Multidimensional Heterogeneity Research Articles

The inverted U-effect of digital financial inclusion on household food carbon footprint in China: The moderating roles of environmental concern and future expectations

Digital financial inclusion (DFI) is an enabler for achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality. We use China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data spanning 2014 to 2020 to investigate the impact of DFI on household food carbon footprint (HFCF) in China. We find that (1) DFI has an inverted U-shaped effect on HFCF, changing from promotion to suppression; (2) The impact of DFI on HFCF demonstrates multidimensional heterogeneity. The impact of DFI on HFCF demonstrates multidimensional heterogeneity. The inverted U-shaped relationship is more pronounced in non-agricultural households, households with high-educated head, high-income households, households with unhealthy lifestyle heads, low-status households, households without the Internet, and households in the eastern, central, low-industrialization, high-urbanization and low-environmental regulation region; (3) Environmental concern and future expectations significantly moderate the inverted U-shaped relationship between DFI and HFCF, where environmental concern strengthens and future expectations weaken the effect; (4) Considering the dimensions of DFI, usage depth and digitization level of DFI have nonlinear effects on HFCF, while coverage breadth consistently exerts a positive influence. Policy implications are derived from the research results.

Do public-private partnerships (PPPs) promote the sustainable development of infrastructure (SDI)? Evidence from China

PurposeTo address challenges such as inadequate funding and inefficiency in public infrastructure construction, PPPs have gained significant global traction. This study aims to comprehensively assess the impacts and mechanisms of PPPs on the SDI and to provide rational policy recommendations based on the findings.Design/methodology/approachWe collated a dataset from 30 Chinese provinces covering the years 2005–2020 as our research sample. The study’s hypotheses are tested using a double fixed-effects model, a chained mediated-effects model and a multidimensional heterogeneity analysis.FindingsOur findings indicate that PPPs have a facilitating effect on SDI in general. This boost usually lags behind policy implementation and is cyclical in the time dimension. In the spatial dimension, PPPs contribute significantly to SDI in the eastern and western regions, but not in the central region. From the perspective of the dynamics of economic, social and industrial development, PPPs in economically backward areas are difficult to promote SDI, promote it the most in economically medium regions and are slightly less in economically developed regions than in medium regions. This promotion effect has an inverted U-shaped relationship with social development and diminishes with industrial structure upgrading. Finally, due to the negative relationship between PPPs and social development and between social development and SDI, PPPs are shown to contribute to SDI and are identified as critical paths. However, PPPs suppress SDI by inhibiting economic and industrial development.Originality/valueThis study makes three novel contributions to the existing body of knowledge: (1) we innovatively introduce the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into the field of infrastructure research, offering fresh perspectives on SDI enhancement; (2) revealing the mechanisms by which PPPs affect SDI through the three dimensions of economic, social and industrial development enabling policymakers to better understand and optimize resource allocation and improve planning, design and management of PPP projects for sustainable infrastructure and (3) we assess the spatiotemporal variances of PPPs’ effects on SDI and the diversity across regions at different social, economic and industrial structures developmental stages, offering critical insights to global decision-makers to devise tailored policy measures.

Decoupling economic development from carbon emissions: Insights from Chinese provinces

Decoupling economic development from carbon emissions is crucial for achieving sustainable development, particularly at the regional level. It also guides coordinated socio-economic development between regions. However, fewer studies analyze the long-term and short-term factors affecting decoupling from a dynamic perspective. Using annual data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2000 to 2021, this study assesses the level of decoupling in each province at both temporal and spatial levels and explores the factors influencing decoupling in the long and short term. The empirical results show that in the long run, the growth of industrial structure, R&D investment intensity, urban-rural income gap, and foreign trade promote the decoupling of economic development from carbon emissions. Conversely, the growth of energy consumption structure and energy prices inhibit decoupling. Short-term factors affecting decoupling vary significantly from province to province. To ensure the accuracy of the empirical results, this study conducted multidimensional heterogeneity and robustness analyses. Combined with the impulse response and variance decomposition results, it provides rational suggestions for effective decoupling strategies. This study offers a scientific basis for formulating sustainable development policies in various regions and serves as a valuable reference for other developing countries aiming to achieve harmonious economic and environmental development.

Urban green total factor energy efficiency and its decomposition under a multidimensional heterogeneity framework: a case study of the Yellow River Basin, China.

