High-quality Economic Growth Research Articles

When Digital Economy Meets Web 3.0

As web technology continues to evolve, Web3.0 has gained significant attention for its decentralized features. The digital economy plays a crucial role in promoting high-quality economic growth and is currently expanding rapidly. However, the centralized nature of the Internet often leads to security challenges, such as data breaches and privacy violations. To address these issues, it is essential to explore how Web3.0 technologies can alleviate the difficulties faced in the digital economy. This paper discusses how Web3.0 can be integrated into the digital economy by examining recent advancements in areas like machine learning, finance, and data management. We hope this research will inspire both academics and industry professionals

How Does the “Belt and Road” Initiative Affect Debt Sustainability?

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has opened new financing channels, promoting sustainable debt management and high-quality economic growth in China and BRI-participating countries. This paper, using sample data from 64 BRI-participating countries and 40 non-BRI countries from 2002–2021, employs the difference-in-differences (DiD) method to examine BRI impacts on government debt sustainability. Empirical results passing robustness tests reveal heterogeneous effects. Findings indicate: first, the BRI enhances government debt sustainability in participating countries; second, government spending, foreign direct investment, and international trade moderate economic development; third, the BRI exhibits heterogeneity by income, debt levels, and growth rates. The study demonstrates the BRI alleviates “debt anxiety” and injects new momentum into global economic governance system improvement and innovation, ensuring stable macroeconomic operation and high-quality economic growth.

Understanding the new quality productive forces in the energy sector

The introduction of the term “new quality productive forces” (NQPF) in China signals its move towards cutting-edge technologies and innovation as the new drivers of economic growth. As it shifts from labor-tensive sectors towards advanced industries, the energy sector is also expected to experience significant regime switch. This paper discusses how the new term articulated by the top leadership will reshape China’s energy sector including its labor, technology, critical resource supply, and the industrial value chain. The development of NQPF not only affects labor landscape and technology development, but also bring about significant change in the industrial value chain in China’s energy sector. I summarize that NQPF refers to high-tech driven, and sustainability-oriented productivity with more radical rather than incremental innovation. Overall, the energy sector is the key domain for creating NQPF for high-quality economic growth and the new forces act as a significant catalyst in transforming the energy sector towards achieving green, low-carbon, and sustainable development.

How does ICT capital stock affect high-quality economic growth? Evidence from China

As an essential driving force to promote industrial upgrading and technological innovation, ICT has gradually become the technological support for high-quality economic growth. This paper adopts the improved perpetual inventory method and entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure China’s ICT capital stock and economic high-quality growth index, respectively, and experimentally examines the effect of the former on the latter. The findings show that the south has a more extensive ICT capital stock than the north, and the coastal region has a better high-quality growth index than the inland region. Meanwhile, high-quality economic growth, which has increased since 2009 and is incredibly robust in the south, positively correlates with ICT capital stock. Further research finds that ICT capital stock can boost high-quality economic growth by raising marketization and human capital. The results provide policy recommendations for enhancing high-quality economic growth.

The Impact of Digital Rural Construction on Rural Revitalization-Empirical Evidence from Chinese County Panel Data

High-quality economic growth across society is increasingly being driven by the quickly evolving digital economy, with digital villages integrated into various aspects of rural development, construction, and governance, providing essential digital support for achieving comprehensive rural revitalization. By employing county-level panel data from China spanning 2018 to 2020, the Rural Revitalization Index was constructed and applied at the county level, and empirical tests were performed in combination with the Digital Village Index. The results demonstrate that the establishment of digital villages greatly enhances the progress of rural revitalization, with the sub-dimensions of digitalized rural economies and rural lifestyles playing particularly positive roles. Based on this, the mechanisms through which digital village construction empowers rural revitalization were examined, with the process being summarized as “factor aggregation–entities cultivation–market integration.” Further analysis demonstrates that the empowerment effect of digital village construction on rural revitalization is more pronounced in counties that are not major grain producers, have longer road networks, and are located closer to Hangzhou. Thus, it is essential to continue advancing digital village initiatives, identify integration points based on rural functional roles and resource endowments, and explore pathways to fully realize their empowering effects on rural revitalization.

