Consumption Structure Research Articles

The Impact of Development of Financial Technology on China’s Economy

The development of financial technology (FinTech) has an important role in the present economy. It not only drove overall economic consumption through innovative service models and financial tools, but also helped people return to a normal rhythm of life to a certain extent during the COVID-19 epidemic by helping offline operations shift to online services, online offices, online teaching, and other innovative approaches. In addition, it plays a very important role in social governance and promotes social stability. This paper focuses on analyzing the impact of FinTech on industrial structure, upgrading in consumption structure and social governance, and argues that society, government and the market need not only to develop and apply FinTech correctly, but also to implement development policies according to local conditions. In this way, it can better play its positive role in promoting economic development, and at the same time, it is also necessary to strengthen supervision and regulation to prevent the growth of undesirable behavior.

Financing of the armed forces of Ukraine under the conditions of the state of martial: the European integration vector

In the conditions of Russian aggression, the state of funding of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is important in view of the direct impact on the outcome of hostilities, the future of European countries, and on the further advancement of Ukraine through European integration.
 The basis of the administrative and legal regulation of the financing of the security and defense sector, including the Armed Forces, is: the Military Security Strategy of Ukraine, the National Security Strategy of Ukraine, the Law of Ukraine “On National Security of Ukraine”, annual laws “On the State Budget of Ukraine”.
 As a result of the conducted analysis, it was established that during 2016–2021, budget financing of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine amounted to 2.1–2.4% of GDP or 2.5–2.9 billion dollars. the USA, while the amount of expenditures for similar purposes in the USA is 600–650 billion dollars, in China – 215–250 billion dollars, in the aggressor country – 70 billion dollars. Only in 2022, the specified volume of expenditures in Ukraine reached 21%, approximately the same amount is planned to be financed in 2024 (1,693 billion UAH).
 Among the main problems in the field of financing the Armed Forces, the following are highlighted: the budget of Ukraine is not a development budget; the amount of budget expenditures depends on charity, humanitarian and international technical assistance; inefficient structure of defense budget expenditures; lack of objective opportunities for growth of own income sources.
 These shortcomings became one of the reasons for Ukraine’s unpreparedness to protect its borders and significant losses during the Russian aggression during 2022-2023. This convinces of the need to comply with the current legislation of Ukraine, which combines the administrative-legal and financial- legal principles of regulation of the sphere of security and defense in Ukraine, including the Armed Forces. It is possible to achieve an increase in the volume of income sources in Ukraine through the modernization of the defense-industrial complex. Transfers from the EU remain important and necessary - this confirms the necessity of the European integration vector for the further development of our Another way to overcome the identified problems is the attraction of direct foreign investments for post-war reconstruction through the removal of regulatory levers. Along with state domestic financing and attracting private capital, Ukraine will need financing of infrastructure projects from relevant EU funds (as public funds), which requires maximum transparency, accountability and control.

A Study on the Measurement of Regional Energy Consumption Efficiency and Decomposition of Its Influencing Factors in China: New Evidence for Achieving SDGs

With the growth of global population and economic development, people are facing the problem of increasing scarcity of renewable energy and unsustainable energy use. To achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) proposed by the United Nations, research on energy consumption efficiency has become particularly important. This research evaluates the energy consumption efficiency of 270 cities in China through an improved EBM model and finds a common phenomenon of low energy consumption efficiency in the cities, with the highest efficiency in northeast China and the lowest efficiency in eastern China. In addition, the efficiency of industrial exhaust emissions most significantly positively correlates with the efficiency of employed population and total energy consumption efficiency, while the efficiency of regional GDP does not significantly correlate with the efficiency of the two input variables. Using the LMDI method to decompose the driving factors of energy consumption efficiency in the cities, we find that the most important factor affecting energy consumption efficiency is their own energy endowment. Therefore, to improve the energy consumption efficiency of its cities, the China government should comprehensively consider factors such as regional economic development level, industrial structure, and technological level differences, formulate relevant energy-saving and emission-reduction policies, focus on optimizing the energy consumption structure, encourage technological progress and innovation, and help increase investment in science and technology.

