High Human Capital Research Articles

Can smart cities improve energy resilience? Evidence from 229 cities in China

Energy security is a crucial component of national economic stability and growth. Given current technological limitations, improving management strategies is essential for safeguarding energy resources. Digital technologies play a pivotal role in enhancing management efficiency, thus contributing to energy security. As a key element of modernization, smart cities leverage digital solutions to drive urban development and have the potential to catalyze an energy revolution. Nevertheless, the relationship between energy security and smart cities remains underexplored, creating gaps in policy-making and implementation. This study, leveraging the smart city pilot policies enacted in 2012, 2013, and 2015, utilizes a sample of 229 prefecture-level cities covering the period from 2010 to 2020. Employing the Propensity Score Matched Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) model, the research assesses smart city policies’ impact on energy resilience. The results show that smart city policies significantly enhance energy resilience through three separate pathways: optimizing resource allocation, upgrading industrial structure, and promoting technological progress. Notably, smart city polices have more beneficial effects on the city characterized by low fiscal expenditure, being populous, resource-based, having high human capital, and being located in eastern region. This study aids in the improvement and promotion of smart city policies, thereby enhancing energy resilience and achieving sustainable urban development.

How Government Subsidies Facilitate the Digital Transformation of Suppliers

Digital transformation is increasingly recognized as a key driver of sustainable development, enabling suppliers to improve efficiency, reduce resource consumption, and adapt to changing market demands. However, it remains a challenging process for suppliers, often hindered by resource and capacity constraints. This study investigates how government subsidies can facilitate supplier digital transformation, considering supply chain diffusion and local government competition dynamics. Using data from A-share listed companies in China between 2010 and 2021, our analysis reveals that government subsidies significantly promote supplier digital transformation by encouraging a more diversified downstream customer base. Moreover, customer digital transformation can facilitate supplier digital transformation, but spillover effects are higher within the same jurisdiction than across different jurisdictions. This study further identifies that the impact of government subsidies is more pronounced under higher opportunistic risk but is constrained by systemic risk. Additionally, suppliers with higher human capital and a smaller digital divide with customers exhibit greater effectiveness in adopting innovation diffusion. These findings provide valuable insights into optimizing local government subsidies policies to enhance supplier digital transformation and contribute to the broader goal of sustainable development.

Financial integration and economic growth in Africa

The main objective of this article is to assess the link between financial integration and economic growth in African countries during the period 1990-2017. To achieve this goal, we used a dynamic panel model using the generalized method of moments (GMM) in first difference with threshold effects on a sample of 29 African countries. The results of the estimates reveal, on the one hand, that the countries that benefit from the benefits of financial integration on economic growth are those with high trade and financial openness, high human capital, low inflation, democratic regime, and high public expenditure. On the other hand, these results indicate that financial integration is associated with a low probability of surviving a banking crisis in the countries studied. Thus, the governments of African countries must implement policies aimed at a progressive liberalization of trade and financial activities, coupled with the implementation of macroeconomic stability policies and the improvement of the quality of the institutional environment, which determines the impact of financial integration on economic growth.

Does the digital economy improve female autonomy?

Based on China's long-term implementation of gender equality, the rapid development of the digital economy has provided new opportunities for improving female autonomy and releasing the “gender dividend”. This study explores the impact of the digital economy on female autonomy, using digital economy index we constructed and the 2014-2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. We find that the development of the digital economy can significantly improve female autonomy, both economically and spiritually. Meanwhile, the digital economy can also alleviate the “marriage penalty” and “motherhood penalty”. Furthermore, we find that digital economy's career guarantee effect and capital consolidation effect are important mechanisms, which can promote women's participation in employment, as well as enable them to have higher human capital and social capital.