Mechanism of ESG System Construction Promoting Sustainable Financial Development under the "Dual Carbon" Goals

Abstract: China is advancing green and low-carbon development in a coordinated manner, and at the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, China officially proposed the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. The "dual carbon" strategy is an essential path to achieving green and sustainable development, as well as a necessary measure to enhance the momentum of high-quality economic growth. The construction of the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) system is a crucial factor influencing the development of green finance, and the importance of green finance and sustainable development for high-quality corporate and social development is further elevated. This paper analyzes the significance of ESG system construction for the green transition of the economy and society. Based on the development status of ESG practices domestically and internationally, and grounded in the issues and needs of the domestic economic and social green transition, this study explores the mechanism by which ESG system construction promotes the sustainable development of finance.

Impact of Digital Economy on Carbon Emissions and Its Mechanism: Evidence from China

Advancing the digital economy while curbing carbon emissions is essential for fostering high-quality economic growth. Based on China’s provincial panel data from 2011 to 2021, this study adopts an empirical model to investigate the direct influence of digital economic development on carbon emissions and utilizes both a mediating effects model and a moderating effects model to explore the transmission mechanism of green technological innovation and the moderating effect of R&D investment. The research results indicate that the following: (1) The digital economy contributes to carbon emissions reduction. (2) The analysis of heterogeneity demonstrates that the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions is pronounced in the eastern and central regions of China but is insignificant in the western provinces. Furthermore, the carbon mitigation effect of the digital economy is more potent in regions with high marketization compared to those with low marketization. (3) The mediation effect analysis shows that green technology innovation plays a transmitting role between the digital economy and carbon emissions reduction. (4) The moderating effect test reveals that R&D investment enhances the digital economy’s ability to reduce carbon emissions. The conclusions highlight the need to optimize digital economy development and strengthen green technology innovation to achieve carbon emissions reduction.

Utilizing Investment in Fixed Assets and R&D as a Catalyst for Boosting Productivity to Stimulate Economic Growth

Investments form the basis for high-quality economic growth by ensuring renewal of production capacities and improvement of technologies and processes, thereby increasing labor productivity. Investment research is key to understanding its impact on the country’s economic advancement and more effective government policymaking to stimulate investment activity. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between fixed capital and R&D investments and labor productivity growth, as well as to determine the optimal level of these investments in determining the greatest effect on labor productivity growth. We use a regression model and the least squares method to empirically analyze data for seven countries for the period between 1997 and 2022. We calculate estimated values using SPSS and Python. The results show a certain impact of fixed assets and R&D investments on labor productivity growth. However, the payoff varies across the countries under study. Furthermore, despite its relatively small volumes, investment in R&D brings a greater effect on productivity growth than investment in fixed capital. With other factors remaining constant, the calculated optimums for investments in fixed assets and R&D show maximum points of growth in labor productivity.

Identification of Ecological Compensation Zones and Compensation Amounts: A Case Study of the Yellow River Delta

Accurately identifying ecological compensation areas and scientifically determining appropriate compensation amounts are crucial for establishing a robust ecological compensation mechanism, which in turn is key to promoting the coordinated development of ecological protection and high-quality economic growth. This study innovatively proposes a framework for ecological compensation termed “Accounting of Ecosystem Services Value–Identification of Priorities for Payers and Recipients–Calculation of Ecological Compensation Amount (ESV–PPR–ECA)”. It utilizes the InVEST model and the emergy method to assess the value of ecosystem services, constructs the Ecosystem Payment and Recipient Priority Sequence (EPRPS) Model to identify the payers, recipients, and their priorities for ecological compensation, and employs the conversion factor method to calculate the Ecological Compensation Amount (ECA). This framework aims to address the questions of “How should compensation be provided?”, “Who should compensate whom?”, and “How much compensation is necessary?”, ensuring the optimal use of ecological compensation funds and providing a scientific basis for inter-regional ecological compensation. The study’s findings indicate that the total Ecological Compensation Amount for the Yellow River Delta in 2020 was 3.848 billion RMB, with the total amount receivable being 4.032 billion RMB and the total amount payable being 184 million RMB. The compensation funds should be prioritized for tideland and the Yellow River, and venture, cropland and industrial land should be the first to contribute compensation. Additionally, the Ecosystem Service Value of the Yellow River Delta showed a declining trend from 2015 to 2020, underscoring the urgent need to establish a horizontal compensation mechanism for the region. Such a mechanism would incentivize environmental protection and the construction of ecological civilization, ultimately enhancing ecosystem service functions. Therefore, we recommend the implementation of horizontal fiscal transfers, where financial assistance is provided from paying areas to recipient areas, offering a scientific reference for the establishment of a horizontal compensation mechanism within the Yellow River Delta.