Assessing and monitoring the green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) of cities while considering technology heterogeneity is crucial for the development of energy-conservation and emission-reduction policies. Considering that the heterogeneity of production technologies encompasses several dimensions, this paper proposes a 3E3S (Economy-Environment-Energy-Society-Science-Space) heterogeneity framework and integrates it with the improved meta-frontier global SBM-undesirable to analyze GTFEE and its decomposition. Empirical analysis of cities in the Yellow River Basin of China (YRBC) highlights the following: (1) The 3E3S heterogeneity framework facilitates the classification of all cities into three distinct groups, a finding that contrasts significantly with previous outcomes documented in the literature that relied solely on criteria such as geographic location. (2) The three groups identified under the meta-frontier exhibit substantial energy-saving potentials of 24.49%, 35.17%, and 52.46%, respectively. Additionally, there are spatiotemporal variations in GTFEE, with cities located in the central part of YRBC, particularly those in Shanxi province, demonstrating poor GTFEE performance. (3) The decomposition analysis of GTFEE indicates that technological progress plays a pivotal role in enhancing GTFEE on the whole, albeit with varying approaches for improving GTFEE depending on individual cities.

Multidimensional heterogeneity and matching in a frictional labor market — An application to polarization

This paper examines the role that changes in production technology, namely computerization, have played on labor market inequality in the US from the late 1980s to the 2010s. It also demonstrates that such technological change is consistent with the timing of labor market polarization in the US, including the end of the decline in 50/10 wage percentile ratio and the slowdown of employment growth in high-wage jobs from the 2000s. The paper does so using a model with two key ingredients: 1) directed search and 2) two-sided multidimensional heterogeneity. Calibration results show that the complementarity between a workers’ cognitive skills and the cognitive task intensity of jobs increased while that between manual skill and tasks did not. The full model can fully account for the rise and fall of the 90/50 and 50/10 wage percentile ratios respectively. It also generates 72.6 percent of the rise in employment share of high-paying jobs relative to middling jobs and 69 percent of the fall in employment share of middling jobs relative to low-paying jobs. The paper suggests that the end of the decline in the 50/10 wage ratio may be due to rank-switching between workers across the wage distribution from the 2000s, while the slowdown of employment growth in high-wage jobs may result from the trade-off between the returns to applying for high-wage jobs and the likelihood of being hired.

Towards China's dual-carbon target: Energy efficiency analysis of cities in the Yellow River Basin based on a “geography and high-quality development” heterogeneity framework

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) serves as a critical energy hub in China. Enhancing energy efficiency in cities across the YRB is pivotal for achieving high-quality development and meeting carbon peaking and neutrality targets. This paper proposes a multidimensional technology heterogeneity assessment framework to refine the classification of production technologies. It leverages this framework to develop a data envelopment analysis model for evaluating green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) in 78 cities within the YRB from 2006 to 2022. The key findings are as follows: (1) Grouping outcomes from the multidimensional heterogeneity framework significantly differ from existing literature. (2) GTFEE shows notable spatiotemporal variations within the YRB, with a substantial overall increase since 2011. However, cities in the central YRB exhibit lower GTFEE performance. (3) Energy inefficiency in groups 1, 2, and 3 is attributed to developmental inefficiency, management inefficiency, and practical inefficiency, respectively. (4) Evaluation of energy-saving potential reveals an average annual potential of around 8 million tce per city during 2006–2022. The study concludes with strategies for enhancing GTFEE based on dynamic GTFEE decomposition outcomes, supporting policy design for achieving dual-carbon goals through improved energy efficiency in the YRB region.

Performance shortfalls and innovative search: Evidence from the biopharmaceutical firms in China

ABSTRACT Performance feedback literature acknowledges that firms’ innovative behaviour in response to performance shortfalls. However, it overlooks the impact of multidimensional heterogeneity in innovative activities on the direction of search following performance shortfalls. Based on the framework of gain and loss, we propose that underperforming firms are inclined to minimise breadth search and are more likely to engage in depth search, influenced by varying perceptions of risk associated with different innovative search strategies. This hypothesis is tested using a panel dataset of 234-listed biopharmaceutical firms in China from 2008 to 2022. Our findings indicate a negative relationship between performance shortfalls and innovative search breadth, and a positive relationship between performance shortfalls and innovative search depth. Furthermore, we found that both knowledge diversity and knowledge distance negatively moderate the relationship between performance shortfalls and innovative search breadth. Conversely, knowledge distance positively moderates the relationship between performance shortfalls and innovative search depth. This study enriches the understanding of performance feedback mechanisms and their influence on innovative search strategies.