Remittance as reactive transnationalism: The role of perceived unfairness among immigrants in South Korea

AbstractDespite numerous studies on the economic transnational connections of immigrants, focusing mainly on remittances to their home countries, the remittance behaviours and related factors of immigrants in South Korea, a country experiencing increased racial and ethnic diversity, remain relatively understudied. Applying a resource‐dependent and reactive transnationalism framework, this study examines the associations between assimilation, human capital, and immigrants' remittance behaviours. Additionally, we investigate whether perceived unfairness moderates these relationships, reflecting reactive transnationalism. Utilizing data from a 2021 Survey on Immigrants' Living Conditions and Labor Force (N = 7981), we delve into various remitting behaviours, including remittance frequency, the share of monthly remittances in expenditures, and the total remittance amount. The independent variables include assimilation indicators (length of stay in Korea and intention to remain), human capital factors (education and income) and perceived unfairness in the workplace. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these relationships. Our findings support both linear and resource‐dependent transnationalism: assimilation and human capital levels are associated with immigrants' remittance behaviours. However, the interaction between perceived unfairness and reactive transnationalism was observed specifically for human capital, indicating that immigrants with higher human capital are more responsive to unfairness and discrimination. As a result, they may want to increase their self‐esteem by sending money back to their home country. This study not only contributes to understanding immigrant remittance behaviours in South Korea but also highlights the conceptual significance of examining remittance behaviours through reactive transnationalism, particularly the critical role of perceived unfairness among highly skilled immigrants.

How can new farmers improve their entrepreneurial performance? Qualitative comparative analysis based on fuzzy sets

Based on the configuration theory, this paper discusses the multiple concurrent causes and causal complex mechanisms affecting the performance differences among different new farmers. Using the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method, taking 40 cases of CCTV’s “ZHI FU JING” column as samples, the paper analyzes the necessary conditions for new farmers to produce high performance by the anthefactory-variable configuration composed of human capital, social capital, psychological capital, entrepreneurial learning and entrepreneurial opportunity identification. The results show that: (1) high human capital is the necessary core condition for new farmers to produce high entrepreneurial performance, lack of high entrepreneurial learning and lack of high entrepreneurial opportunity identification is the core necessary condition for low entrepreneurial performance; (2) the driving mechanism of new farmers’ high entrepreneurial performance is divided into three paths, and the driving mechanism of new farmers’ low entrepreneurial performance is divided into two paths; and (3) the ways of inhibiting new farmers’ performance and promoting their performance are asymmetrical.

Patent pledge and corporate risk-taking: A quasi-natural experiment from China's patent pledge pilot

Intellectual property pledge financing, as a novel financing method, plays a significant role in alleviating financial constraints for enterprises and encouraging them to increase their risk-taking levels. Empirical research results demonstrate that patent pledging significantly enhances the risk-taking levels of enterprises. Further studies reveal that the effect of patent pledging on enhancing corporate risk-taking is more pronounced in samples with greater financing constraints and higher human capital. These research findings provide substantial micro-level evidence for the state to further promote the objectives of the patent pledge policy.

Location-Specificity and Relocation Incentive Programs for Remote Workers

The precipitous growth of remote work has given rise to a new phenomenon: the emergence of relocation incentive programs that localities use to compete for the physical presence of remote workers. Remote workers with high general human capital may create value for their new destinations and reverse net talent outflow from smaller cities in middle America and globally. However, localities seeking to attract, retain, and create value from remote workers face significant challenges because such workers may have a low attachment to their new destination. Analogizing these challenges to the problem of creating and capturing value from workers with general human capital, we argue that localities can benefit from using relocation incentive program by leveraging location-specific attributes that create value for the individual and the locality. We examined these ideas in the context of Tulsa Remote, a program that provides relocation incentives and a bundle of services to increase engagement and embeddedness in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We found that Tulsa Remote increased community engagement, real income, and entrepreneurship of remote workers, benefiting both the community and the individual. Tulsa Remote increased the worker’s willingness to stay, and local community engagement is a key driver of this relationship. This work thus suggests that location specificity enables localities to both create and capture value from remote workers. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2023.17712 .

