Mechanism In China Research Articles

Digital economy’s role in shaping China’s outward investment in Belt and Road countries

Previous international investment-related literature is less likely to include host country digital economy as an influential factor in the analysis framework. Meanwhile digital economy-related literature mainly focuses on the concept and characteristics of digital economy, and few scholars explore the impact and mechanism of China’s OFDI in the context of digital economy. Based on the theory and mechanism analysis, this article first constructs a comprehensive digital economy indicator system using data from 46 B&R countries from 2004 to 2020 and then constructs extended investment gravity model, technological innovation intermediary impact and trade cost moderating effect to thoroughly investigate the effect and fundamental mechanism of digital economy on China’s OFDI. The conclusions are as follows: First, digital economy indicators’ computation reveals significant disparities among B&R countries. Second, baseline regression finds that B&R countries’ digital economy considerably boosts China’s OFDI. Third, regional heterogeneity reveals that digital economy in ASEAN countries plays a more visible role in boosting China’s OFDI. Fourth, mechanism analysis reveals that B&R countries’ digital economy can encourage China’s OFDI by improving technological innovation and reducing trade costs.

Artificial intelligence and green development well-being: Effects and mechanisms in China

In a green and low-carbon context, green development well-being (GDW) encapsulates a city's capacity to convert natural consumption into well-being, and artificial intelligence technology (AIT) potentially serves as a catalyst for advancing GDW. Employing panel data from 282 cities in China spanning 2006–2021, this research develops a composite indicator to measure GDW at the municipal level and adopts a two-way fixed effects (TWFE) approach to investigate AIT's direct impacts on GDW and their underlying mechanisms. The empirical results reveal that AIT fosters GDW and contributes to GDW by enhancing green total factor productivity (GTFP), refining human capital structure and fostering entrepreneurial activity (EA). The effects of AIT on GDW further manifest heterogeneously, characterized by disparities in environmental regulation and regional contexts. Particularly, AIT's full impact on GDW remains unrealized in the central and northeast regions. Moreover, AI enterprises are pivotal agents in AIT advancement, playing a critical role in augmenting GDW. This research substantiates the positive influences of AIT on GDW and proposes a novel avenue for elevating GDW standards. Policies should target AIT's integration within the energy sector to optimize resource allocation, bolster energy efficiency, enforce stringent environmental regulations to incentivize AIT utilization for achieving heightened GDW levels, and foster collaboration between AI enterprises and public institutions in order to expedite AI-driven green development.

Green technology diffusion mechanism in China's aviation industry cluster based on complex network game model

The aviation industry cluster's diverse strategic choices of firms significantly influence the green technology diffusion. To examine how external factors and intra-cluster associative structures influence green technology diffusion, this paper constructs an evolutionary game model of green technology networks based on small-world networks, integrating governmental regulation and public oversight perspectives. Through simulations within the real-world aviation context, we analyze the dynamic characteristics of green technology diffusion. Furthermore, we investigate the driving effects of governmental and public initiatives in facilitating green transformation of aviation manufacturing firms. The empirical results reveal several critical insights: (1) A government-mandated minimum threshold for environmental subsidies is crucial to propel the green technology diffusion. In scenarios where environmental regulation penalties are inadequately low, speculative behaviors among firms occur, hindering the diffusion process. (2) Amplifying public engagement significantly bolsters the rate of green technology diffusion and augments the average returns for firms. The public's tolerance threshold for environmental pollution exhibits a high sensitivity to the success of green technology diffusion. (3) We discern variances in green technology diffusion across different network types. While green technology successfully permeates scale-free networks with diverse densities, its diffusion is notably impeded in small-world networks with lower densities. The associative structures and hierarchical distribution of firms within clusters drive varying outcomes in green technology diffusion.

