Institutional Mechanisms Research Articles

THE CONSTITUTION AS THE REGULATOR OF THE STATE'S ECONOMIC POLICY

Introduction. The article examines one of the main problems of modern constitutional economics, namely the role of the constitution as the main law in regulating the state's economic policy. The author substantiates the opinion that the Constitution establishes the statics of the economy in the form of an economic system and at the same time determines its dynamics in the form of economic policy. At the same time, the constitution must legally resolve the contradiction between the economy as a self-governing system and the state as a sovereign organization responsible for maintaining stability and order in society. Summary of the main research results. Economic policy has a complex structure. Its elements include goals, tools, indicators, objects and subjects. Together, they form a whole system that is not immutable. However, the amount of normative consolidation of the mentioned elements of economic policy in the constitutions of different "generations" differs significantly and has a growing tendency. The constitutions of the first generation did not mention economic policy. Being liberal-democratic in their ideological basis, in the economic sphere they were limited to the recognition of the inviolability of private property, freedom of business and legal equality of all citizens. However, already the constitutions of the second generation established for the state an active role in the economic system, in particular, its right to exert a regulatory influence on the behavior of economic entities by establishing taxes and duties, establishing state prerogatives and preferences, prohibiting monopolies, etc. Starting with the constitutions of the third generation, adopted at the end of the Second World War, and until now, the economic policy of the state has occupied a significant place in the structure of the main laws, where the presence of special chapters and sections has become a general rule. However, the scope and content of the normative consolidation of economic policy in constitutions varies significantly and depends on many factors: from national traditions of constitutionalism to the specifics of the structure of the national economy and the main challenges facing the country at the time of adoption of the basic law. Conclusions. The evolution of constitutions follows the path of ever wider regulation of the economic policy of the state is substantiated. Starting with the constitutions of the third generation, adopted at the end of the World War II, and until now, the economic policy of the state has occupied a significant place in the structure of the main laws, where the presence of special chapters and sections has become a general rule. Modern constitutions, regardless of the form of the state and the degree of their economic development: determine the goals and objectives of the economic policy of the state; establish the priorities of the state's economic policy and its individual subspecies; identify key sectors of the economy that require state support; determine the limits of state intervention in the economic system; consolidate the initiative of the state in the economic sphere, the mandatory availability of the state's economic policy; secure separate, most important instruments of state economic policy; establish an institutional mechanism for developing and implementing the state's economic policy.

Социальное доверие и недоверие в сфере российского здравоохранения в период пандемии COVID-19: теоретико-методологические подходы и источники негативизации

Introduction. The article discusses theoretical approaches and methodological limitations of sociological research of trust and distrust to the healthcare services in the framework of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main difficulties are caused by the stable cognitive fashion for the quantitative measurement of trust/distrust indices. It leads to the illusion of understanding public opinion and social moods to this issue. The cognitive framework is also associated with the fundamental evaluative opposition of society's trust to medical care as a blessing and distrust as a socio-cultural barrier to the development of the healthcare system. Methods. The study is based on the methodology of sociological constructivism. Such approach makes it possible to study both mental and institutional factors that shape the crisis of public confidence to the health care services. Results and its discussion. The authors argue that social trust is constructed as a result of activity and requires directed efforts, an active position of key agents. Taking into account the neoliberal transformation of the healthcare institution in modern Russia, behavioral indicators of trust should be supplemented with information about objective indicators of the accessibility and quality of medical care. Based on empirical data, the dynamics of public opinion on the effectiveness of the Russian healthcare system and its main problems in a complex epidemiological situation are analyzed. The leading sources of negative social attitudes to the healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic are the following: aggressive policy of media; political decisions which are not always consistent and justified; claims for social control, external intervention in private space and strategies of medical activity in the society. The authors came to the conclusion that the COVID-19 pandemic only changed the structure of social attitude to the health care services, escalated chronic difficulties, but did not affect significantly the downward vector of consumer confidence in the health care system. The conclusion is made about the need for both systemic regulation of institutional mechanisms of trust, and increasing the reserve of personal responsibility and adaptive potential of consumers of medical care. In this regard, the relevance of sociological research in public health and healthcare will only increase in the post-coronavirus period. The synthesis of quantitative, qualitative assessments of trust and objective indicators of the availability and quality of medical care will make it possible to explain the dynamics of ideas, values and attitudes that shape the background of the social mood; to predict alternative scenarios and vectors for the transformation of the healthcare institution, depending on the semantic content of social trust / distrust to medical organizations.