The Effect of Human Capital, Economic Anxiety, And Political Ideologies on Immigrant Health Perceptions: a Between-Subjects Experimental Approach

This research examines the factors that influence health-related stereotypes against immigrants, with a focus on how human capital, conservative ideology, and economic anxiety impact these perceptions across different immigrant groups in the United States. The study uses Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis of data from the 2020 Collaborative Multi-racial Post-Election Survey to assess attitudes towards all immigrants, as well as specifically Mexican and Chinese immigrants. Objective: Health stereotypes often depict immigrants as carriers of diseases and burdens on society, which affect public opinion and policy. This study aims to analyze the roles of human capital, political ideology, and economic conditions in shaping these stereotypes. Method: Using OLS regression, the analysis explores the association between stereotyping and various predictors, including conservative ideology (measured objectively and subjectively), human capital, and economic anxiety. Disaggregating the data by immigrant group allows for nuanced insights into the interplay of these factors. Results: The results reveal moderate levels of stereotyping across all groups, with variations by immigrant origin. Objective measures of conservative ideology show a strong correlation with increased stereotyping, particularly against Mexican immigrants. Higher human capital is associated with reduced stereotyping, while economic anxiety consistently exacerbates negative stereotypes across all groups. Furthermore, Republican affiliation and racial identity are correlated with heightened stereotyping, especially against Chinese immigrants. Discussion: The findings highlight the complexity of the factors contributing to health-related stereotypes and emphasize the importance of addressing educational and economic elements to mitigate these biases. Tailored interventions that take into account the distinct dynamics of each immigrant group are crucial for reducing stereotypes and improving integration and health outcomes.

SOCIAL CAPITAL IN INDONESIA: LITERATURE REVIEW

Social capital and human capital are two interconnected and mutually reinforcing concepts. Social capital refers to social networks, interpersonal relationships, social norms, and trust within a community, while human capital emphasizes knowledge, skills, education, experience, and individual attributes that enhance productivity and economic value. Recent research indicates that an increase in human capital, such as higher education, improved skills, and broader experiences, can enhance the development of social capital within communities. This is because individuals with high human capital are more likely to engage in social activities and build relationships with others. Strong social capital can also promote the development of human capital through cooperation, access to information, and extensive social networks. This is because social capital can facilitate the sharing of information, resources, and support. Therefore, social capital and human capital are two crucial concepts that should be considered in economic and social development efforts. By enhancing both of these concepts, we can create more productive, prosperous, and sustainable societies.

Location choice of foreign direct investment in technical KIBS in China: impact of human capital and intellectual property rights protection

PurposeThis study considers the “technology creation” characteristic of technical knowledge-intensive business services (T-KIBS) and examines how human capital and intellectual property rights (IPR) protection affect the location choice of foreign direct investment (FDI) in China for two types of T-KIBS: (1) information transmission, software and information technology (ICT) services and (2) scientific research and technology (SCI) services.Design/methodology/approachOur empirical analysis is based on panel data on 22 Chinese provinces from 2009 to 2017. We use the generalized method of moments estimation for the regression analysis.FindingsFDI in ICT services prefers regions with high human capital, while FDI in SCI services favors regions with good IPR protection.Research limitations/implicationsFuture research could use more comprehensive data and qualitative interviews to enhance the findings.Practical implicationsThese findings provide a foundation for China’s future policy on attracting FDI into T-KIBS, especially in areas related to human capital and IPR protection.Originality/valueThis study bridges the research gap on the FDI location choice of T-KIBS in China by clarifying the influences of human capital and IPR protection and providing theoretical support for the location choice of T-KIBS FDI.

Digital transformation, total factor productivity, and firm innovation investment

In the context of the digital economy, empowering firm innovation investment through digital transformation is an important strategy for promoting innovation development in China. This study investigates the effects and mechanisms of digital transformation on firm innovation investment from the perspective of total factor productivity, using a sample of manufacturing companies listed on the A-share market in China from 2012 to 2021. The following three main findings were obtained. First, results of both fixed- and random-effects regression methods revealed that digital transformation significantly promotes firms’ innovation investment. This conclusion remains robust after controlling for endogeneity issues using the instrumental variable method and replacing the explanatory variable measurement methods. Second, stepwise regression analysis revealed a negative mediating mechanism of total factor productivity (TFP) in the impact of digital transformation on the level of firm innovation investment. The main reason for this is that an improvement in TFP intensifies the competition for capital and labor input between the production and innovation departments. Third, the group regression for heterogeneity analysis found that the overall effect of digital transformation on firm innovation investment is significantly positive in groups with low financing constraints and high human capital, but not significant in groups with high financing constraints and low human capital. Moreover, the negative mediating mechanism of TFP is significantly valid in all groups, further validating the competition between the production and innovation departments for capital and labor input. Based on the findings of this study and from the perspective of governance by the Chinese government, three policy recommendations are proposed to empower firm innovation development through digital transformation.

