Policy Suggestions Research Articles

Can Social Learning Promote Farmers’ Green Breeding Behavior? Regulatory Effect Based on Environmental Regulation

Farmers’ green breeding behavior is significant to environmental protection and sustainable development. Based on the micro-survey data of 1248 beef cattle farmers in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Jilin Province, the OLS model and regulatory effect tests are used to analyze the influence of social learning on farmers’ green breeding behavior and to verify the mechanism of environmental regulation. Key findings include the following: (1) Social learning has a significant positive impact on farmers’ green breeding behavior. (2) Social learning has a significant positive impact on farmers’ willingness to undertake green breeding, farmers’ specific behavior of green breeding, and farmers’ continuous green breeding, among which the effect on specific behavior of green breeding is the most positive. (3) Environmental regulation plays a moderating role in the relationship between social learning and farmers’ green breeding behavior, among which all sub-dimensions of environmental regulation (incentive-based environmental regulation, binding environmental regulation and guided environmental regulation) have positive reinforcing effects, especially the most significant reinforcement effect of binding environmental regulation. Based on the research conclusions, this study proposes policy suggestions such as strengthening the training of farmers, strengthening the learning and communication among farmers’ neighbors, increasing the frequency of farmers’ use of mass media, improving the environmental regulation policy system, and promoting the coordinated development of environmental, economic, and social benefits.

Integrating system dynamics and agent-based modeling: A data-driven framework for predicting electric vehicle market penetration and GHG emissions reduction under various incentives scenarios

As the growing deployment towards transportation electrification, a critical focus has emerged on quantifying the reduction contribution of greenhouse gas emissions from electric vehicles towards achieving carbon neutrality under diverse policy scenarios in the future. This necessitates a dynamic model that captures the evolving composition of the vehicle fleet and accurately forecasts the penetration and developmental trajectory of the electric vehicles in the car market. However, previous studies have largely overlooked the heterogeneity in user usage attributes, rendering them less effective in evaluating the impact of usage-based incentives on electric vehicle market penetration. To bridge this research gap, this study introduces an innovative, data-driven framework that integrates system dynamics and agent-based model. The proposed model can predict levels of electric vehicle penetration and corresponding greenhouse gas emission reductions within the private passenger vehicle sector, under a variety of policy scenarios. Our findings indicate that usage-based incentives, when implemented with optimal intensity, yield more significant emission reduction impacts and long-term economic benefits compared to conventional purchase-based subsidy. These insights not only furnish actionable policy suggestions to expedite the electric vehicle industry's growth in China but also offer valuable implications for other countries seeking to implement effective strategies for combating climate change and fostering sustainable transportation initiatives.

Stress in Chinese teachers who teach the mathematically gifted: a qualitative perspective.

Those who teach mathematically gifted high school students play a key role in both their identification and cultivation. Teachers who teach the Mathematical Olympiad in China work long hours and teach difficult content; they are under a significant amount of work-based pressure, and that is worthy of further study. This study analyzed the sources of stress for 33 Chinese teachers who teach the Mathematical Olympiad, collected data through semi-structured in-depth interviews, and adopted a subject analysis method based on Bronfenbrenner's ecological system that considers the influences that the complexity of socio-cultural and environment have on individual emotions. It is divided into five structural or environmental systems in which human beings develop, namely the macroscopic, external, meso, micro, and chrono systems. The research results show that the greatest influences on these teachers' stress come from the mesosystem and microsystem levels, and that the key players are students and school leaders. Educational policy and culture are found to be key factors from the macrosystem. Overall, long-term stress was seen to affect both teachers' moods and their physical health. Finally, the results offered implications for education policy and school management and suggestions for the cultivation and management of mathematics teachers who teach the gifted. Limitations of the study are discussed, and directions for future research are proposed.

The Role of Social Support in Improving the Well-Being of the Elderly: A Qualitative Review

This research aims to explore the role of social support in improving the well-being of the elderly through a qualitative review. Social support is identified as a crucial factor influencing the quality of life and happiness of older people in social, emotional and instrumental contexts. Qualitative research methods were used to gain in-depth understanding through in-depth interviews with elderly people and content analysis of related literature. The research results show that family, peers, and community play an important role in providing social support to the elderly. This support not only improves their emotional well-being but also provides practical help in living their daily lives. Seniors who feel strong social support tend to have lower levels of depression, better physical health, and a higher quality of life. Policy suggestions include increasing public awareness about the importance of social support for the elderly, developing community programs that support their social interactions, as well as integrating the concept of social support in public policies related to the welfare of the elderly. It is hoped that this research can make a significant contribution in increasing understanding and approaches to the important role of social support in advancing the welfare of the elderly in society.

