Fixed Effects Research Articles

Impact of Select Variables on Tangible Book Value Multiple of U.S. Regional Banks

Aims: This study explores the relationship between regional banks' Price-to-Tangible Book Value (P/TBV) multiple and metrics such as profitability, liquidity, capital adequacy, asset quality, leverage, and operational efficiency. Study Design: A longitudinal panel data analysis of 101 regional U.S. banks, covering the financial years from 2003 to 2023. It employs fixed effects, random effects, and pooled OLS regression models to determine the drivers of P/TBV multiple. The analysis controls for time-specific factors such as pre – and post – financial crisis periods, enabling a more comprehensive evaluation of valuation trends over different economic cycles. Results: All three models were statistically significant in identifying the determinants of P/TBV. However, the fixed effects model was deemed the most appropriate, as confirmed by the Hausman test (p < 0.001), which demonstrated its consistency over the random effects model. Additionally, the F-test (p < 0.001) indicated the relevance of the fixed effects model over the pooled OLS model by highlighting the significance of individual effects. The fixed effects model and the fixed effects model with robust standard errors revealed that return on equity and bank efficiency positively influenced P/TBV, while asset size, non-performing loans, leverage, and dividend yield had significant negative effect. The model also showed higher valuations for regional banks in the pre-2008 financial crisis period compared to the post-crisis era. Additionally, upon accounting for the impact of heteroscedasticity, the statistical significance of loan-to-deposit ratio variable noted in the fixed effects model turns out to be insignificant. Conclusion: Financial stability, profitability, capital, and asset quality are crucial in determining regional bank valuations. The insights from this study will help bank managers identify key focus areas to optimize valuation and pricing strategies, ensuring that banks can align internal financial health with broader market dynamics for sustainable growth. Additionally, the findings will benefit investors by providing a deeper understanding of the financial factors driving bank valuations, enabling more informed investment decisions. While this research does not directly address the impact of macroeconomic variables on regional banks' valuations, it highlights an area that merits further investigation in future research.

Many hurdles to take: Explaining peacekeepers’ ability to engage in human rights activities

Human rights are a fundamental principle and purpose of the United Nations (UN). Yet, UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) exhibit substantial variation in their ability to engage in human rights activities. While existing research has investigated deployment and mandates, we explain what peacekeepers can actually do on the ground. We argue that the UN Security Council’s permanent member states (the P5) limit human rights mandates if they have private interests in PKO host countries, thereby diminishing peacekeepers’ ability to promote and protect human rights. Moreover, armed conflict shifts priorities away from human rights activities. We use novel data on 21 human rights activities in African countries (1991–2016) and item response models to capture PKOs’ latent ability to engage in these activities. Random and fixed effects regression and mediation analyses with sensitivity tests support our expectations. We find that the P5’s economic interests in the PKO host country negatively correlate with the strength of human rights mandate provisions, which in turn negatively correlates with PKOs’ ability to engage in human rights activities. We find similar, although less consistent, correlations for P5’s security interests. Yet, while mandates partly define the scope of PKOs’ activities, field-level conditions also have an influence. Specifically, ongoing armed conflict negatively correlates with PKOs’ ability to engage in human rights activities. Our results suggest that rising challenges to the liberal international order by powerful states, coupled with the more frequent deployment of PKOs in conflict zones, will likely increase the hurdles that UN PKOs need to overcome to meet expectations regarding their human rights engagement.