Confronting or incorporating middle-class nation-building? Right-wing responses in the pan-Canadian context

ABSTRACT Canada is often praised for successfully integrating ethnically diverse immigrants into its multicultural nation, so successful indeed that the country has been considered an exception to the twenty-first-century right-wing populist wave. The recent ascent of political mobilization associated with right-wing populist repertoires across Canada, however, has exposed the need to revisit the exceptionalism thesis. With this goal in mind, our article examines the contemporary right-wing responses to the Liberal Party of Canada’s (LPC) post-2015 discourses and policies on immigration and multiculturalism. Building on existing scholarship, we first characterize the LPC’s approach as a nation-building project with strong middle-class partialities that emphasize high skills and human capital. We then explore how right-wing parties oppose or embrace this ‘middle-class nation-building’. Qualitatively analyzing the platforms of center-right parties and those further to the right at the federal and provincial levels (Alberta and Québec), we observe three prevalent response types: those that follow a cultural logic to prioritize identity and values, an economic logic to underline merit and contribution, or a combination of the two. Besides modulating the Canadian exceptionalism thesis, our findings complicate the assumed dichotomy between market-based and cultural forms of nationalism, as political actors can merge them in various permutations.

A Typology of Micropolitan Areas in the United States

In 2003, the U.S. Census Bureau created a new census designation known as micropolitan statistical areas to better differentiate between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. This article uses hierarchical clustering and discriminate analysis to create a typology of micropolitan areas using U.S. census data on demographic, housing, and economic characteristics. The regional concentration ratio (RCR) is then used to determine whether a cluster type is over- or underrepresented at the census division. The analysis revealed a three-cluster solution with: (1) a middle- class cluster overrepresented in the East North Central and West North Central divisions; (2) a poor, minority cluster overrepresented in the South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, and Mountain divisions; and (3) a high human capital cluster overrepresented in the New England, Mountain, and Pacific divisions. Of micropolitan areas, 59.8 percent were considered middle-class; 28.1 percent were poor, minority; and 12.1 percent were high human capital. The nine-cluster solution further refined cluster categories.

The Impact of Social Integration Factors on the Residency Intention of Young College Students

This study utilizes data from the 2017 National Dynamic Monitoring Survey of Floating Population to select young college students and establish a binary logistic regression model to explore the impact of social integration factors on the residency intention of young college students. Furthermore, an exploratory analysis is conducted on young college students in the intention stage. The study shows that 58.82% of young college students have a long-term residency intention. The higher the level of economic integration, institutional matching, cultural integration, social participation, and psychological identification, the greater the likelihood of their willingness to reside long-term. The key factor influencing the residency choice of young college students in the intention stage is the familys monthly income. In order to retain young college students with higher human capital and lay the foundation for high-quality and sustainable urban development, relevant policies should be implemented to increase their income, enhance job stability, and provide them with humanistic care and opportunities for social participation.

An assessment of the impact of the digital economy on the adaptive reform of the tax system based on data analysis

Abstract The digital economy is playing an increasingly important role in economic development and has a non-negligible impact on the innovative development of the tax system. The study measures two aspects of the digital economy and the effectiveness of tax system reform (tax governance capacity and tax administration efficiency) and constructs a benchmark model through a panel Tobit regression model and a spatial regression model. The impact of the digital economy on the effectiveness of tax system reform is empirically analyzed. The digital economy shows a significant correlation with the effectiveness of tax system reform. The regression coefficients of the digital economy on the effectiveness of tax system reform in the eastern, central, and western regions are 1.586, -1.762, and 2.153, respectively. The differences in the coefficients between the groups in the east and the center and the west and the center are 3.486 and 3.896, respectively, which indicates that the development of the digital economy has a more significant effect on the improvement of the effectiveness of tax system reform in the western region and the east. However, it is less beneficial to the effectiveness of the reform of the tax system in the central region than in the central region. The effect of tax system reform is less beneficial. The digital economy can play a significant role in promoting the reform of the tax system in both regions with high and low levels of human capital, but it has a greater effect on improving the effectiveness of the reform of the tax system in regions with high human capital.