Whole Life Carbon Assessment of Buildings: The Process to Define Czech National Benchmarks

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in addressing human-induced impacts on the environment, with a particular focus on transitioning to sustainability and achieving carbon neutrality. However, the current implementation of Whole Life Carbon (WLC) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) in the construction sector in the Czech Republic is hindered by several challenges. These include gaps in stakeholders’ knowledge, limited availability of LCA data on construction products and buildings, insufficient market incentives, and low institutional capacity. This study, conducted as part of the INDICATE project, aims to streamline the process of WLC calculation and establish a consistent national assessment method specific to the Czech context. The project encompasses various phases, i.e., a case study collection of office, multi-family, single-family, education, and logistic hall buildings, followed by the development of a comprehensive unified materials database, classification of building parts and uniform work with the bill of quantities, stakeholder engagement, an LCA of case studies with a sensitivity analysis, and WLC policy suggestions, including the quality of the project data, simplifications, and a benchmarks definition. The Global Warming Potential (GWP) is calculated throughout the entire life cycle of each considered building, utilizing the EU Level(s) methodology incorporated in the OneClick LCA software. By adhering to these newly developed methodological steps, benchmarks for multi-residential buildings are shown. The same methodology could be replicated by stakeholders in other countries to enhance their evaluation processes and ensure consistent results across their projects.

Exploring the paths of energy conservation and emission reduction in aluminum industry in Henan province, China

As the world's largest producer and consumer of aluminum, China's aluminum industry is facing enormous pressure for energy conservation and emission reduction due to its traditional high energy consumption, high emissions, and high pollution. To explore the green and low-carbon development path of the aluminum industry, an integrated modelling framework was developed, including aluminum production forecasting and scrap recycling model, energy consumption-carbon emission-air pollutant emission model, and conservation supply curve method. Five different scenarios were set up to evaluate the energy saving and emission reduction potential of Henan Province from 2023 to 2050, by adopting four measures of accelerating the recycled aluminum, promoting energy efficiency technologies, expanding the scale of electrolytic cells, and increasing the share of renewable energy. The results showed that the production of alumina and primary aluminum decreased to 9.6 and 1.8 Mt respectively in 2050, while the future production of aluminum processing products and recycled aluminum showed a continuous upward trend. By 2050, production of recycled aluminum will increase to 14.0 Mt, expanding by about 5.7 times compared to 2022. The energy-saving and emission reduction potential of the integrated scenario is the most significant, with energy consumption, CO2, SO2, NOX, PM10, PM2.5 and fluoride decreased by 54.3, 73.0, 96.5, 72.7, 82.6, 82.6, and 98.9% compared to the business-as-usual scenario, respectively. The results also indicated that accelerating the recycled aluminum and optimizing energy structure are more effective for mitigation. Finally, policy suggestions for mitigating energy consumption and pollutant emissions of the aluminum industry in Henan Province were proposed. The systematic framework of this study can be widely applicable to other provinces and the whole country, which can provide some references for the aluminum industry to achieve the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets.

Innovative Paths for Digital Empowerment in RuralRevitalization of Ethnic Minority Areas

The integrated development of urban and rural areas is the main line and focus of the three rural issues'' work in the new era, which is of great significance for solving the problems of unbalanced and inadequate development in ethnic regions and promoting the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas. Based on the review of the evolution of urban-rural relations and related theories of urban-rural integrated development, this paper analyzes the prominent problems in ethnic regions, such as the imbalance of urban-rural development, rural hollowing, lagging infrastructure and public services, and ecological environment protection. Centering on the main line of digital empowerment for rural revitalization in ethnic regions, systematic countermeasures and suggestions are put forward from the aspects of constructing a digital rural development strategy'', promoting the system integration of `people-industry-land' '', taking classified measures to promote the revitalization of different types of rural areas'', promoting the free flow of urban and rural production factors'', and promoting rural space reconstruction''. At the same time, based on typical case practices, the replicable and extendable experience of digital rural development is summarized, the main challenges faced are analyzed, and policy suggestions are put forward from the aspects of top-level design, financial support, resource integration, pilot demonstration, and talent cultivation, so as to provide theoretical support and practical guidance for the integrated development of urban and rural areas and rural revitalization in ethnic regions.

A Study of China-Latin America Cooperation in Green Energy Industry: Status, Obstacles, and the Policy Suggestions

A Study of China-Latin America Cooperation in Green Energy Industry: Status, Obstacles, and the Policy Suggestions

Policy suggestions for improving nursing education in a low- and middle-income country: A modified Delphi study

BackgroundHealth policy critically influences a national healthcare system and nurse's roles, working conditions, and professional development opportunities, especially in low- and middle-income countries. PurposeTo explore and prioritize the major challenges and solution, and establish policy directions for improving nursing education in the Kyrgyz Republic. MethodsThe key stakeholders of nursing practice, education, policymaking, and regulation were involved in this modified Delphi study. Following two rounds of exploring priority issues and potential strategies, the participants of the final round assembled for consensual discussions on the establishment of policy directions. ResultsInnovations in nursing education systems, building educational capacity, and ensuring educational outcomes were suggested and agreed upon for the sequential improvement of nursing education. DiscussionThe policy suggestions derived from this study, including the improvement of nursing education quality and the assurance of nurses' competencies, have great potential for improving quality healthcare practice and sustaining an effective healthcare system.