Interactions Among Energy Consumption per GDP, Technological Innovation Input and Energy Consumption Structure in China During the 14th Five-Year Plan Period

In the context of China's 14th Five-Year Plan, this paper examines the complex interactions between energy utilization efficiency, technological advancement, and energy-consuming structure. The Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model, impulse response functions, and variance decomposition are used to thoroughly analyze time series data extending from 1999 to 2022 to reveal the dynamic relationships and effect mechanisms among these variables. The results show that the multidimensional adjustment of energy use has been driven in large part by technological innovation. In the short term, the improvement in energy utilization efficiency is predominantly propelled by its inherent inertia, while technological innovation gradually becomes the primary driving force. The positive impact of technological innovation input enhances energy utilization efficiency, while improved energy utilization efficiency stimulates later-stage technological innovation investment. Furthermore, a shift towards reduced GDP energy intensity is essential, focusing on controlling fossil fuel usage while advancing non-fossil energy sources. It underscores the significance of optimizing traditional fossil fuel utilization and gradually transitioning to clean energy sources for sustained and efficient energy-consuming patterns.

Collaborative research on rural distributed photovoltaic development and new energy vehicles moving to the countryside under the background of dual carbon

In the context of dual carbon, there is a synergistic effect between the development of rural distributed photovoltaics and the introduction of new energy vehicles to the countryside. The synergistic development of the two is of great significance for promoting sustainable development and energy transformation. This paper aims to study how the coordinated development of rural distributed photovoltaic and new energy vehicles in the countryside can produce efficiency, what kind of efficiency it can produce under the background of dual carbon, and explore its collaborative development strategy. Based on the background environment of green development, this paper discusses the current situation, significance, policy effect, and difficulties of the collaborative development of rural distributed photovoltaic development and new energy vehicles in the countryside. On this basis, it analyzes the efficiency and mechanism of its collaborative development. The conclusion indicates that, under the dual carbon background, the development of distributed photovoltaics in rural areas and the deployment of new energy vehicles to rural areas are full of opportunities and challenges. The synergistic development of the two has the synergistic effects of sharing clean energy, complementary energy conservation and emission reduction, optimizing energy consumption structures, promoting economic development, increasing employment opportunities, and improving rural living quality. It is of great significance for achieving the dual-carbon goal. This article provides a reference for the development of distributed photovoltaics in rural areas and the coordinated development of new energy vehicles in rural areas under a dual-carbon background and has certain practical and theoretical significance.

Analysis of Green Transformation and Driving Factors of Household Consumption Patterns in China from the Perspective of Carbon Emissions

Over the years, the household sector has become the main source of carbon emissions. Thus, it is crucial to study the green transformation of household consumption patterns (HCPs) and its driving factors from the perspective of carbon emissions (CEs). This study used the Tapio decoupling method to analyze the green transformation of HCPs, employed the logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) method to find the driving factors of green transformation of HCPs, and conducted marginal effect analysis to identify the marginal effects of the major driving factors of green transformation of HCPs, based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database from 2012 to 2018. It was found through statistical analysis that dominant types of direct HCPs included electricity and fuel, and dominant types of indirect HCPs included necessities, health, transportation, and education. The results of empirical analysis indicated that direct household consumption structure and the per capita residential area promoted the green transformation of HCPs, while direct household per square meter residential consumption and per capita net income inhibited it. Furthermore, other factors had varying positive or negative impacts on the green transformation of HCPs, depending on regions, income levels, and urban–rural areas. The results of marginal effect analysis suggested that the marginal effects of residential area on per capita household carbon emissions (HCEs) present a trend from increasing to decreasing, while the marginal effect of household income on per capita HCEs presents an increasing trend. However, the marginal effect of household size on per capita HCEs presents a decreasing trend only for the low-income group and the western region when household size increased from five to six persons. This paper enriches the research on the green transformation of HCPs, and provides references for the formulation of green transformation policies for HCPs in different regions, income levels, and urban–rural areas.

Analyzing the impact of COVID-19 on consumption behaviors through recession and recovery patterns

The COVID-19 outbreak has dramatically impacted the economy, particularly consumption behaviors. Studies on how consumption responses to COVID-19 can be a powerful aid for urban consumption recovery. In this paper, based on a high-frequency consumption dataset from January 6, 2020, to April 28, 2020 covering 18 sectors and dataset from the corresponding lunar period in 2021, we look at how COVID-19 changed how people spent their money by looking at patterns of recession and recovery during the pandemic. Specifically, we first explore the recession-recovery pattern of national consumption and the effects of various policies and quantify it using regression methods. Then, recession-recovery patterns across cities are widely studied. We also reveal how consumption structures change during a pandemic and the relationship between patterns of change in citizens’ consumption and the socioeconomic characteristics of cities. And the specific empirical analysis is provided through panel regression models. In general, national consumption represented a Vshaped pattern during the pandemic, experiencing a dramatic decline and a rapid rebound. Consumption is significantly inhibited by lockdown, while it is stimulated positively but gradually by easing policies. Consumption patterns at the city level are associated with socioeconomic characteristics. Cities with high-income groups experience a more significant decline, and cities with a high share of the secondary sector have a higher recovery rate in consumption. The consumption structure redistributes but does not fundamentally change. During the recession and early recovery phase, consumption related to basic living saw a significant rise, whereas leisure-related consumption dropped dramatically and recovered slowly. Our study can assist policymakers in implementing diversified market provisions and targeted lockdown policy adjustments for consumption recovery in cities with different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Features of expenditure of local budgets of different types in the Russian Federation.