Remittances and economic growth: a blessing for middle-income countries, ineffective for low-income countries

PurposeThis study investigates the impact of international remittances on the economic growth of remittance-receiving countries, using data from 113 developing countries between 1990 and 2015.Design/methodology/approachThe authors used a novel approach to address the potential endogeneity of remittances. The authors estimated bilateral remittances and use them to create weighted indicators of remittance-sending countries, which the authors then use as instruments for remittance inflows to remittance-receiving countries.FindingsThe results indicate that while remittances have a positive impact on economic growth in developing countries with high human capital, they do not contribute to growth in developing countries with low human capital. The authors also examined the channels through which remittances affect growth. The findings suggested that remittances do not impact labor supply in developing countries with high human capital, but they reduce labor supply in countries with low human capital. Additionally, remittances increase investment in physical capital in developing countries with high human capital, but they do not have an effect on investment in developing countries with low human capital.Originality/valueThe authors investigated the impact of remittances on economic growth using a novel approach to address the endogeneity of remittances. Additionally, the authors examined the different indirect channels through which remittances can impact economic growth, such as their effect on labor supply and investment.

Social housing stigma in Toronto: Identifying asymmetries between stereotypes and statistical actualities of health, crime, and human capital

AbstractResearch on social housing stigma has proliferated due to growing concern over the effects of territorial stigmatization. The stereotyping of social housing as a site of ill‐health, criminality, and low human capital stems from empirically ambiguous narratives created and recirculated through popular modes (e.g., social media platforms, news coverage). This paper combines principal component analysis, k‐means cluster analysis, and geographic information systems to create and visualize clusters denoting different levels of health, crime, human capital, and dwelling composition in the city of Toronto, Canada. The quantitative research design allows for the identification of “asymmetries,” which are census tracts or neighbourhoods assigned to clusters indicative of high social housing density, and one of either sound health, low crime, or high human capital. The results reveal a spatial patterning of asymmetries in the inner city West End and Downtown, and in inner suburban North York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough. Overall, the paper illustrates the need to assess the empirical foundations of social housing stereotypes. Critically assessing stereotypes is important as they belie the rationale for social housing residents' living situations; pathologizes their identity, behaviour, and home; and generates public support for neoliberal solutions that displace long‐term residents from their communities.

Nonlinear impact of digital economy on carbon intensity: the moderating role of low-carbon regulation.

The development of the digital economy is an effective way to mitigate the carbon emission problem in the broader setting of the significant data era and green development. Based on the panel data of 271 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this paper constructs a bidirectional fixed model to analyze the nonlinear effect of the digital economy (DE) on carbon intensity (CI) and the moderating role of low-carbon regulation from theoretical and empirical perspectives. The results show that (1) DE has an enormous inverted U-shaped impact on CI. The findings remain after introducing instrumental variables to mitigate endogeneity and robustness tests. (2) Low-carbon regulation (CP) can strengthen the inverted U-shaped impact between the two and shift the inflection point to the left. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that the inverted U-shaped effect of DE on CI is more significant in the central and western regions, high human capital (HC) regions, and high urbanization regions. (4) The mediating effect of energy mix (EM) and green technology innovation (GTI) still hold after introducing instrumental variables to alleviate the endogenous effect of the intermediary effect. This study suggests that the adoption of carbon emission reduction strategies, which will more effectively lower carbon intensity CI, should go hand in hand with the development of DE.

Natural resources lineage, high technology exports and economic performance: RCEP economies perspective of human capital and energy resources efficiency

Natural resources play a crucial role in economic growth and development. The presence of abundant natural resources can provide countries with opportunities for economic expansion, job creation, and increased export revenues. However, the utilization of natural resources also carries significant risks and challenges that can affect macroeconomic and environmental outcomes. This paper examines the impact of natural resource rents, high technology exports, human capital, and energy efficiency on economic growth of five RCEP nations over the period of 1989–2021. We use quantile regression method, which is useful for analyzing the relationship between two variables, especially when the effect of one variable on the other is anticipated to vary across various parts of the response variable's distribution. We find that natural resource rents are harmful for economic growth. However, high technology exports, human capital and energy efficiency positively affect economic growth. The findings also suggest that policies intended to promote growth should be tailored to the unique requirements and characteristics of countries at various stages of economic development.