Comprehensive Regional Economic Partnership as a Mechanism of China's Integration into World Economic Processes

In this article, the author analyzes the impact of RCEP on the process of China's integration into world economic processes. The regional multilateral format of economic relations is a relatively new experience for China, therefore, the author considers China's participation in the RCEP as a possible beginning of a new stage in the implementation of not only regional, but also global ambitions of China. Recently, China has begun to integrate more actively into world economic processes, while putting forward its own initiatives for interaction in a multilateral order, for example, the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition, China is beginning to assert itself in already existing economic associations, for example, within the framework of the RCEP. However, in this case, China faces a number of problems, one of which is the presence of two competitive powers in the Asia-Pacific region: the US and Japan. Due to economic competition with China, both powers benefit from the policy of curbing the growth of China's influence in the region. In addition, today China has a very modest experience of participating in regional multilateral formats, largely due to the priority of the bilateral format of cooperation in China's foreign policy. The author comes to the conclusion that, claiming today to realize their global ambitions, the Chinese leadership is aware of the importance and necessity of the country's more active participation in regional integration processes.

Application and Impact of Marketing Mechanisms in the Perspective of New Public Management

This paper explores the application and impact of marketing mechanisms within the framework of New Public Management (NPM). It begins by outlining the fundamental concepts of NPM and its differences from traditional public management, highlighting its significance in adapting to the era of globalization and knowledge economy. The paper then analyzes the specific application of marketing mechanisms in China's public sector, particularly in the promotion and optimization of e-government service platforms, demonstrating how market research and data analysis enhance the quality and efficiency of public services. Finally, the paper summarizes the value created by marketing mechanisms for the public sector and emphasizes the necessity of continuous optimization in practice to balance efficiency with equity, and market mechanisms with public interest.

Internet use, dietary habits and adolescent obesity: evidence from China.

Thewidespread use ofInternet has substantially influenced adolescents' lifestyles. This paper systematically explored the impact of Internet use on adolescent obesity and unveiled the underlying mechanism in China. We discussed the relationship among Internet use, dietary habits and obesity, and estimated the impact using panel data collected by the China Health and Nutrition Survey. Results indicated that increased Internet use significantly raised the risk of obesity among adolescents bychanging their dietary habits. With a longer time of Internet use, adolescents wouldincrease more proportion of snacks, and choose food with higher fat and protein. This paper offers anew empirical evidence for understanding the mechanism of Internet use on adolescent obesity, and provides a reference for developing countries to guide adolescents toward moderateInternet useand lower the risk of obesity.

The impact of long-term care insurance on the utilization of inpatient service: Evidence and mechanisms in China.

This paper empirically investigates the impact of public long-term care insurance (LTCI) on the utilization of inpatient services and associated expenditures among disabled Chinese individuals, using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study from 2011 to 2018. Employing a staggered difference-in-difference approach within a propensity score matching framework (PSM-DID), the study finds that the introduction of LTCI significantly reduces the likelihood of inpatient service usage by 4.2%, the annual number of inpatient admissions by 10.2%, the annual inpatient cost by 16.2%, the out-of-pocket expenses by 20.7%, and the reimbursement expenditure by the public medical insurer by 9.9%. The study further explores the mechanisms underlying these effects and identifies that the Substitution Effect, where care services in community healthcare centers and nursing homes replace hospitalizations, outweighs the Income Effect generated by LTCI benefits. By leveraging the quasi-natural experimental setting of diverse LTCI policies across cities, the study also examines the heterogeneous impacts of LTCI based on household income, eligibility criteria, and reimbursement methods. The findings underscore the positive role of LTCI in controlling medical expenses and alleviating congestion in urban hospitals, offering valuable insights for promoting "Healthy Aging".

Protection of Seafarers' Rights and Interests by International Treaties

In 2006, the ILO adopted the Maritime Labour Convention, which has had an important impact on the rights of seafarers worldwide and the promotion of the international maritime industry. In recent years, China's labor and social security legal system has been gradually improved, and legal norms such as the Regulations on Seafarers and the Maritime Traffic Safety Law have been promulgated and implemented successively, laying a certain foundation for the system of labor norms for seafarers. However, these special legislation has some limitations, such as not strong operability and not identical with the international treaty system. This paper mainly studies the framework structure and implementation mechanism of maritime labor conventions, finds out China's application method of international law, and puts forward the shortcomings of China's implementation process and corresponding countermeasures and suggestions suitable for the current situation of Chinese seafarers. By combining theory with practice, this paper uses literature analysis and analysis deduction to find out the strategies that can optimize the implementation mechanism in China. At present, China has made a lot of preparations for the implementation of maritime labor conventions, carried out a lot of legislative activities, and has already acquired relevant legislative experience and technology. Improving the labor supervision system and making full use of the tripartite mechanism platform and industry associations are the top priorities for China to better implement international conventions and protect the rights and interests of seafarers in the next stage.