Disaggregating air, water and renewable energy disclosures in developing economies: the role of regulatory impact and board characteristics

PurposeThis study examines how board characteristics influence air, water and renewable energy (AWR) disclosures in an emerging economy. It argues for the necessity of separating these disclosures to address unique environmental impacts and stakeholder concerns.Design/methodology/approachUsing longitudinal data from environmentally sensitive firms (2014–2022), a disclosure index based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework was developed to quantify AWR separately. To address potential statistical issues such as endogeneity and selection bias, the analysis employed a set of robust regression models, including the industry fixed effects (FE) model, a lagged model and a two-stage least squares (2SLS) model.FindingsBoard size and audit committees positively influence all AWR disclosures, while foreign directors significantly impact air and renewable energy disclosures. Board meetings negatively affect water disclosures. Surprisingly, board independence shows no significant impact, and gender diversity has no notable relationship. Post-amendment, firms increased AWR disclosures, though participation remains limited.Research limitations/implicationsGrounded in legitimacy theory, this study contributes to the literature by demonstrating how separating the unique characteristics of AWR disclosures offers stakeholders more precise insights into how firms manage specific environmental concerns. The findings are based on data from listed firms in Bangladesh and may not be generalisable to unlisted firms or other regions.Practical implicationsThe study emphasises the importance of distinct AWR reporting, offering valuable insights for regulators and corporate boards to improve transparency and sustainability practices.Social implicationsSeparating AWR disclosures provides stakeholders with clearer assessments of firms' environmental performance, promoting accountability and informed decision-making.Originality/valueThis study uniquely emphasises the need for disaggregating air, water and renewable energy disclosures in emerging economies. By focussing on each environmental issue separately, the research highlights how distinct disclosures offer clearer insights into how firms address specific environmental challenges, such as air pollution, water management and the transition to renewable energy sources. This disaggregation is essential for stakeholders – particularly regulators, investors and policymakers – to assess and respond to firms' sustainability efforts accurately.

Perches used as environmental enrichment influence fast-growth broilers' biomechanics and locomotor morphometry at the age of 42 days.

Currently available conventional breeding methods for broilers often result in impaired biomechanics and skeletal growth for the animals. The addition of environmental enrichment is an alternative which can help alleviate these effects. This study examines the effects of environmental enrichment on biomechanics, morphometry, and bone mass of broilers across various age groups. In total, 112 Cobb 500 chicks (50% male and 50% female) were used in a completely randomized design experiment, with 56 broilers per treatment (T1 and T2), carried out in subdivided plots. Each plot was subjected to a different treatment, as follows: all plots were subjected to the treatments (T1 = environmental enrichment and T2 = no environment enrichment) and the sub-plots held the broilers' age groups (1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 and 42 days old). Eight broilers were euthanized on a weekly basis for two production cycles in order to perform morphometric (diameter and length) and biomechanical analysis of the response variables. These measurements were performed on the femur and tibia. Birds were subjected to classical linear fixed effects model and compared through Tukey's mean test. Significant interactions between environmental enrichment and broiler age were noticed, particularly at 42 days, which displayed bone development for all variables under study. Except for the length of the femur of broiler chickens (p = 0.4638). Therefore, simple effects will not be evaluated. Environmental enrichment had a notable impact on tibia length (p = 0.0035), femur weight (p = 0.0014), and tibia weight (p<0.0001) at 42 days, indicating a favorable effect on skeletal growth in broilers. Enrichment resulted in a 1% increase in femur inertia, a 2% rise in tibia inertia, and a 1% enhancement in ultimate bending stress for both bones, displaying improved structural integrity and durability. Beneficial changes in bone morphology and biomechanics were observed at 42 days after enrichment.

Assessing corporate climate action: Corporate climate policies and company-level emission reductions

Private investment decisions are expected to play a decisive role in redirecting capital flows in line with the Paris Agreement. The financial sector and policymakers have emphasized the role of corporate climate action and climate-related disclosure, including backward-looking emissions figures and forward-looking information on corporate climate policies to enable investors to reallocate capital to firms with promising emission reduction pathways. However, there is at best inconclusive evidence on the relationship between corporate climate policies and subsequent company-level emission reductions. Previous research was limited by small sample sizes and short observation periods, impeding the analysis of time-lagged effects or the inclusion of company-level fixed effects. To overcome these shortcomings, we draw on a new dataset with 17,198 observations from 1,749 companies that disclosed their corporate climate policies between 2010 and 2022. While our results show only a weak link between individual policies and company-level emissions, we find some evidence for an improved climate performance for absolute emissions for companies that introduced a comprehensive corporate climate policy mix. This is in line with public policy research that has found comprehensiveness to be an important dimension for public policy mixes and emphasizes the role of a mix of corporate climate policies rather than relying on individual measures.