How megacities can achieve carbon peak through structural adjustments: an input–output perspective

Abstract There is still a huge gap between the emissions pathways of megacities and the pathways to meeting the targets set by the Paris agreement. Compared with technological emission reductions, structural emission reduction can provide cities with more stable and sustainable carbon-peaking solutions. This study constructs a scenario-based input–output optimization model, adopting a novel carbon emission accounting method for purchased electricity that considers shared responsibility, and systematically evaluates the decarbonization paths of megacities and their impacts on economic growth, energy consumption, and carbon emissions. The results show that (a) through industry substitution and manufacturing restructuring, Shenzhen is projected to peak at 57.68 MtCO2 emissions in 2026, with a 10.57% energy and a 19.55% carbon reduction by 2030. (b) Shenzhen can achieve its carbon emission peak target through the energy transition while accepting a loss of 0.97%–3.23% of GDP, requiring the maximum economic concession of 16.45% from the transportation sector (S10) in the early stage of transformation, while 12.24% from the extractive industry (S2) in the later stage. (c) The comprehensive structure adjustment proved to be more effective than other mitigation approaches, capable of achieving high-quality economic growth of 6.4% during the study period while reaching a peak target of 53.55 million tons of CO2 by 2026. (d) The emission reduction effect of the power sector was the most significant among all the scenarios, with emission reduction rates between 6.26% and 35.63%, and the cumulative emission reduction potential reached 38.1–110.6 MtCO2. The priority for emission reduction in the power sector is the coal phase-out plan, which is essential for achieving these significant reductions. This study provides an important reference for megacities facing similar challenges, especially those in developing countries, to achieve a stable and sustainable carbon peak pathway through structural adjustment.

Impact of Natural Gas Peak Shaving on High-Quality Economic Development

As energy demand continues to grow, the enhancement of natural gas storage and peaking capacity has become an important measure to ensure national energy security and to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. Gas storage and peaking have mature development models in the international arena, and China is making every effort to develop this system. This study reveals the impact and promotion of natural gas storage and peaking technology on high-quality economic growth in different regional economic environments through sample data from 30 provinces in China, from 2006 to 2022. The results show that natural gas storage and peaking directly promote high-quality economic development and have a positive spatial spillover effect on high-quality development in neighboring regions, a finding verified by the robustness test and endogeneity test. A heterogeneity analysis further revealed that there are significant differences among eastern, central, and western regions in terms of natural gas storage and peaking capacity and quality of economic development. The eastern region has a stronger gas storage and peaking capacity, while the central and western regions have a weaker capacity. Mechanism analysis shows that R and D technology (RDT) efficiency and green finance have a positive moderating effect on the benchmark effect. This has significant implications for policymakers and business leaders, suggesting that peak gas storage and peaking can drive improvements in broader regional corporate sustainability practices and increase regional levels of high-quality development.

The Impact of Supply Chain Finance on the Investment Efficiency of Publicly Listed Companies in China Based on Sustainable Development

The development and utilization of supply chain finance play a pivotal role in both enhancing financial structures and delivering substantial support for the sustainable progress of the real economy. This assistance is essential for promoting high-quality economic growth and ensuring stable, long-term development. This study empirically examines the effects of supply chain finance on investment efficiency, exploring the underlying mechanisms involved. Additionally, it assesses whether financing constraints and information asymmetry serve as mediating variables in the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency among enterprises. The analysis is based on data from publicly listed companies in China covering the period from 2013 to 2022. The results indicate that supply chain finance effectively addresses both overinvestment and underinvestment issues, leading to a notable improvement in overall investment efficiency. Utilizing a two-way fixed effects model to analyze the role of financing constraints and information asymmetry as mediating variables, the study demonstrates that both factors significantly mediate the relationship between supply chain finance and investment efficiency within enterprises. Supply chain finance improves investment efficiency by mitigating financing constraints and lessening information asymmetry between enterprises and external stakeholders. The heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive impact of supply chain finance on investment efficiency is notably greater in non-state-owned enterprises and in regions with more advanced development.