Market and State Failures in The Healthcare Model under The COVID-19 Pandemic

The health care market has special features associated with the production of both private and public goods, it has a special structure of competition and transactions. The business models of medical organizations are based on a two-level value proposition – organizations in the analyzed field work for their clients (the population of a territory) and simultaneously for the state, which plays a role of a customer of the public good. This leads to the mixture of the healthcare and insurance markets and, as a result, the development of specific monetization scheme in the field of medical services. The article focuses on market and institutional coordination mechanisms in the Russian healthcare market transformation in the context of the 2020-2022 pandemic. The research methodology is based on neo-institutional economics, theories of industrial markets and the public sector theory. The paper assesses the market failures of the healthcare system and institutional instruments that are designed to neutralize these failures. We also describe the general institutional context of the health care in Russia. The methods of the empirical part of the study are a survey and a narrative analysis. Our results are based on 584 interviews. The respondents assessed changes in the conditions for the provision of medical services in 2020-2022. It was found that the effectiveness of institutional coordination mechanisms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic were reduced, this resulted in new failures of the state. We prove that a new model in the Russian Federation healthcare market has been created as a result of the pandemic. This model is characterized by a simultaneous strengthening of the role of the state in some market segments and private players in other segments, as well as a decrease in the efficiency of production of both private and public goods.

Özel Öğretim Kurumlarında Stratejik Finansal Yönetim Uygulamaları

In this study, it is aimed to examine the strategic financial management practices in private educational institutions. How they do not have visibility on the scale of the global financial companies and employment opportunities, considering that private education institutions domestically and abroad, as well as an understanding of economic growth, increasing employment opportunities for their contributions to economic and social development model constitutes the basis for vibrant and productive. For this reason, especially after 1980, the attention of researchers and experts in the fields of business administration, economics and management in our country, as well as all over the world, has turned to private educational institutions. In this context, private educational institutions have been generally accepted as a source of flexibility, productivity, innovation and dynamism in both developed and developing countries. When the literature related to private educational institutions is examined, it is seen that the research, examinations and studies carried out so far constitute a very important unit. The financial mechanisms of private educational institutions are explained by the differentiation between national administrations, Dectoral and financing characteristics, and different levels of development of national administrations. Private educational institutions, which are one of the economic principles and financial basic structures of countries, have significant advantages in a competitive environment with companies with strong capital working in the same field. Key Words: Private Educational Institution, Educational Management, Financial Management

Academic women departmental heads’ coping mechanisms during COVID-19: A capabilities approach perspective

This paper explored women departmental heads’ leadership experiences in higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper highlighted aspects of their care and coping mechanisms in terms of them working in virtual spaces. Most scholars have examined employees’ effects and challenges while working from home during a lockdown. However, most studies are silent on women in leadership, especially concerning the provision of resources to enhance effective leadership during this crisis. The paper draws on three concepts of Sen’s Capabilities approach: functionings, freedoms, and agency. This approach facilitates an incisive understanding of institutional and individual coping mechanisms that might be beneficial for women leaders to mitigate the challenges of the devastating COVID-19 lockdowns. The qualitative narrative approach, supported by a feminist lens, provides a critical, in-depth understanding of the real-life stories of women in leadership positions when making-sense of their challenges in working in a virtual environment. Data which was collected through semi-structured interviews with ten female heads of department, was analysed thematically by applying the Capabilities Approach as an analytical tool. The findings indicated that functionings and freedoms are inextricably intertwined to institutional ethnographies. These ethnographies might support or hamper the coping capabilities of women leaders in academic institutions, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