The paper analyzes the directions of using the budgetary funds of local governments, which made it possible to identify the main items of their expenditures. This study is aimed at identifying the main directions of local government spending for various types of municipalities, at determining the sufficiency of funds allocated for socially significant areas. The general situation in terms of the sufficiency of financial resources made it possible to characterize the results of calculations, both of the main areas of expenditure obligations, and of total expenditures at constant prices. An analysis of the structure of budget expenditures for different types of municipalities made it possible to identify the main expenditure components in local budgets of various types. The results of the performed analysis will be useful for determining the directions for improving the fiscal policy in order to achieve the required level of spending in the most important socially significant areas.

The impact of energy consumption on carbon emissions intensity in China: evidence from a dynamic panel quantile regression model

Abstract China, being the largest global emitter of carbon, faces significant challenges in mitigating carbon emissions from energy consumption. The empirical findings reveal that the impact of energy consumption intensity and energy consumption structure on carbon emissions intensity is positively correlated with quantile levels and shows heterogeneous effects in different regions. Employing an energy consumption structure as a threshold variable to examine the impact of energy consumption intensity on carbon emissions intensity, we identify a significant single threshold effect in both the full sample and the western sample. Based on empirical research findings, this paper proposes specific policy recommendations.

Research on Regional Industrial Layout and Structural Adjustment and Upgrading under Digital Economy

Digital transformation promotes the change of urban governance. Based on the concept of "system", this paper focuses on exploring the influencing factors and evaluation indicators of the industrial structure adjustment and energy production and consumption structure adjustment of green smart cities in the new era under the promotion of digital economy, providing a strong theoretical basis for the comprehensive evaluation of the influencing factors in the later period.

ВЕРИФИКАЦИЯ СТАТИСТИЧЕСКИХ «ЗАКОНОВ» ЭНГЕЛЯ И ШВАБЕ НА ЭМПИРИЧЕСКОЙ БАЗЕ МЕЖРЕГИОНАЛЬНЫХ СОПОСТАВЛЕНИЙ И НАЦИОНАЛЬНОГО УРОВНЯ АГРЕГАЦИОННОГО ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИХ СИСТЕМ

The relevance of the article is due to the fact that assessing the quality of life of the population economists use relative indicators measuring of consumption structure. The work analyzes the level and structure of population consumption in the studied regions. These indicators have been proven to be the most important factors of the territories’ socio-economic development. It has been shown that over time the consumption structure of Russian regions residents is approaching the predicted theoretical values. Thus, Engel and Schwabe statistical laws are verified. It has been revealed that according to these indicators, the Black Earth cluster population’s living standard is lower than the Russian average; all six analyzed regions are agricultural regions with a high proportion of subsistence farming. Income growth correlates with the likelihood that the region will fall under the influence of statistical laws.

In-situ torrefaction-densification approach for pelletizing of rice hull/rice stalk and the combustion behavior analysis

The utilization of biomass resources could optimize the energy consumption structure and achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. Torrefaction and densification pretreatment could improve the defects of high oxygen content, low energy density, and low bulk density of biomass. In this work, high-density and hardness pellets were prepared by torrefaction coupling densification (in-situ torrefaction-densification without binders). In-situ torrefaction-densification significantly reduced the pressure required for the densification process. In-situ torrefaction-densification lowered the pressure required to prepare RH pellets with a bulk density of 1000 kg/m3 from 88.23 MPa to 30.95 MPa. The effects of the in-situ torrefaction-densification method and pelletizing pressure on the pellet combustion process were investigated by non-isothermal and isothermal combustion. The volatile and carbon of TCDP could be burned intensively during combustion, and the emissions of CO and CxHy were reduced during combustion. The original structural strength of TCDP was still maintained in the combustion process. The alkali metal K in TCDP was difficult to escape, effectively reducing the emission of K in the flue gas. In-situ torrefaction-densification could not only improve the quality of biomass solid fuel but also facilitate the storage and transportation of biomass solid fuel.