Multiple Structural Breaks in Interactive Effects Panel Data Models

ABSTRACTThis paper develops new econometric methods for multiple structural break detection in panel data models with interactive fixed effects. The new methods include tests for the presence of structural breaks, estimators for the number of breaks and their location, and a method for constructing asymptotically valid break date confidence intervals. The new methodology is applied to a large panel of US banks for a period characterized by massive quantitative easing programs aimed at lessening the impact of the global financial crisis and the COVID‐19 pandemic. The question we ask is as follows: Have these programs been successful in spurring bank lending in the US economy? The short answer turns out to be: “No”.

Abstract 4132291: Assessing the Efficacy of Preventive Percutaneous Coronary Intervention vs Optimal Medical Therapy for the Treatment of Vulnerable Plaque: A Meta-analysis

Introduction: Rupture and thrombosis of lipid-rich atherosclerotic plaques (vulnerable plaques) contributes to majority of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Current guidelines recommend optimal medical therapy (OMT) for stabilization of vulnerable plaques. Recent evidence of preventive percutaneous intervention (PCI) as a targeted treatment shows improvement in outcomes in these patients. Hypothesis/Goals/Aims: We aim to evaluate the efficacy of preventive percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared to optimal medical therapy (OMT) for treatment of non-vulnerable plaque within five years of follow up from available selected randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Methods: PubMed, Cochrane, OVID, and NIH Clinical Trials were searched for RCTs evaluating preventive PCI compared to standard of care medical therapy. All trials reported primary common endpoints as death from cardiac cause and myocardial infarction (MI). Secondary outcomes included all-cause mortality, any revascularization, hospitalization for unstable and progressive angina, and composite death (any cause, MI, or any revascularization). Sub analyses for secondary outcomes were included if measured by RCT. A fixed effect model with Mantel-Haenszel statistical method was used to calculate risk ratios, Z scores, and a 95% confidence interval. Results: Ten RCTs (n=15955 patients) were included. Preventive PCI of vulnerable plaques revealed a significant benefit in lowering incidence of MI (RR: 0.86 [0.77, 0.86], p=0.01) and death from cardiac cause (RR: 0.73 [0.62, 0.86], p=0.004). Similarly, patients undergoing preventive PCI had a lower incidence of hospitalization for unstable or progressive angina (RR: 0.75 [0.62, 0.91], p&lt;0.0001) and composite death (RR: 0.55 [0.46, 0.67], p&lt;0.001). No difference was noted in all-cause mortality. Incidence of revascularization had a significant benefit with OMT therapy compared to preventive PCI (RR: 1.84 [1.75, 1.94], p&lt;0.0001). Conclusion: Preventive PCI in vulnerable plaque demonstrates cardiovascular benefit as a result from lower incidence of MI, death from cardiac cause, composite death and fewer hospitalization for unstable or progressive angina.

Exploring Gender Disparities in Prosecutorial and Judicial Decision-Making in the Global South: Evidence from Argentina

Objectives This study examines gender disparities in criminal cases from the earliest stages of prosecutorial decision-making in Argentina. Methods The data for this study are all alleged crimes reported to prosecutors in La Pampa, Argentina between January 2016 and July 2019 that had ended by August 2019. Logistic and multinomial regression models with judicial district-by-year fixed effects are used to estimate the probability of case-ending and other important decisions for counts with women as suspects vis-à-vis men. Results The results show that prosecutors are more likely to decline investigating crime reports with women as suspects. Once accepted for investigation, counts with women are also more likely to be dismissed and less likely to receive a conviction. Gender disparities also accumulate across decisions and are reflected in faster adjudications for women. The gender gap in disposition shrinks considerably for some women, most notably those with a prior conviction, providing some evidence of selective leniency. Conclusions This study shows that women are treated more leniently than men, from the earliest prosecutorial decisions and across major outcomes in a Global South country. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of theoretical frameworks developed in the Global North.