Stakeholders’ Perspectives on Implementing “Internationalization at Home” for China’s International Education Sustainability: Challenges and Strategies

The purpose of this study was to examine stakeholders’ perspectives on implementing “internationalization at home” for international education sustainability in China in the post-epidemic era. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 26 (12 male and 14 female) participants to explore their opinions on the challenges of and strategies for the implementation of “internationalization at home” in higher education institutions. It was found that an institutional international curriculum mechanism construction is needed. The cross-cultural teaching capacity of faculty members needs to be promoted. Funding resources and organizational guarantees need to be provided. International campus environments and cultures need to be built. The discussion and conclusions are provided in the last section.

An evaluation of the role of US consumer's institutional trust for food eco‐label preferences

AbstractDemand for sustainable food products has continued to grow in the past decade. Consumers have not only expressed more interest in environmentally friendly products, but producers have been willing to expand and market sustainable products. As a signal, eco‐labels are intended to communicate about specific environmental product properties from producers to consumers. Because eco‐labels communicate credence properties, trust plays a significant mediating factor, as information asymmetry is present. Consumers must rely on producers acting in good faith to provide accurate claims while consumers must simultaneously avoid misinterpretation of the label. Building upon previous research on the role of trust in eco‐label preferences, this exploratory study seeks to evaluate how US consumers' level of trust in three major institutions (US government, corporations, and non‐profit organizations) to protect the environment shapes their preference for six major eco‐labels in the market (Fairtrade, local, natural, non‐genetically modified organism [GMO], organically grown, and certified organic). The analysis utilizes 2016 survey data obtained from the Natural Marketing Institute. The aim is to provide a basis in which to further examine institutional mechanisms for improving label signaling, which could minimize consumer skepticism and potentially increase environmentally conscious consumerism. In addition to confirming the profile for typical eco‐label consumers, the results demonstrate that trust in non‐profit organizations is positively associated with expressed preferences for certified Fairtrade and certified organic foods. Trust in government is a significant explanatory factor for natural labeling preferences whereas those that express very high interest in organic labels indicated trust in corporations.

THEORETICAL BASICS OF SELECTIVE REGULATION OF COMMODITY MARKETS SYSTEMS IN CONDITIONS OF INSTABILITY

Topicality. In the conditions of structural disproportions in the development of commodity markets, there is a need to implement mechanisms and measures of selective regulation of vertically adjacent commodity markets, which allow effective use of the resource potential of the national economy. In conditions of instability, traditional methods and tools for regulating economic systems are ineffective. Unforeseen changes in the external environment encourage the development of new mechanisms and measures to regulate the improvement of commodity market systems.Aim and tasks. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the theoretical foundations of selective regulation of commodity market systems based on a reproduction approach in conditions of instability.Materials and Methods. The results of the theoretical generalization of scientific works and methodological approaches in the field of state regulation of commodity markets, highlighted in publications of a fundamental and applied nature, as well as statistical data of the State Statistics Service of Ukraine form the material and methodological basis of the study. The following methods of systemic, structural-logical, comparative, and statistical analysis were used to solve the tasks.Research results. The conceptual-categorical research apparatus has been improved, the concept of selective regulation of commodity market systems has been proposed. A comparative analysis of the objects of selective regulation was carried out, their differences in terms of tasks, regulatory mechanisms, degree of influence on the system and expected effects were determined.It has been established that the regulation of "gaps" in commodity and financial flows has a stabilizing effect on part of the market system and involves the use of administrative, organizational, economic, and institutional mechanisms and measures. The nature and typology of «gaps» in commodity and financial flows in market systems have been determined for a number of reasons. Selective regulation of «growth points» (resource-forming sectors) has a deep formative effect on the entire system of adjacent markets, changes (optimizes) its structure, and involves the use of complex regulatory mechanisms. Characteristic features of «growth points» are identified, a methodical approach to their determination based on the calculation of cross-sectoral balances of added value is proposed.Conclusion. On the basis of empirical studies, it has been proven that the «growth points» in market systems are precisely the processing sectors, which have the ability to effectively realize the resource potential of markets in conditions of instability. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the development of theoretical foundations of selective regulation of systems of adjacent commodity markets, based on the duality of objects of purposeful regulation («gaps» of commodity and financial flows and «growth points») with the help of complex mechanisms that adaptively combine different types of regulatory measures. The applied significance of the research results is determined by the possibility of their use as a scientific basis by state authorities during the development of adaptive mechanisms for selective regulation systems of commodity market.

THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE CENTER FOR SCIENTIFIC REVIEW AND THE NIH INSTITUTE

Abstract The playing field for NIH funding is highly competitive, and having a great idea is only the start of the process. There are many funding mechanisms for early career investigators, trainees, and research institutions. Understanding about different application types, who to talk to about your application at different stages of development, finding the right review panel, and learning about the policies and procedures pertaining to review are important first steps in preparing an application. In recent years, the Center for Scientific Review has undergone changes and updated its structure, policies and practices to stay aligned with its mission. In this presentation, attendees will learn about the roles played by CSR and the NIH Institute as applications move from review to funding.

Specifics of the institutional mechanism for assessing the scientific research effectiveness in France: Evolution and current state

The article is devoted to the analysis of the specifics institutional mechanism assessment for the scientific research effectiveness in France, where national dirigiste traditions are clearly manifested. Despite a series of cardinal reforms of recent decades in the field of management of the field of R&D and higher education, France continues to operate a centralized model of the organization of assessment, where the decisive positions are held by the highest bodies of state administrative power in the person of specialized unified national services for the assessment of R&D and higher education (HCERES and etc.). The author tried to show the originality of these institutions and the main problems they faced, as well as to understand the reasons for their viability. The research focuses on the analysis of the methods and criteria used by them for evaluating scientific activities. Particular attention is paid to quantitative assessments of scientific research based on bibliometric indicators (“impact factor”, etc.), as well as on the basis of efficiency and profitability criteria. During the analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of using quantitative assessment indicators, it was found that in the conditions of France, an assessment based on bibliometric tools over the past 20 years has gradually turning into a tool for centralized management of research organizations, research teams and individual scientists.

Eurasian Supranationalism: From Academic Discourse to the Eurasian Economic Union

The profound institutionalisation of the European Union through supranationalism ensured universal standing for the Euro-centric interpretation of this concept in comparative legal and political studies. This Chapter, in opposition, validates the regional interpretation of supranationalism in post-Soviet Eurasian space and its variation both in academic discourse and regional legal practices. The Chapter primarily scrutinises the legal-historical deconstruction of the concept of supranationalism in the post-Soviet Eurasian region within three academic communities: Eurasianist, Soviet, and Post-Soviet. The Chapter’s interpretation of the concept of supranationalism is conducted through a re-evaluation of regional attitudes towards the concepts of sovereignty and typology of States and their function in shaping the Eurasian vision of supranationalism. When necessary, the conceptual framework is also widened to subsume the observation of other relevant phenomena, considering the specificity of each academic community conditioned upon time and ideological affiliation. Ultimately, Russian-Eurasian academic discourse on supranationalism is projected over the institutional law of the Eurasian Economic Union to ascertain the interrelation between academic percipience and regional law. Central prominence is shifted towards the institutional decision-making mechanism of the Eurasian Union and the role of the EAEU Court in shaping the concept of supranationalism. The Chapter concludes that regional attitudes have constructed an authoritarian, illiberal type of supranationalism typical of emerging Post-Soviet Eurasian regional international law.