How Environmental Regulation Affects Pollution Reduction and Carbon Reduction Synergies—An Empirical Analysis Based on Chinese Provincial Data

Faced with the dual challenges of environmental pollution and climate change, it is of great significance to study the impact of relevant environmental regulations on the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon emission reduction and their influence mechanisms. Based on a theoretical analysis using the panel data of 30 provinces in China, a spatial econometric model and an intermediary effect model are used to investigate the impact of environmental regulations on the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction and the transmission mechanisms potentially responsible for these effects. The empirical results show the following: (1) The three kinds of environmental regulation effectively facilitate the synergistic effect of pollution reduction and carbon reduction, taking the following order when ranked according to the intensity of their effects: command-type environmental regulation (ER1) > market-based environmental regulation (ER2) > voluntary environmental regulation (ER3). (2) Environmental regulation effectively promotes the synergistic effect of pollution and carbon reduction through the three transmission mechanisms of stimulating technological innovation (TI), industrial structure upgrading (ISU), and restricting foreign direct investment (FDI), which take the following effectiveness order: TI > FDI > ISU. Based on the results of the study, policy suggestions to facilitate pollution reduction and carbon synergies are proposed to help China’s green and low-carbon development.

Driving sustainable development: Role of institutional quality and future of China's mineral resource management projects

The rapid industrial progress in China along with significant dependence on minerals, raises concerns about the influence of its overall reliance on nations’ development trajectory. Moreover, institutional quality also plays an active role in shaping the economic structure of any nation. The study investigates the intricate association among mineral extraction, institutional quality, and economic development in China from 1990 to 2022. For an empirical investigation, the ARDL (Autoregressive distributed lag) co-integration method is employed based on the order of integration of the series defined by the ADF(Augmented Dickey-Fuller) stationarity test. Moreover, CUSUM and CUSUM square (Cumulative sum of square) also confirm the stability of the model. According to the findings mineral rent and mineral exports are found to be positively significant in the short and the long run and increase economic growth. While institutional quality is shown to be positively insignificant in the short term, in the long run, it is shown to have a positive significant effect. Moreover, inflation and population growth are shown to have a positive significant impact in the short term, but trade is found to be insignificant. Lastly, the study intends to suggest policy suggestions based on the results. A country should have a strong institutional setup to ensure sustainable long-term growth.

Do college graduates serving as village officials help mitigate income inequality within village?

China has made the remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation, but there remains a great challenge to effectively support disadvantaged farmers and mitigate income inequality. The policy of College Graduates Serving as Village Officials (CGVOs), through which reallocates the high-quality talents mostly from large and medium cities to villages, has not received the deserved attention. In this study, we construct the theoretical framework about how CGVOs mitigate Income Inequality within Village (IIV). With a nationally representative panel data, we use Difference in Difference estimator and identify the impact of CGVOs. Main findings are as follows: (1) CGVOs can help mitigate IIV, mainly reflected in increasing farmers' operating income, property income, and transfer income and targeting the disadvantaged farmers. (2) CGVOs play an important role in optimizing production factor allocation, obtaining external resource support, improving the governance transparency, and increasing farmers' access to public service. (3) CGVOs' functions tend to vary in regional endowments and village secretary's characteristics. Finally, we put forward policy suggestions about how to fully utilize CGVOs' roles, which would shed light on village development in other developing countries.

Policy-making for Indigenous entrepreneurship: towards an inclusive approach

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the success level of Indigenous entrepreneurship (IE) policies, examines if there is an international dimension to the successes and failures of IE policies, and synthesises lessons from both successful and unsuccessful policies to lead towards a more inclusive approach for the future. Using a narrative systematic review, our findings show that while some IE policies have succeeded, others have either been ineffective, ill-conceived or, in a few cases, have led to worse/negative outcomes for Indigenous entrepreneurs. We unpack lessons from the successful and failed policies and provide suggestions for future policy and research.