Left and right: a tale of two tails of the wealth distribution

We study a model of wealth accumulation in altruistic lineages, in which households face uninsurable risk, investment indivisibilities and borrowing constraints. A thick upper tail of the stationary distribution of wealth is shown to emerge as a robust prediction, irrespective of (1) the presence of multidimensional (wealth and ability) heterogeneity and non-convexities in human capital formation, and (2) the nature of parental bequest motives (joy-of-giving vs. paternalism). Additionally, (3) we identify conditions under which the unique, ergodic wealth distribution exhibits a mass point at the bottom of its support, where credit market imperfections continue to affect, along the convergence process, the structure of wealth transitions at the lineage level. Motivated by these results, we then analyze the sensitivity of the left tail to various frictions and fiscal instruments that affect bequest strategies and the ensuing transmission of wealth across generations. In particular, capital income or bequest taxes with no redistribution may reinforce economic mechanisms underpinning mobility traps in the left tail, thereby increasing the persistence of households in the lowest tiers of the wealth distribution.

Pressure or benefits? A multidimensional heterogeneity perspective on the role of environmental self-regulation in firms’ resource acquisition

Pressure or benefits? A multidimensional heterogeneity perspective on the role of environmental self-regulation in firms’ resource acquisition

Farmers' cooperation preference for solar composting chamber —— From farmers’ multi-dimensional heterogeneity perspective

Solar composting chamber is an important way for disposing rural domestic waste locally, which requires the participation of farmers. However, few studies have explored farmers' cooperation preference for solar composting chamber, even without considering farmers' heterogeneity. Therefore, this paper divides the farmers into three types: economic, social, and cognitive dominant. The Choice Experiment method is used to investigate all types of farmers' cooperation preference and willingness to accept subsides for the solar composting chamber, using the survey data of China's Shaanxi province. The findings show that social-dominant farmers favor supply models that incorporate government subsidies, more participating farmers, and technical support, while economic-dominant farmers prefer models that include closer construction distances in addition to those. In contrast, cognitive-dominant farmers prefer models with more withdrawal flexibility in addition to the aforementioned factors. Furthermore, economic-dominant farmers have the lowest value of willingness to accept subsidies, i.e., 10,923 dollars, while cognitive-dominant farmers have the highest, i.e., 22,197 dollars. According to the results, policy implications are suggested, including incentivizing farmers' participation by enhancing government subsidies and technical support, and developing diverse cooperation models.

Sustainable Media and Green Innovation: The Impact of Sustainable Atmosphere and Environmental Regulation on Manufacturing Enterprises

This study proposes a research framework for media attention towards green innovation of manufacturing enterprises based on the theory of stakeholders and legitimacy. We examine the potential effect of media attention on the manufacturing industry and make a multidimensional heterogeneity analysis with a sample of Chinese manufacturing enterprises during 2011–2019. Our results show an inverted U-shaped relationship between various attentions of media and green innovation. We find that the early attention of the media can expand the green innovation ability of manufacturing enterprises. However, the excessive attention of the media later may decrease the green behavior of enterprises. The legitimacy pressure of media attention on enterprises helps enterprises carry out green innovation and reduce false green innovation activities. In addition, the sustainable construction, environmental regulations, and sustainable social atmosphere focused on by the media will have a positive effect on the green innovation of enterprises. We suggest that recognizing the importance and potential power of sustainable media, environmental regulations, and sustainable atmosphere in green technology is a key component of the ecological inclusive path to promote the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Sudden crisis events and firms' stock price fluctuations: A multidimensional heterogeneity perspective

AbstractThis study takes listed companies that have experienced sudden crisis events as samples. The event study method and multiple regression analysis are further adopted to explore the relationship between sudden crisis events and the stock price fluctuations of listed companies from the perspective of multidimensional characteristics. Findings reveal that sudden crisis events have a significant impact on stock price fluctuations. However, the firms' response frequency and response time to crisis events can exert a buffering role in their adverse association. Further analysis shows that the stock price fluctuations also vary with different heterogeneous characteristics including crisis event types, ownership types, firm competitiveness and firm size. The multidimensional analysis targeting the impact of sudden crisis events on the stock market is conducive to helping firms grasp the rhythm of crisis events and further implement some practical and feasible crisis management measures.