The Principle of Racta Sunt Servanda in the Mechanism for Ensuring the Fulfillment of Obligations Under International Agreements

Problem setting. The mechanism for ensuring the fulfillment of obligations under international treaties is a complex legal phenomenon that includes a number of international legal institutions (the institution of obligation, institutions related to good faith, means of ensuring the fulfillment of obligations, institutions of international judicial bodies, institution of responsibility). The main premise that contributed to the formation of the mentioned institutional mechanism is the principle «pacta sunt servanda» «agreements must be fulfilled», which concentrated in itself the idea of the binding nature of international agreements, and later the conscientiousness of their implementation. Denoting the binding nature of any legal agreement, the principle «pacta sunt servanda» is one of the main principles of contract law. However, its implementation is accompanied by a number of problems, the solution of which requires the development of an appropriate scientific basis. Analysis of recent researches and publications. The analysis of recent researches and publications shows that the issue of the principle of contractual law “pacta sunt servanda” has repeatedly attracted the attention of the scientific community. Some of its aspects were considered by both Ukrainian and foreign scientists, including: S. I. Afanasenko, D. P. Bogatchuk, O. V. Butkevich, S. V. Gonzalez Sinisterra, Z. M. Yudin and others. However, most of the research and publications available today are rather superficial in nature. Target of the research is to analyze the legal meaning and essence of the principle «pacta sunt servanda». Article’s main body. The purpose of the article is to analyze the legal meaning and essence of the principle «pacta sunt servanda». The article highlights the legal meaning and essence of the «pacta sunt servanda» principle. The author takes the position that the binding nature of international agreements is based not only on the consensual nature of contractual norms, but also on the mutual interest of the parties in the agreement. The article explains the nature of the principle «pacta sunt servanda» from the standpoint of «jus cogens», which theoretically substantiates the meaning of the principle as a prerequisite for the formation of a mechanism for ensuring the fulfillment of obligations under international treaties. Based on a number of philosophical and legal theories, the most common of which are the theory of promise, the will theory, as well as the theory of efficiency, «pacta sunt servanda», as one of the principles of contract law, is generally recognized in legal science. The study of these theories justifications allows us to ascertain the absence of historical continuity between the initial and subsequent meanings of the principle, and even the absence of a consensus view in the doctrine. Conclusions and prospects for the development. Realizing the need to observe laws, as well as observing international treaties, at the individual level, the state must realize the necessity and inevitability of multi-level interaction in the international sphere. Only the understanding that in the implementation of the common will and cooperation it is possible to achieve a solution to the international problems that are currently faced by the international community, accepting the possibility of interaction to achieve the common interest, and not to meet the current economic needs of each state separately, will allow solving many global problems of our time and leaving to a new level of understanding of law as a tool for building a new reality within the framework of the interaction of states. In this regard, the principle of «pacta sunt servanda» is gaining more and more global scope.

Understanding the governance of sustainability pathways: hydraulic megaprojects, social–ecological traps, and power in networks of action situations

To enable sustainability pathways, we need to understand how social–ecological systems (SES) respond to different governance configurations, considering their historical, institutional, political, and power conditions. We advance a robust methodological approach for the integrated analysis of those conditions in SES traps. Our advancement consists of a novel combination of the networks of action situations approach with an agency-based polycentric power typology and the concept of discursive power. We test the approach by building on previous research on the Doñana estuary–delta SES (Guadalquivir estuary), which is characterized by a rigidity trap in the context of ecosystem and water governance. Specifically, we focus on a recent hydraulic megaproject involving deep dredging in the Guadalquivir estuary, finally canceled due to its broad negative socioeconomic and environmental repercussions. According to our analysis, certain governance, institutional, and informational mechanisms currently prevent further SES degradation in Doñana. However, key governance actors are caught in a lasting coordination failure prone to mutual defection strategies owing to power dynamics and discursive-institutional inertia. Although seemingly stable due to counteractive mechanisms among actors, this situation is at continuous risk of being unbalanced by powerful actors promoting large SES interventions such as deep dredging. Such interventions bear the systemic risk of strong suppression of SES functions, and a regime shift to a lock-in trap. This overall undesirable situation might be escaped through transformative policy designs that take into account meso-level mechanisms, such as discursive power and its role in non-decision-making, pragmatic inaction, and inefficient investment and infrastructure.