Forging a path to sustainability: the impact of Fintech on corporate ESG performance

Emerging development of Fintech has raised widespread attention to its important role in shaping corporate ESG performance despite little in-depth research. We study the impact of Fintech on corporate ESG performance using a comprehensive dataset covering major China’s firms over the past decade. The Fintech development at the city level is measured via an entropy method based on information gathering from firms and households. Drawn on a panel data estimation with two-way fixed effects, our findings show that corporate ESG performance improves with Fintech development. Promotion of green innovation, mitigation of financial mismatch, and environmental uncertainty are found to serve as the three mediating channels that drive the relationship between Fintech and corporate ESG performance. The positive impact of Fintech is shown to be more pronounced in firms with non-high-tech, non-high-polluting, and labor-intensive features. Further analysis indicates that Fintech strengthens in the enterprises’ green value through perspectives of green total factor productivity and green investment.

Research on the impact and mechanism of digital economy on China’s food production capacity

Enhancing and strengthening food production capacity has always been a top priority in agricultural research, serving as a cornerstone for ensuring national food security and stable economic development. This study, based on panel data spanning from 2011 to 2021 across 30 provinces in China, delves into the mechanism through which the digital economy impacts food production capacity. Employing a double fixed effect model, a mediation effect model, and a panel threshold model, we uncover several key findings: The digital economy significantly boosts food production capacity, with robustness tests affirming the reliability of our results. Mechanism analysis reveals that the digital economy enhances food production capacity by elevating total factor productivity and bolstering agricultural resilience. The threshold effect underscores that urbanization levels exhibit a single-threshold impact, wherein the influence of the digital economy on food production capacity intensifies upon crossing this threshold. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the digital economy significantly boosts food production capacity in central and primary grain-producing regions, while its impact is comparatively weaker in the eastern and western regions, as well as in non-primary grain-producing areas. In summary, this research sheds light on the pivotal role of the digital economy in augmenting food production capacity, offering valuable insights into regional variations and thresholds in its impact across China.

Revitalizing Agricultural Economy Through Rural E-Commerce? Experience from China’s Revolutionary Old Areas

Many of the world’s less developed regions may not be able to improve the well-being of rural residents through agricultural revitalization because of their remoteness from agricultural markets. Using the county-level data set of China’s underdeveloped old revolutionary base areas from 2010 to 2021, this paper takes the policy planning of rural e-commerce as event intervention to investigate the driving role of the digital product market on agricultural economic development. Empirical results show that rural e-commerce planning policy has significantly promoted the agricultural added value of the pilot counties, and the digital market is the key driving factor of the agricultural economic growth in these underdeveloped areas. Both food production and livestock output have increased significantly as a result of e-commerce policies. Considering the potential bias of the bidirectional fixed effect estimators of staggered differences-in-differences (DID), this study uses heterogeneous robust estimators to verify the growth effect of the agricultural economy. Specifically, digital agricultural markets have significantly promoted agricultural mechanization and significantly improved agricultural total factor productivity. Moreover, empirical evidence does not support transmission mechanisms for off-farm employment and agricultural entrepreneurship. The findings can help less developed countries and regions develop policies to expand the agricultural markets with digital dividends, thereby promoting the development of the agricultural economy.