Effect of smart city construction on an urban transition to a low-carbon economy: evidence from China.

China is currently in a new era of an urban transition to a low-carbon economy and digital economic development. Smart cities, as an advanced form of information-based urban development, may be the key to the urban transition to low-carbon emissions. This paper examined the effect of smart city construction (SCC) on urban low-carbon transitions and its transmission mechanisms in China from the dual perspectives of reducing urban total carbon emissions (TCE) and improving urban total-factor carbon emission efficiency (TFCEE). Utilizing a multi-period difference in differences (DID) method, this study was conducted based on panel data of 245 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2021. The results demonstrated that SCC both reduced TCE and enhanced TFCEE. The effects of SCC were stronger in cities with more stringent environmental regulations. SCC achieved the dual effect of reducing TCE and enhancing urban TFCEE by promoting green technological progress and a low-carbon transformation of city residents' lifestyles. Moreover, optimization of the industrial structure was also a transmission mechanism for SCC to improve TFCEE. These conclusions provide an empirical basis for the SCC to empower low-carbon transitions of cities and help countries in different regions to transform the extensive urban development mode and promote urban low-carbon economic development.

Motivating for environmental protection: Evidence from county officials in China

This paper investigates the impact of changes in the officials’ performance evaluation system on ecological environment quality, as well as the effect of ecological improvements on officials’ promotion prospects. Analyses are conducted using the changes in the officials’ evaluation mechanism in China’s ecological function counties in 2013 as a quasi-natural experiment, incorporating a newly developed set of county-level comprehensive ecological environment index data and manually collated data on county leaders. Multiple methods are employed to address issues such as sample selection bias, reverse causality, and heterogeneity of treatment effects. The empirical analysis shows that the adjustment of officials’ performance evaluation indicators contributes to the improvement of ecological environment quality. This effect is more pronounced in regions where GDP evaluation is abolished, regions with lower economic development but better ecological environment foundations, regions closer to provincial capitals, and officials with shorter tenure, younger age, and male gender. The rationale behind this policy is that post-reform improvements in the ecological environment will increase the promotion prospects of officials in ecological function counties, enable these areas to secure additional ecological transfer payments, thereby enhancing their capacity for environmental expenditure, and establish a credible commitment mechanism for central-local contracts. This study not only examines the relationships between political incentives for officials and environmental protection, but also enriches the literature on environmental decentralization, multi-target governance, and environmental political economy.

No pain, no gain? Simulation of carbon reduction potential and socioeconomic effects of voluntary carbon trading in China during 2021–2060

Voluntary carbon market has become a key mechanism of stimulating carbon emission mitigation actions globally. In this study, we calculate the emission reduction potential of Carbon Generalized System of Preferences (CGSP), a dominated voluntary carbon trading mechanism in China, including on-going projects of forestry carbon sinks, waste clothes reuse, installation of distributed photovoltaic power generation system, and usage of energy-conserving devices, as well as other extended methods for their future mitigation potentials. We employ a computable general equilibrium model to delve into the effects of CGSP mechanism on carbon price, economic growth and household consumption, assessing its impact on the equitability of social welfares between urban and rural residents during 2021–2060. Our results indicate that employing the current methods for CGSP would lead to around 5.0 Mt CO2 reduction annually. since 2018, whereas adopting the extended methods would yield reductions of 157.1 Mt. Promoting forestry carbon sinks and energy-conserving appliances offers the most prominent emission reduction, while low-carbon travel shows the biggest potential going forward. CGSP will loosen carbon constraints on industries in the market and result in a lower carbon price, reducing the economic cost of carbon trading without compromising China's carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Supplementing CGSP could reduce the GDP loss by up to 0.2 trillion Yuan by 2030 and 0.9 trillion Yuan by 2060, compared to the sole operation of compliance carbon trading market. Provided fiscal stimulus policies, CGSP will further reduce GDP loss by 1.1 trillion Yuan in 2060. Different fiscal stimulus scenarios have a strong implication on welfares of urban and rural residents, wherein monetary equivalent incentive will reduce urban-rural income gap by up to 718 Yuan/capita in 2060.