Equilibrium analysis of the fluid model with two types of parallel customers and incomplete fault

AbstractThis article considers the individual equilibrium behavior and socially optimal strategy in a fluid queue with two types of parallel customers and incomplete fault. Assume that the working state and the incomplete fault state appear alternately in the buffer. Different from the linear revenue and expenditure structure, an exponential utility function can be constructed to obtain the equilibrium balking thresholds in the fully observable case. Besides, the steady-state probability distribution and the corresponding expected social benefit are derived based on the renewal process and the standard theory of linear ordinary differential equations. Furthermore, a reasonable entrance fee strategy is discussed under the condition that the fluid accepts the globally optimal strategies. Finally, the effects of the diverse system parameters on the entrance fee and the expected social benefit are explicitly illustrated by numerical comparisons.

The impact of tax expenditures on economic growth: The US experience

In the last decade, assessing the tax expenditures’ economic efficiency has grown in importance due to the increasing number of situations where stakeholders use tax benefits for personal enrichment. The problem is aggravated by the very nature of tax expenditures, which represent budget revenue losses. The expediency of tax expenditures can be proved by estimating their impact on economic growth. The paper aims to measure such impact using the case of the USA. Methodologically, the study relies on Barro’s conception of endogenous growth. The study applies econometric methods of analysis. The data for the study is taken from the Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED), the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, and the U.S. Census Bureau for 1998–2022. The results indicate no correlation between the share of tax expenditures in a specific sphere in the total amount and their efficiency (the strength of the positive impact on GDP). For instance, the tax expenditures in commerce and housing have the greatest share (35.4 %), yet their impact is relatively weak compared to other categories of tax expenditures: 1 dollar of expenditures induces a 0.04 dollar increase in GDP. At the same time, tax expenditures in the social sphere with an insubstantial share of 2 % generate a 10 times higher return (a 0.49 dollar increase in GDP per 1 dollar of expenditures). Therefore, the structure of tax expenditures with an explicit social orientation appears to be the most preferable for the USA.

Research on the impact and intermediary effect of carbon emission trading policy on carbon emission efficiency in China

In this paper, the impact of the carbon emission trading policy on carbon emission efficiency is discussed based on the local data of China from 2004 to 2019, based on the natural experiment of carbon emission trading policy. The intermediary model is introduced to analyze the mediating effect of industrial structure and energy consumption structure in emission reduction. The results show that the carbon emission trading policy not only directly improves the carbon emission efficiency, but also indirectly improves the carbon emission efficiency by upgrading the industrial structure and adjusting the energy consumption structure. Finally, this paper verifies that carbon trading policy has a synergistic emission reduction effect on sulfur emission efficiency. The mechanism of the SO2 reduction is similar to that of the CO2 reduction mechanism, with direct and intermediary effects.

How Does Market-Oriented Environmental Regulation Affect Carbon Emission Performance? A Quasinatural Experiment Based on the Pilot Policy of Energy-Use Rights Trading

In order to evaluate the effect of market-oriented environmental management measures on regional carbon emission intensity in the pilot areas better, this paper adopts a quasinatural experiment of energy-use rights trading (EURT) policy by using the difference-in-difference method from the perspective of cities in China from 2006 to 2019. The results show that the policy of EURT can significantly reduce regional carbon emission intensity, which varies in different regions and different scales of cities. The main goal of implementing the policy is to reduce regional carbon emission intensity by improving the energy consumption structure and promoting the improvement of industrial structure and green innovation. In addition, the spatial impact of the EURT pilot project is demonstrated by its ability to not only reduce local carbon emission intensity but also decrease carbon intensity in and around the designated areas.

Reexamining the impact of natural resource rent and corruption control on environmental quality: Evidence from carbon emissions and ecological footprint in 152 countries

AbstractIn order to explore the impact of natural resource rent and corruption control on environmental quality (ecological footprint, carbon emissions), this paper uses the moment quantile regression method within the framework of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Based on the availability of data, the research object is positioned as the sample data of 152 countries from 2002 to 2018 to obtain more in‐depth and comprehensive research conclusions. The empirical results show that: (1) Corruption control has a significant effect on improving the ecological environment in countries and regions with poor environmental quality. The impact of natural resource rent on environmental quality remains inconclusive, when environmental quality is relatively high, natural resource rent tends to promote the increase of carbon emissions, but there is a reduction effect on the ecological footprint. For countries and regions with better environmental quality, there will be an effect of increasing resource consumption and reducing pollutant emissions. (2) Increasing the consumption intensity of energy will lead to the deterioration of environmental quality, and increasing the proportion of renewable resources will increase and weaken this impact, so it is particularly important to improve the energy consumption structure and improve environmental quality. (3) The impact of urbanization on environmental quality dose not form a unified opinion, and the difference in the selection of environmental quality indicators brings variability to the results, which also prompts the adoption of multiple indicators or the establishment of a composite index that covers multiple perspectives of environmental quality to conduct comprehensive and in‐depth research on environmental quality.