Genetic insights into litter size in goats: A meta-analysis of KISS1 and BMP15 SNP variants

Litter size is a key trait in livestock breeding. The BMP15 and KISS1 genes have been studied in goats, but results on their association with litter size are inconsistent. The objective of this study was to employ a meta-analysis approach to investigate the genetic relationship between the BMP15 (g.735 G>A) and KISS1 (g.2540 C>T and g.2510 G>A) genes and litter size in goats. A total of five studies (including 12 breeds) were included for the g.735 G>A mutation, three studies (including nine breeds) for g.2540 C>T, and two studies (including six breeds) for g.2510 G>A in this meta-analysis. The meta-analysis was conducted under four different genetic models: recessive (GG + AG vs. AA), dominant (GG vs. AG + AA), additive (GG vs. AA) and codominant (GG + AA vs. AG) models of inheritance. Data were analyzed under either random or fixed effects models based on the estimates of I2 estimates. A sensitivity analysis was performed by removing one study at a time to determine the stability of the overall results. Funnel plots and the Egger regression tests were also used to assess the publication bias among studies. Significant associations (P< 0.05) were observed between the g.2540 C>T and g.2510 G>A loci and litter size in goats under the additive (SMD = −0.469, 95 % CI = −0.908 to −0.030, P-value = 0.036) and codominant (SMD = 0.147, 95 % CI = 0.003–0.291, P = 0.046) genetic models, respectively. Our results did not identify any significant association between g.735 G>A of BMP15 and litter size under the investigated genetic models.

Gender differences in longitudinal association of fear of falling with grip strength and depressive symptoms in older adults

The authors investigated the longitudinal associations of fear of falling (FOF) with grip strength and depressive symptoms. We also examined whether the longitudinal relationships are gendered. Data were obtained from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging from 2006 to 2018. A total of 6447 respondents from individuals aged 65 years or older (23,002 person-waves) were included. To account for the unobserved confounders, we estimated individual fixed effects (FE) regression models. Our results indicated that FOF is associated with grip strength and depressive symptoms. Older adults with fear of falling tend to have lower grip strength and great depressive symptoms. In gender-specific analyses, men with FOF are more likely to have lower grip strength and experience more depressive symptoms, while women with FOF are only more likely to present the latter. The authors of this study reveal the importance of managing FOF, which will help older adults age more healthily.

Club convergence in regional labor productivity: how do Australian states and territories compare to the US, UK, and Canadian subnational regions?

AbstractDeveloping strategies to enhance productivity growth requires identifying leading and lagging regions, industries, and growth drivers. However, there are limited cross-country studies using subnational data. Our study goes beyond the traditional country convergence approach and estimates labor productivity convergence using Philips and Sul’s club convergence approach and subnational data from 2004 to 2020. We aim to determine whether labor productivity growth rates in Australian states and territories are equal, converging, or divergent as compared to United States, United Kingdom, and Canadian subnational regions. The results show that five Australian jurisdictions, including Western Australia and New South Wales, are in the high labor productivity group (Club 1), while the remaining three i.e., Australian Capital Territory, Victoria, and Queensland, are in the moderate growth group (Club 2). We also used fixed effects models with least squares dummy variable estimators to identify the club’s characteristics. The results show that regions with a high proportion of employees in information and communications technology, energy, mining, and resources experienced higher labor productivity growth than those with a manufacturing sector. Human capital, innovation, and household disposable income were associated with high labor productivity, whereas high old-age dependency and children-to-women ratios were associated with lower growth. These results are consistent with the macroeconomic phenomenon that economic development leads to inequality and polarization in certain regions of a country. Nonetheless, the findings are useful for decision-makers and researchers to use in benchmarking and improving regional strategies by identifying regional peers and factors that influence convergence or divergence that can be improved. The results provide insightful findings for consideration by policymakers seeking to boost labor productivity or to bridge regional gaps in productivity.