Nurturing Scientific Literacy under Sustainable Development Goals in the Teaching of Science

To cope with the global challenges, United Nations came up with 17 sustainable development goals (SDG for short) to eradicate the extreme poverty, education inequality, climate change and other issues concerning to mankind living condition. SDG 4 aims to provide the access to quality education for everyone around the world. Since education plays a crucial role in realizing SDGs, science education is conducive to equip students with scientific literacy to explore the sustainability considering its nature of discipline. This research was conducted in a Chinese senior high school among science teachers, including biology, physics, chemistry, and management staff for a more comprehensive data needed. Based on findings, science education was poorly implemented on scientific literacy-oriented since all disciplines in class are for exam purpose not for overall development of students. Therefore, this research is trying to contribute for well-performed science education teaching mechanism in China in context of sustainability in a long run.

Carbon decoupling effects of energy consumption permit trading schemes: Evidence from China

As a fundamental policy instrument for facilitating the profound transformation of China's energy sector, the carbon decoupling effect of the energy consumption permit trading scheme (ECPTS) is a crucial issue to be evaluated. This paper aimed to explore the carbon decoupling effect and mechanisms of China's ECPTS by utilizing the difference-in-differences (DID) estimator. The findings indicated that the ECPTS significantly enhanced the degree of carbon decoupling, and the dynamic effect tended to gradually expand this decoupling effect. This conclusion holds even after conducting several robustness tests. Moreover, heterogeneity is observed in the carbon decoupling effect of the ECPTS, with regions characterized by higher levels of economic development, lower carbon emissions, and higher resource endowments exhibiting more pronounced decoupling effects. Furthermore, the mechanism analysis revealed that the ECPTS primarily improves carbon decoupling through the optimization of the energy mix and the reduction of the energy use scale. Conversely, the role of industrial structure and technological innovation has yet to fully manifest. Consequently, it is imperative to continue promoting and refining the construction of the ECPTS market. Additionally, stimulating investment in optimizing industrial structures and fostering technological innovation, along with the formulation of regionally tailored policy measures, may propel the carbon decoupling effect of ECPTSs.

Employment-oriented digital economy mechanisms in China

Employment-oriented digital economy mechanisms in China

Pathogen characteristics of respiratory infections in the season after the COVID-19 pandemic between August and December 2023: evidence from direct-to-consumer testing-based surveillance in Guangzhou and Beijing, China

ObjectivesIn the fall-winter of 2023, China experienced its first epidemic season of respiratory diseases since the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering timely data about pathogenetic characteristics of respiratory infections is crucial to complement current respiratory surveillance mechanisms in China. Data from direct-to-consumer (DTC) multi-respiratory pathogen (MRP) testing could serve as a novel source of multi-pathogen data for community-based surveillance. MethodsA pioneering initiative was launched to detect multiple respiratory pathogens in Beijing and Guangzhou, China. DTC MRP tests were used to provide proactive surveillance ahead of medical services. ResultsA total of 28,018 participants were enrolled between 22 August and 10 December 2023. Positive findings for at least one respiratory pathogen were observed in 26,202 (93.5%) participants. Influenza virus A, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and human adenovirus are the three leading viral pathogens detected with proportions of 18.0%, 10.6%, and 8.8%. Viral-bacterial pathogens were co-detected in 9736 (34.7%) of participants, which reduced to 22.2% for bacterial-bacterial co-detection, and 22.0% for bacterial mono-detection. The epidemiological ecology of respiratory pathogens within both viral clusters and specific pathogens varied among cities. The peak of RSV epidemics in Guangzhou occurred in the fall of 2023, earlier than in Beijing. ConclusionThe innovative program offered enhanced surveillance capabilities beyond traditional methods, enabling prompt feedback about test results and mitigating the risk of cross-infection caused by waits in healthcare facilities.