Research on the Anti-Risk Mechanism of Mask Green Supply Chain from the Perspective of Cooperation between Retailers, Suppliers, and Financial Institutions

Against the background of the pandemic, the mask supply chain faces the risk of pollution caused by discarded masks, the risk of insufficient funds of retailers, and the risk of mask overstock. To better guard against the above risks, this study constructed a two-party game model and a cusp catastrophe model from the perspective of the mask green supply chain, and studied the strategic choices of retailers and suppliers in the supply chain affected by the risk of capital constraints and overstock. The result shows that the risk shocks will lead to the disruption of the mask green supply chain, and the main factors affecting the strategy choice of mask suppliers and retailers are mask recycling rate, deposit ratio, risk occurrence time, etc. In further research, this study involved a mechanism for financial institutions, mask retailers, and the government to jointly deal with the risk of mask overstock, the risk of retailers' insufficient funds, and the risk of environmental pollution from discarded masks. The research path and conclusion of this study reveal the risks in the circulation area of mask supplies during the pandemic, and provide recommendations for planning for future crises and risk prevention.

Hard borders and soft agreements: evaluating governance within the Global Compact for Migration

Welcomed as a milestone in the governance of transnational migration, the adoption of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration marked a significant step forward in international cooperation on migration governance. Through a critical evaluation of its normative and structural features, this paper evaluates the strengths, weaknesses, tensions and contradictions within the compact. It finds that the compact is marked by innovative and ambitious objectives and gives recognition to the diversity and complexity of migration practices. However, its amplification of state sovereignty, its perpetuation of classical liberal statist ideals, and its ambiguity concerning the social-structural and institutional conditions necessary to protect migrants’ rights and interests risk undermining its implementation and effectiveness. The paper argues that this framework is best understood as a progressive neoliberal model that relies on the virtue of states over legal and justice-based institutional mechanisms for its authority and implementation. This model risks reinforcing status quo power relations and is insufficient to achieve its stated objectives.

Political economy of renewable energy transition in rentier states: The case of Oman

AbstractDespite the abundance of renewable resources, renewable energy accounts for less than 1% of the total installed power capacity in oil‐producing Gulf Arab states. While the political–economic structures of oil‐producing Gulf Arab states are thought to have played a role in determining these states' remarkably low uptake of renewable energy, these structures remain understudied. With a focus on Oman, we assess how political–economic structures have influenced its adoption of renewable energy. We implement an analytical framework that integrates insights from energy transition studies and the political–economic theory of rentier states. Drawing on secondary data and primary information from semi‐structured interviews with renewable energy developers and energy experts, this study reveals that renewable energy roll‐out in Oman has been delayed through three different strategies, namely the use media and public debate, a reduction of the power of renewable energy stakeholders, and the use of institutional mechanisms to strengthen hydrocarbon‐based technologies. Oman's renewable energy transition efforts aim to protect rents from oil exports rather than advance low‐carbon energy transition.

The adoption of the Islamic banking service: non-Muslim communities perception and intention

<div data-canvas-width="592.164796613586">this study aims to reconfirm the theory regarding the intention to adopt the services of Islamic banking institutions. Respondents used in this study were obtained through the snowball technique as many as 89 non-Muslim communities. the sample was taken using the snowball technique with the main criteria, the respondent had never used the services or products of an Islamic banking institution. This research proves that only the perceived quality of information can have a significant effect by using the constructs of perceived quality of information, perceived benefits, and subjective norms. Previously, the data was analyzed using the bootstrapping technique on the Smart PLS application. One of the interesting findings from this research is that even though the respondents did not understand in depth about the operational mechanisms of Islamic banking institutions, they were informed that the features and explanations of each product offered through the media could be well understood. The main limitation in this study is, of course, the number of samples used. In addition, further research is also needed using more specific questionnaire items on one of the Islamic banking products or services.</div>

Зовнішньоторговельна політика як інструмент повоєнної відбудови: з досвіду країн-учасниць Плану Маршалла