The impact of smart classrooms on the core literacy of college English learners and the relationship between core literacy and learning outcomes: Evidence from China

College English major students are taken as the subjects of evaluation, applying learning analysis technology based on learning behaviour data sets and traditional evaluation and comprehensively using the analytic hierarchy process for index weighting and evaluation practice to construct a comprehensive evaluation index system for the core literacy of college English major students. Secondly, this study deeply examines the impact of smart classrooms on the core literacy of college English learners. By applying different regression models, including Ordinary Least Squares (OLS), fixed effects model, and dynamic lagged fixed effects regression, the research results consistently show that the smart English teaching model significantly improves the core literacy of college students. The regression coefficients of all models are between 0.2150 and 0.2818, and they are robust and reliable at a significance level of 1%. In addition, the study explores the role of academic resources as a mediating variable and finds that smart English classrooms improve students' English core literacy by increasing academic resources. Academic resources are confirmed to mediate the positive impact of smart English classrooms on students' English core literacy, producing a mediating effect of 30.78%. Using deep neural networks, this study further explores the complex relationship between core literacy and learning outcomes. Therefore, as an innovative teaching model, the application potential of smart English classrooms in improving students' English core literacy is significant.

The Influence of Perspective on Perception: Assessing Residue Across Planes of Videofluoroscopy.

(1) To determine whether perception of pharyngeal residue severity differs by view plane on videofluoroscopy. (2) To explore whether the Bolus Clearance Ratio (BCR) can be reliably applied in the anterior-posterior (AP) plane. (3) To investigate the relationship between perception of residue severity and BCR measures across view planes. Images of the same bolus condition in lateral and AP were rated using a simple 5-point ordinal descriptive scale (none, trace, mild, moderate, severe) by 225 speech-language pathologists via electronic survey. BCR measures were obtained for the same set of images from four trained raters. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and cumulative mixed modeling were used to compare ratings by plane. BCR reliability was calculated using intraclass correlation coefficients. Perceptual ratings were compared with BCR measures using Spearman correlations. (1) Perception of residue severity was not consistent across plane in 9/10 image pairs (p < 0.05), with a significant fixed effect of plane on severity rating (β = 0.41; z = 7.27; p < 0.001). The directionality of differences varied by case. (2) Inter-rater reliability for BCR measures was good across lateral (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.82) and AP (ICC = 0.87) planes, with superior intra-rater reliability in AP (lateral ICC = 0.85; AP ICC = 0.98). (3) There was a strong positive correlation between perceptual ratings and BCR measures in both planes. Perception of pharyngeal residue severity differs between lateral and AP planes with inconsistent directionality raising important questions about the clinical implications of single plane studies. The BCR shows good-excellent reliability and strong correlation with perception across planes, offering a promising method for cross-plane quantification. Level III, diagnostic study with a gold standard Laryngoscope, 2024.

Teen parent trap? The education and labor implications of motherhood and fatherhood during the transition from adolescence to Adulthood in Cebu, the Philippines

For both males and females, adolescent parenthood can affect human capital investments and labor market choices during the transition from adolescence to adulthood. However, only scant evidence exists on the educational and labor implications of adolescent motherhood in developing countries and there is none on adolescent fatherhood. Using fixed effects, linear, and hazard models on a matched sample, we examine the association between early parenthood and education and labor market outcomes for a cohort of adolescents using longitudinal data from Cebu, the Philippines. While we find that early parenthood is associated with poorer educational outcomes for both teen mothers and fathers, the association is stronger for mothers. Upon becoming parents, labor market participation reduces for teen mothers but increases for teen fathers. Teen parents (both mothers and fathers) face a higher hazard of leaving school early, but teen fathers exhibit a substantially higher hazard of entering the labor market earlier. In young adulthood, conditional on working, both teen mothers and fathers are more likely to be informally employed. This paper highlights the potential gains from delaying first childbirth for adolescent males and females.