China’s Water Footprint on Urban and Rural Food Consumption: A Spatial–Temporal Evolution and Its Driving Factors Analysis from 2000 to 2020

To comprehend the intricate interaction between water resources and food security, it is critical to examine the hidden water footprint (WF) of food consumption and its underlying causes within specific nations or areas. This study investigates the changes in the quality and structure of food consumption in China’s urban and rural areas from 2000 to 2020. Following the calculation of the WF associated with food consumption for both urban and rural populations, this study uses ArcGIS 10.6 software to map the spatial configuration of the provincial per capita WF. Moreover, the random forest model is utilized to uncover the salient determinants influencing the WF of food consumption in urban and rural contexts. Quantitatively, rural populations have witnessed a more pronounced acceleration in their per capita food WF compared with urban entities, with a notable upswing in the proportion of meat and poultry consumption. Spatially, regions exhibiting elevated WF for urban populations have transitioned from the western zones toward the southeast and northeast, whereas a marked east–west dichotomy is evident in rural areas. In terms of drivers, for urban demographics, economic variables emerge as paramount determinants for food WF, while rural areas underscore the prominence of natural and technological parameters. The insights garnered from this investigation bear profound implications for facilitating balanced nutritional intake among China’s urban and rural populations, alleviating food-related water resource pressures, and optimizing water resource utilization.

Environmental regulations, technological innovation, and low carbon transformation: A case of the logistics industry in China

China is the world's largest emitter of carbon dioxide. The logistics industry is the second largest source of CO2 emissions, second only to the manufacturing industry. Therefore, developing effective environmental regulations to achieve low-carbon transformation in the logistics industry is an urgent task for government managers. Based on the 2005–2021 panel data of China's 30 provinces, this article adopts a data-driven nonparametric additive model to investigate the role of environmental regulations in CO2 emission reduction in the logistics industry. The results display that overall, environmental regulations contribute to carbon reduction in the logistics industry (an inverted N-shaped effect). After endogeneity test and various robustness tests such as replacing the variable value of core variable, this conclusion still has good reliability. Further heterogeneity analysis indicates that the carbon reduction effect of mandatory environmental regulations fluctuates frequently (a W-shaped impact). However, the carbon reduction impact of incentive environmental regulations has gradually shifted from insignificant in the early stages to prominent in the later stages (an inverted U-shaped pattern). Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of environmental regulations on carbon reduction in the eastern, central, and western regions also has significant nonlinear characteristics. Finally, this article verifies that technological innovation and energy consumption structure are effective intermediate mechanisms for environmental regulations to affect emission reduction. The research findings provide practical inspiration for the government to formulate relevant environmental policies and promote the green development of the logistics industry.

Simulation of fishery energy consumption and carbon emissions in Zhoushan City based on the long-range energy alternatives planning system model

To understand the current situation and development trend of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the fishery industry, a Long-Range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP)-fishery model for Zhoushan City was constructed, and the trends of energy consumption and carbon emissions in the Zhoushan City fishery industry were analyzed under the business-as-usual scenario, the low-carbon scenario, and the strengthened low-carbon scenario. The results show that under the business-as-usual scenario, the future energy consumption of Zhoushan City’s fisheries in general shows an increasing trend, and the composition of energy consumption in all scenarios is primarily dominated by fossil energy, with diesel and coal predominating. In terms of the structure of end-use energy consumption, fishing vessels and aquaculture consume the most energy, with energy consumption exceeding 30% of total energy consumption in all scenarios. In terms of the emission reduction contribution rate, which the promotion of clean energy generation, the improvement of energy efficiency, and the reduction of aquaculture production play key roles in the low-carbon development of the fishery industry. From an economic perspective, carbon reduction measures such as reduction of aquaculture production and increased efficiency of energy delivery would have significant economic benefits, but these measures have limitations. Finally, suggestions are made to optimize the energy structure, improve the implementation of energy intensity and total energy control, and strengthen public awareness of energy conservation to reduce carbon emissions from the fishery industry, thus making the research in this paper relevant to real-world situations.