Agricultural Trade Effects of China’s Free Trade Zone Strategy: A Multidimensional Heterogeneity Perspective

The purpose of this work is to investigate the varied effects of China’s free trade zone (FTZ) strategy on agricultural trade and its underlying mechanisms. This work utilizes the propensity score matching–staggered difference-in-differences (PSM–Staggered DID) approach and synthetic control method (SCM) as its analysis methods. This study analyzes trade volume data between China and various countries alongside diverse economic indicators spanning from 1995 to 2020. The data sources include CEPII_BACI, the China Free Trade Zone Services website, the Penn World Tables, and the CEPII database. The novelty of this work lies in exploring the multidimensional heterogeneity of agricultural product trade effects in FTZs and their underlying mechanisms and extending the application of causal inference methods to the assessment of FTZs’ trade effects. Empirical analysis indicates that the establishment of FTZs with partner countries has contributed to the growth of China’s agricultural trade. The effects of agricultural trade resulting from China’s FTZ strategy exhibit multidimensional heterogeneity in the aspects of agreement terms, years, product categories, and network positions. Specifically, when it comes to the agreement terms, FTZs negotiated by China with broader scope, deeper terms, and stronger constraints have a more significant impact on agricultural trade due to the establishment of FTZs; in terms of years, the agricultural trade effects have gradually expanded over time; in terms of product categories, China has expanded its imports of primary agricultural products and semiprocessed agricultural products from partner countries, thus augmenting its exports of horticultural agricultural products and processed agricultural products. In terms of network positions, China, as a hub country, has greater agricultural trade effects than partner countries after the establishment of the FTZs. Finally, the paper proposes policy recommendations for optimizing the implementation strategy of FTZs.

Assessing the collaborative quality value in nuclear power intelligent construction: A value chain analysis method based on double-layer GERT network

Due to the large number of participants and the multi-dimensional heterogeneity of economic activities, the value creation links are hidden and the value relationship is difficult to identify. Only paying attention to the effect and cost input of a single enterprise’s quality business cannot maximize the value of collaborative quality control, and cannot meet the requirements of nuclear power intelligent construction. Therefore, we propose to use collaborative quality value to characterize the value creation process and coordinate the interest relationship and value distribution among participants. On this basis, a collaborative quality value chain analysis method based on the double-layer GERT network is studied to quantitatively calculate the collaborative quality value. Specifically, the collaborative quality assurance mode is constructed and the interaction behavior among participants is analyzed. The value transfer and enhancement across participants is represented by the double-layer GERT network model, and the global and local values of the value chain are quantitatively measured based on the equivalent transfer function. Then, the key quality assurance business and activities that restrict the whole chain value-added are explored, and the collaborative quality value-added strategies are proposed. Finally, the effectiveness of this method is verified by a case study involving the fabrication of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) support inside a nuclear power project. This study provides a new method for realizing the value evaluation of collaborative quality control and maximizing the collaborative quality value of the whole value chain.

Can digital transformation change a firm's green innovation strategy? Evidence from China's heavily polluting industries

Enterprises are facing the superimposed challenges of digitalization and greening. The shift from reactive green technology innovation (RGT) to proactive green technology innovation (PGT) has special significance for sustainable economic development. Which strategies will companies choose? Can digital transformation (DT) motivate companies to transform their green innovation strategies? Enterprises' green innovation strategy choices must be explained with regard to digitalization. The purpose of this paper is to reveal how digitalization affects the choice of green innovation strategies and to provide a realistic basis for the sustainable development of heavily polluting enterprises. We formulated a “DT-capability-strategy" theoretical framework incorporating external constraints and internal attitudes to empirically test the microdata of 505 heavily polluting enterprises. The results show that: (1) DT can shift the heavily polluting enterprises' green innovation strategies from RGT to PGT. Endogenous tests and robustness tests support this conclusion. (2) A mechanism test shows that environmental regulations cannot significantly regulate a green innovation strategy. Only a company's capabilities and attitudes can influence PGT but their effects on RGT are not statistically significant. (3) The influence of DT on green innovation strategies shows multi-dimensional heterogeneity in the digital infrastructure, scale, and innovation level of the enterprise. The conclusions provide implications for enterprises to integrate their digital and green behaviors.