Analysis of The Impact of Factors Affecting the Recovery of Small and Medium Enterprises in Vietnam with the Goal of Sustainable Development in the Context of Economic Crisis

Objective: The article analyzes the impact of various factors on the profitability of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Vietnam amidst an economic crisis, using a dataset of Vietnamese SMEs from 2016 to 2018 across different provinces nationwide. Method: Employing panel data regression techniques in two forms: Fixed Effects (FE) and Random Effects (RE) models to estimate the impact of factors on enterprise profitability. Results and Discussion: Through estimating the two models on the article's dataset, the RE model shows that the coefficients of the explanatory variables in the model are statistically significant, whereas the FE model's coefficients are not. The estimation results from the RE model indicate that all variables including equity value, number of foreign workers, number of sectors the enterprise operates in the dummy variable for state support, average labour cost, and the dummy variable for the main operating sector of the enterprise affect the profitability of the enterprise. The RE model results suggest that the most significant factors impacting enterprise profitability are the business sector and state support. We need to have policies that create favorable conditions for businesses to achieve sustainable development goals (SDG). Conclusions: Results from the estimated model show that the most important factors affecting business profits are the business sector and state support. The state and businesses need to take measures to innovate activities to help businesses develop sustainably during the economic crisis.

The joint effect of changes in urbanization and climate on trends in floods: A comparison of panel and single-station quantile regression approaches

Estimates of annual maximum (peak) flow quantiles are needed for basins undergoing changes in both urbanization and climate. Most previous work on the effect of urbanization on peak flows has considered urbanization alone and only the spatial variation in flood quantiles or its mean temporal effect, and most work on the effect of nonstationarity in climate has focused on single-station analyses, which give uncertain results for extreme quantiles. To address these gaps, three approaches to the statistical estimation of the joint effects of changes in impervious cover and climate on the estimation of peak-flow quantiles were compared: single-station quantile regression; a fixed effect panel-quantile regression (pQR) method using a location (mean) shift to homogenize the panel; and a location-scale panel regression model (pQRmom), which accounts for both scale (variance) and location effects. The different approaches were applied to a dataset consisting of instantaneous annual peak flows from 127 minimally nested basins in the midwestern United States with at least 4 % change in imperviousness. The annual maximum daily discharge from a water-balance model was selected as the primary climate predictor; in addition, to provide a comparison of climate predictors, precipitation was also considered. The coefficients from single-station regressions were usually sufficiently certain to determine the effects of climate variation but usually too uncertain to estimate the effects of urbanization. The panel-quantile regression approaches give much more certain results, but their estimates of quantile dependence differ: although both indicate urbanization effects decreasing with decreasing annual exceedance probability (AEP), the pQRmom urbanization coefficients are insignificantly different from zero for AEPs less than 0.10, whereas the pQR coefficients remain positive and are significant except for AEP = 0.01, the smallest AEP value considered. Although the location-scale structure of the pQRmom approach has less flexible quantile dependence than the pQR approach, the pQRmom approach has somewhat lower overall error, and it is found that by subsetting the dataset to homogenize the scale effects, the pQR and pQRmom results become similar, indicating the insignificant urbanization coefficients for small AEPs of the pQRmom results are likely correct for the study dataset.

Higher Education Investment, Human Capital Level, and High-Quality Economic Development: Evidence from Chinese Provincial Data

While extensive research has examined economic growth in China, the complex relationship between knowledge-based inputs and comprehensive development remains poorly understood, particularly at the provincial level. Previous studies have largely focused on traditional economic indicators, overlooking how education investment and human capital collectively shape multidimensional development outcomes across China's diverse regions. To address this gap, we construct a novel development index incorporating innovation, sustainability, and social progress metrics, analyzing panel data from 31 Chinese provinces (2000-2020) through two-way fixed effects models with instrumental variables. Our findings reveal that higher education investment significantly enhances comprehensive development, with this effect amplified in regions with greater human capital accumulation. Notably, regional heterogeneity analysis demonstrates stronger investment effectiveness in eastern provinces compared to central regions, while western provinces show no significant relationship. These results underscore the importance of regionally differentiated approaches to educational investment and human capital development, offering valuable insights for policymakers seeking to promote balanced growth across China's economically diverse landscape.