The impact of digital finance on green economic development: A literature review

Green economic development has become an essential pathway to achieving high-quality economic growth, while digital finance represents a prominent trend in global financial advancement. The rapid expansion of digital finance in China has spurred extensive research in this domain. This study systematically combes the literature on digital finance and green economic development. Initially, it delineates the conceptual definition of digital finance, measurement indices and the conceptual definition of green economic development, identifies the key influencing factors. Subsequently, it synthesizes empirical findings on how digital finance influences the growth of green economy from economic, environmental, and energy perspectives. The economic perspective is divided into macroeconomic impacts, mechanisms of influence, and microeconomic aspects; the environmental perspective focuses on the pollution effects and carbon emission reduction attributable to digital finance, and the energy perspective reviews literature on improvements in energy efficiency and reductions in energy intensity driven by digital finance. Finally, the paper offers a comprehensive summary of current research trends and future directions in the field. It emphasizes the need for enhanced digital finance index systems, robust risk control and regulation, and a balanced approach to fostering a genuine green economy. Additionally, it highlights potential future research avenues, such as the effects of digital finance on government policies, foreign trade, environmental pollution, and energy utilization.

Can Artificial Intelligence Effectively Improve China’s Environmental Quality? A Study Based on the Perspective of Energy Conservation, Carbon Reduction, and Emission Reduction

The “technological dividends” brought by AI development provide a new model for the country to achieve green governance, enhance enterprises’ ability to manage pollutant emissions during production and operations, and create a new driving force for improving environmental quality. In this regard, this paper systematically examines the impact of AI on environmental quality in China by employing provincial panel data spanning from 2000 to 2020. Focusing on energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation, the analysis is conducted through the application of a two-way fixed-effects model and mediation effects model to explore both the effects and the mechanisms of AI’s influence on environmental quality. The findings indicate that the development and implementation of AI contribute positively to China’s efforts in energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation, ultimately leading to an enhancement in environmental quality. This conclusion remains valid after multiple robustness checks. Mechanism tests reveal that the optimization of regional energy structures, advancements in green technological innovation, and upgrades in industrial structures serve as crucial pathways through which AI facilitates energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation. Heterogeneity analysis uncovers a notable “path dependence” effect in China’s AI development; regions characterized by higher material capital investment, more advanced technological market development, and greater levels of marketization experience a relatively more pronounced impact of AI on the enhancement of environmental quality. This study offers direct references and practical insights for countries globally to foster AI development, enhance environmental quality, and advance high-quality economic growth amid the ongoing wave of digital and intelligent transformation.

Green finance and grey air: Assessing the impact of green finance pilot zones on company-level pollution in China

Abstract To achieve sustainable and high-quality economic growth, China introduced the Pilot Zones for Green Finance Reform and Innovations in 2017. While this policy aims to promote the green transition of businesses and has drawn significant attention, its micro-operational mechanism and firm-level impact remain largely unexplored. This study addresses this research gap by employing a quasi-experimental approach to examine the policy’s effects on companies. The empirical results of our research highlight an unexpected 5.53% surge in the PM2.5 concentration levels in the vicinity of these firms. Given these findings, we call on policymakers to reflect on the environmental consequences following the roll-out of the Green Finance Reform. Simultaneously, we stress the significance of corporate responsibility in disclosing pertinent indicators and environmental data.

Carbon Kuznets curve in China: Nighttime light analysis in prefecture-level cities

Analysing the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions may help China to determine how to reduce carbon emissions. This study examined 221 Chinese prefecture-level cities using data from 2003 to 2018 to investigate the possible inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, based on per capita nighttime light brightness. This revealed a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita nighttime and carbon emissions with a per capita GDP of 139.8 thousand Yuan corresponding to the turning point. For China to achieve its carbon emissions peak before 2030, the per capita GDP growth rate would need to be at least 6.6 %. Therefore, for help prefecture-level cities to achieve peak carbon, they must strive towards high-quality economic growth and accelerate transformation of economic growth modes to improve low-carbon pilot policies, and such projects should be implemented in more cities. Efforts to achieve peak should be accelerated first in eastern cities and later in western cities.