The Russian-Ukrainian war is a serious test for the national economy and society, which requires a review of the institutional mechanisms for economic system development. Both in the active phase of the war and in the post-war reconstruction period, keeping the Ukrainian economy afloat and its gradual recovery is impossible without further integration into the international market and intensive economic cooperation, which actualizes the role of foreign trade policy. Because of this, it is necessary to refer to positive historical practice in identifying the most optimal measures and instruments of state influence in foreign economic relations. The purpose of the research is to justify the role of foreign trade policy as an instrument for the post-war reconstruction of the European economies included in the Marshall Plan. The theoretical basis of the conducted research is both the classical concepts of foreign trade interaction and the theory of new economic thought. The methodological basis is systemic, problem-logical, comparative, and statistical analyses. The features of the post-war economic development of the countries included in the Marshall Plan were revealed. It was determined the formation of high food, industrial, and technical dependence on imports, a low level of national production and exports, negative trade and payment balances, financial and currency destabilization, etc. It was revealed that direct government support for national production and foreign trade policy, implemented through customs and tariff concessions and non-tariff instruments (state purchases, subsidizing production and exports, currency devaluation, the system of bilateral trade agreements, etc.) played an important role in the post-war economic transformation of European countries. It is substantiated that the applied institutional levers of state influence led to gradual progressive changes in the structure of domestic production, which, in combination with a mutually beneficial system of integration and trade relations, contributed to the economic recovery of the countries included in the Marshall Plan and ensured the strengthening of their competitive positions on international markets as producers of industrial and technological products.

Religion and enterprise pollution behavior: Evidence from China

In recent years, China's environmental pollution problem has received widespread public attention. Although religion has a long and influential history in China, little is known about whether religion influences Chinese firms' environmental pollution behavior. Based on the geographic location data of more than 40,000 religious sites of Buddhism and Taoism in China, data from Chinese industrial enterprises, and pollution emissions data from 1998 to 2013, this study empirically analyzes the regulatory effect of religion on enterprises' pollution behavior. First, religion can have a suppressive effect on Chinese enterprises' pollutant emissions behavior, particularly private-owned enterprises, and promotes enterprises' green innovation. Second, heterogeneity analyses reveal that the environmental constraints of religion on enterprises are more evident in small and medium-sized enterprises, pollution-intensive enterprises, labor-intensive enterprises, and capital-intensive enterprises. Third, when formal institutions are absent or ineffective, religion can be a substitutive mechanism for formal institutions. These findings can be helpful for policymakers in assessing and adjusting existing environmental and religious policies.

Are sustainable firms more profitable during COVID-19? Recent global evidence of firms in developed and emerging economies

PurposeThis paper investigates whether sustainability performance (SP) protects financial performance (FP) for firms in both developed and emerging economies during the COVID-19-induced economic downturn.Design/methodology/approachUsing a recent sample of firms in 34 countries between 2003 and 2021, the authors employ ordinary least squares regressions, moderations and the Heckman two-step method to test the hypotheses.FindingsFirms with strong SP have higher FP in developed and emerging economies in the upcoming year. During the COVID-19 crisis in 2020–2021, the impact of sustainability on FP is pronounced in developed but not in emerging economies. Furthermore, cross-listings expose firms in emerging economies to high-standard institutional mechanisms in developed economies. Thus, sustainable firms in emerging economies cross-listed on European stock exchanges are more profitable.Practical implicationsFor regulators and standard setters, the global-level comparative analysis helps them find solutions that may assist firms in improving SP globally (e.g. mandatory reporting) and enduring crises resiliently. For institutional investors, the study reveals the relatively different impact of sustainability risk for firms in developed and emerging economies. For practitioners and private sector firms, this study contributes to the dialogue on what makes firms more resilient in COVID-19. Although COVID-19 might be temporary, the lessons learned could protect firms from future crises.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the contingency perspective between sustainability and financial performance by providing recent empirical evidence in a global setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors demonstrate how different external institutional mechanisms (rule-based governance and relation-based governance) and cross-listing affect the SP-FP relationship during a crisis. The authors extend the knowledge in crisis management literature with a comparative study and fill the research gap on how SP affects FP for firms in emerging economies compared to developed economies.