Advancing effective energy transition: The effects and mechanisms of China's dual-pilot energy policies

Quantifying energy transition (ET) and evaluating energy policies are crucial for global sustainable development. This study measures the energy transition index (ET−CCD) at the prefecture-level city level in China and evaluates the synergistic effects of the dual-pilot energy policy of New Energy Demonstration City (NEDC) and Low Carbon City Pilot (LCCP) based on the energy trilemma (ETR) of coordinated development in terms of security (ES), justice (EJ) and sustainability (ESU). The results show that the overall ET−CCD is increasing, with the eastern and central regions leading, the western region growing significantly, and the northeast fluctuating upward, indicating regional disparities. Compared to single policies, the dual-pilot energy policies have a more significant promoting effect on energy transition, especially in eastern, western, non-central cities, resource-based cities, and cities with high carbon emission reduction potential. Mechanism analysis reveals that the dual-pilot energy policies significantly promote ES and EJ , but have a negative impact on ESU in the short-term. Improvements in ES, EJ and ESU all significantly promote energy transition, with ES serving as a complete mediator, while EJ and ESU serving as partial mediators. Additionally, the findings remain stable in robustness tests and provide data support for a flexible mix of policy instruments to facilitate energy transition.

Can we reach consensus on the dominant sulfate formation pathway in China's haze?

Atmospheric sulfate aerosols contribute significantly to air pollution and climate change. Sulfate formation mechanisms during winter haze events in northern China have recently received considerable attention, with more than 10 studies published in high-impact journals. However, the conclusions from in-field measurements, laboratory studies, and numerical simulations are inconsistent and even contradictory. Here, we propose a physically based yet simple method to clarify the debate on the dominant sulfate formation pathway. Based on the hazes evolving in the synoptic scale, first, a characteristic sulfate formation rate is derived using the Eulerian mass conservation equation constrained by in situ observations. Then, this characteristic value is treated as a guideline to determine the dominant sulfate formation pathway with a 0D chemical box model. Our observation-derived results establish a linkage between studies from laboratory experiments and chemical transport model simulations. A convergent understanding could therefore be reached on sulfate formation mechanisms in China's wintertime haze. This method is universal and can be applied to various haze conditions and different secondary products.

The impact of quality awards on the financial performance of manufacturing industries. Evidence from the Delta region of China

Following provincial quality awards announcements, this study explores whether winners’ financial performance is significantly impacted by the quality award, using OLS and PSM-DID techniques. A placebo parallel trend model is adopted to re-estimate dynamic firms financial performance and test the robustness of the findings. The results show that the quality award significantly impacts manufacturing firms’ financial performance. The regional quality award has significant positive benefits for first-time winners and winning firms located in the Delta region of China. There is a significant positive relationship between the firms’ financial performance and the achievement of quality awards in the long run. The findings expand the research to the relationship between quality awards and firm market value in various institutional contexts. The positive association between a quality award and financial performance confirms the implication for policymakers and the government that a reasonable quality award reduces the quality problem, increases firm value, and supports the awards mechanism in China.

A Globalization Perspective on Innovative Financial Mechanisms in China's Regional Economies

This paper explores the interplay between globalization and innovative financial mechanisms in China's regional economies. As China continues to integrate into the global economy, it has embraced various financial innovations to fuel its economic growth and competitiveness. The study adopts a quantitative research approach, analyzing data from three major Chinese financial institutions to understand how globalization influences financial innovation, regional development, and the effectiveness of financial mechanisms. Findings from descriptive, correlation, and regression analyses reveal the significant impact of globalization on shaping financial dynamics in China's regional economies.

Testing and mechanism identification of liquidity trap in China

ABSTRACT This paper examines the existence and mechanism of China’s liquidity trap. First, a broad money supply model is reconstructed to evaluate the effectiveness of monetary policy. Based on the observed data from 1997 to 2022 and first-order difference regression results, we find that: The relationship between the monetary base and broad money exhibits two distinct stages, with 2008 as a delineating point. Pre-2008, the money creation multiplier is significant; post-2008, it becomes insignificant. Second, by examining the asset-side and liability-side gaps of the financial system, we have identified two liquidity traps. The first occurs between 2015 and 2019, caused by funds idling within the financial system. The second occurs in 2020- and is caused by recessionary expectations. Monetary policy flexibility is waning, compelling strategic decisions for Chinese government and central bank.