Realities of economic growth and development in the post-soviet countries

The article discusses issues of high-quality economic growth and development that create the foundations for sustainability and stability. An analysis of factors influencing changes in the macroeconomic situation for 2015–2022/2023 is presented. The current situation in the countries of the former USSR is considered. The main reasons limiting economic growth and development are identified, and mechanisms for overcoming them are revealed. The need to pay more attention to qualitative indicators of economic growth and development, which create the foundations of sustainability, is substantiated. In the current conditions, the qualitative component of economic growth and development is becoming increasingly important due to the increasing influence of global problems, risks, uncertainty, sanctions, and local wars. The pandemic had a certain impact on the country's economic growth, which revealed the need for sustainable financing of public investment to achieve a certain level of economic growth and development, tax revenues. The pandemic has contributed to increasing the importance of innovative projects. The adopted programs, concepts and road maps contribute to the formation of a competitive innovative industrial complex. All this, in turn, will create the basis for a qualitative improvement of the country’s existing production potential and contribute to the transition to a predominantly innovative type of development. It is advisable to realistically reflect the current situation, not to turn a blind eye to the real positive changes taking place in the country, which contribute not only to its economic, but, above all, to its political strengthening of its position in the world. The essence of economic planning is not to give a project, but to determine a direction that is adjusted depending on the situation. Economics must justify economic activity and the following chain can be shown schematically: idea – ​economic justification – ​real implementation.

Assessing the influence of tourism development, via renewable energy and green finance in achieving high-quality economic development

This study empirically examines the influence of tourism development, renewable energy and green finance (GF) on high-quality economic development. Using data from 33 years of data in China from 1990 to 2022, this study applies Gregory Hansen analysis to investigate the relationships between tourism development (TD), renewable energy (RE), green finance, and high-quality economic development (HQED), and accepts a Spatial auto regressive. This study demonstrates that tourism development plays a crucial role in promoting high-quality economic growth by positively impacting all three of its components. Moreover, the utilization of renewable energy further enhances the beneficial influence of green finance on the promotion of superior economic growth (EG), while also impacting the correlation between foreign direct investment (FDI) and superior economic growth. Our study suggests three policy recommendations for policymakers based on these findings. These recommendations include strengthening the integration of tourism development with GF, establishing an environmental disclosure framework to oversee local governments in enhancing the effectiveness of GF, and implementing medium- and long-term favorable policies as an external intervention strategy to encourage green finance in the private sector.

The Role Of The Green Economy, Technological Innovation, Stock Market Advantages In Sustainable Development

A green economy to achieve sustainable development provides technological innovation and stock market profits in a sustainable social and environmental economy. To accelerate the transition to an environmentally friendly economy, companies need to understand the impact of implementing environmentally friendly policies and activities on the economy. Results show that green economic growth policies produce future aggregate stock market returns are lower, consistent with the perceived reduction in risk argument by investors. As this research increases our understanding of how the transition to a more sustainable green economy can impact the aggregate profitability of financial markets, implementing a green economy is important to implement appropriate measures to support it sensitively without incurring large costs that adversely impact the health of the economy. Increasing the driving force of technological innovation is the need to comply with environmentally friendly transformation in the economy and realize high-quality economic growth in technological innovation that does not provide support for green economic growth, but over time the impact of technological innovation on economic growth will change to positive. This shows that increasing the ability of technological innovation to encourage environmentally friendly economic efficiency.

Coupling coordination degree measurement and spatial characteristics analysis of green finance and technological innovation -Empirical analysis based on China

The coordinated development of green finance and technological innovation is a key driver of China's high-quality economic growth and therefore deserves close attention. But are green finance and technological innovation really coordinated? This study establishes a coordinating coupling system to link green finance and technological innovation. 2010–2021 is chosen as the observation period, and 31 provinces in China are selected for study. This paper uses the coupling coordination model to investigate the development of the coupling coordination of technological innovation and green finance, and discusses its spatial distribution by the Moran index. The results show that, overall, the degree of coupling coordination between green finance and technological innovation shows a consistent upward trend. The trend is particularly strong in the East. Moreover, the coordination coupling between green finance and technological innovation has the spatial effect. And it shows a binary characteristic, with a decreasing trend observed from coastal to inland regions. These results remained valid after replacing weight matrix and sample size.The above findings have important policy implications for optimising the synergistic development of green finance and technological innovation and achieving high-quality economic development.