1985)-up (1985–1991)-down (1991–1994)-up (1994–1999)-down (1999–2002). However, there are obvious differences in amplitude variation and tendency among them. The sown area has shrunk in the eastern region and expanded in the central and western regions especially before 1999. (4) The most cases of abandoned farmland are reported in the central region, the second in the eastern region and the least in the western region. The abandonment phenomena chiefly occurred during 1992–1995 in the eastern region, and during 1998–2002 in the central region.

A study on the effects of natural resource abundance and foreign direct investment on regional eco-efficiency in China under the target of COP26