Matching points: Supplementing instruments with covariates in triangular models

Models with a discrete endogenous variable and an instrument that takes on fewer values are common in economics. This paper presents a new method that matches pairs of covariates and instruments to restore the order condition in this scenario and to achieve point-identification of the outcome function. The outcome function must be monotonic in a scalar disturbance, but it can be nonseparable. The first stage for the discrete endogenous variable needs to have a multi-index structure but allows for multidimensional heterogeneity. This paper also provides estimators of the outcome function. Two empirical examples of the return to education and of selection into Head Start illustrate the usefulness and limitations of the method.

Natural resource saving effects of data factor marketization: Implications for green recovery

Using the resource-saving effect of digital factors to improve the efficiency of using natural resources, especially energy, is vital for achieving a green recovery. This study, taking the construction of China's big data platform and data exchange as an example, analyzes the resource-saving effect of data factor marketization by using the multi-period double-difference model, the KHB mediating effect model, and the quantile review model. It explores how the data factor market affects enterprises’ energy efficiency, considering data from 2011 to 2019. The findings confirm that the establishment of data factor markets enhances enterprise energy efficiency, while its effect has multidimensional heterogeneity. In addition, this natural resource-saving effect gradually increases as energy efficiency improves. The effect results from micro-level green innovation and macro-level market enhancement. Based on the findings, the study recommends that steadily promoting data marketization could enhance enterprise energy efficiency, leading to a green recovery for the economy.

How daily activities and built environment affect health? A latent segmentation-based random parameter logit modeling approach

Transport studies have recently started focusing on the link between activity participation and general health. This study explores the relationship between general health and travel activities, physical activity, and built environment attributes. Individuals’ self-rated health is considered a general health indicator. Using data from the Impacts of Bicycle Infrastructure in Mid-sized Cities (IBIMS) survey of Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada, this study develops a latent segmentation-based random parameter logit (LSRPL) model. The motivation for adopting the LSRPL model is to capture multi-dimensional heterogeneity by allocating individuals into discrete latent segments (inter-segment heterogeneity) and then allowing a continuous distribution of the parameters within the segments (intra-segment heterogeneity). The model is estimated for two segments where segment one includes younger suburban dwellers; segment two includes older urban dwellers. The model results confirm the effect of travel, physical activity, and built environment on general health revealing multi-dimensional heterogeneity. In the case of inter-segment heterogeneity, results confirm that a higher share of travel duration using a car reduces the likelihood of excellent health in segment one. In contrast, a positive relationship is found in segment two. Whereas, for intra-segment heterogeneity results reveal that, a higher commute duration is found to be negatively associated with good health in segment two. However, this variable shows higher heterogeneity in mean for land use mix index, which indicates that urban areas coupled with higher land use mix increase the propensity towards good health. These findings will assist in developing transportation policies and investment decisions to build healthier cities.

Establishment of a cascaded microfluidic single cell analysis system for molecular and functional heterogeneity analysis of circulating tumor cells

Single cell heterogeneity analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) is expected to reveal important tumor biological information for the evaluation and prediction of tumor stage and metastatic progression. Although various methods have been proposed to isolate and detect CTCs, consecutive CTCs sorting and in-situ multi-dimensional heterogeneity analysis in a cascaded system remain challenging. Here, a cascaded microfluidic chip was constructed, successively integrating a spiral structure for size-based removal of blood cells and a single cell array structure for the subsequent capture of CTCs, complementing the advantages of high throughput and high separation purity for both structures. Importantly, the molecular and functional heterogeneity analysis of CTCs can be in-situ realized and real-time observed at the single-cell level. Using this system, we captured CTCs and situ-analyzed the heterogeneity of single CTCs from different types of cancer patients, finding that mesenchymal phenotype is present in more CTCs at the advanced stage, and CTCs show active motility and division ability in metastatic patients. Therefore, the cascaded microfluidic chip offers an effective strategy for studying the molecular and functional heterogeneity of single CTCs, providing critical information for the evaluation of tumor progression and metastasis.

Bundling and nonlinear pricing in telecommunications

AbstractI develop a multiproduct nonlinear pricing model where a firm sells both discrete and continuous services to consumers with multidimensional heterogeneity. I derive the optimal selling mechanism and provide primitive conditions under which different bundling strategies arise. Exploiting both the firm and the consumer's optimality conditions, I show that the model structure is nonparametrically identified and propose a semiparametric estimation procedure. An application to China Telecom data shows that mixed bundling of internet and landline phone services is more beneficial to both the firm and the consumer relative to component pricing.