The “Supply-Side Reform Policy” and the Share of Labor Income in Enterprises

This article takes the supply-side structural reform launched in 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the “DID” method to analyze the relationship between the policy effects of supply-side reform and the labor income share. Firstly, the basic conclusion is that the “supply-side reform policy” can reduce the labor income share of enterprises in the “six major industries”. The correctness of the benchmark regression results was verified through a series of robustness tests. The results of the main regression were validated based on three different heterogeneity analysis perspectives: firm ownership, firm region, and government intervention. Secondly, two mediation mechanisms were examined, and the results showed that increasing operating income can positively enhance the “supply-side structural reform” in reducing the labor share of income in all enterprises, while increasing R&D investment can negatively enhance the effect of the “supply-side structural reform” on the reduction of the labor share of income in all enterprises. The heterogeneity of the two intermediary effects indicates that state-owned enterprises and private enterprises have different performances. The research results of this article indicate that the “supply-side reform policy” can effectively reduce the labor income share of target enterprises, reduce the proportion of excess employees, and enhance the vitality of target enterprises. The policy suggestion is to continue promoting supply-side structural reform, a policy which is in line with the requirements of the high-quality and sustainable development of Chinese enterprises.

Research on the Impact of Financial Agglomeration on Green Investment

With growing global attention on sustainable environmental development, green investment has become an important tool to drive the green transformation of the economy. Financial agglomeration areas, as capital-intensive regions, provide strong support for green technological innovation and eco-environmental projects. Additionally, the policy inclinations and investment preferences of financial agglomeration areas directly influence the flow and efficiency of green funds, further shaping the path of economic green transformation. Based on this, this paper selects panel data from 31 provinces in China (except Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) over 15 years from 2007 to 2021. Using the fixed effects model, the study examines the impact of financial agglomeration on the scale of green investment and conducts a heterogeneous analysis of the effects in different regions of China, as well as proposing related policy suggestions. The results show that an increase in the level of financial agglomeration can significantly enhance the scale of green investment in a region, especially in the central regions. Compared to the eastern and western regions, the promotion effect of financial agglomeration is more pronounced in the central region.

Multifractal Analysis of International Energy and Agricultural Markets Under the Influence of Russia–Ukraine Conflict

Taking six representative futures in the international energy and agricultural markets as the research objects, we use multifractal analysis methods to study the fluctuation characteristics, market risks and cross-correlations within and between these markets before and after the outbreak of the Russia–Ukraine conflict in this paper. The empirical results show that both the auto-correlations and cross-correlations have obvious multifractal features. It is confirmed that the multifractal strength and market risks of the international energy markets have weakened, while those of the international agricultural markets have enhanced after the Russia–Ukraine conflict broke out. In addition, the Russia–Ukraine conflict has intensified the strength of the multifractality and the degree of fluctuation complexity between these two classes of international markets. Further, the intrinsic multifractal natures of cross-correlations are tested, and the apparent and intrinsic multifractality before and after the conflict are revealed. Finally, some policy suggestions are put forward based on the empirical results.

Erratic Rise in Tomato Prices, Status, Issues, Government Initiatives and Policy Suggestions to Manage the prices of Tomato and other Vegetables

Tomatoes, hold a paramount position in both Indian cuisine and the nation's economy. The status of tomato area and production in India and in states show its importance in Indian economy. India is leading tomato producer in the world. In India, MP and Andhra Pradesh are the largest producer of tomato in India. The erratic weather conditions, pest attack and transport bottlenecks have raised the tomato prices in June to August 2023. In this regard, the paper is to analyze the status and issues in erratic rise in tomato prices, government initiatives and Policy suggestions to manage the prices of tomato and other vegetables. In the study, it is found that the number of reasons that has led to rise in prices starting from poor prices received for tomato for rabi crop, rise in temperature in May – June and to high rainfall in July end. Government has then initiated number of needed measures to support both producers and consumers from creating the awareness, purchase of produce from surplus areas and then distribution of produce in high price areas. To prevent the abnormal price situations in tomatoes or other vegetables, there is need of a multi-pronged approach involving both short-term relief and long-term strategies. As a policy suggestion, to combat such crisis in future, a collaborative effort and coordination required among government agencies, weather departments, agricultural experts, extension machinery and farmers themselves is essential.

Drivers of international fiscal spillovers

AbstractThis paper investigates the drivers of international fiscal spillovers across 62 countries for the period covering 1970–2021. Using the local projections method at the country‐pair level, fiscal spillovers are estimated as the cumulative response of the real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in spillover destination countries to a unit shock in the real government spending growth in spillover source countries. Pairwise estimation results (for 3782 country pairs) suggest that there are statistically significant fiscal spillovers for 36% of country pairs, whereas this ratio is 49% for country pairs within the euro area. For the median country pair, a unit shock of real government spending growth in the spillover source country results in about 0.09% of the increase in the real GDP growth of the spillover destination country, whereas this fiscal‐spillover estimate goes up to 0.42% when the spillover source is in the euro area, and the spillover destination is an oil producing country. A secondary investigation based on the Heckman selection model is used to identify the drivers of fiscal spillovers across country pairs, where the existence of statistically significant fiscal spillovers is shown to be connected to the proximity between countries. The size of fiscal spillovers is further shown to increase with the initial (as of 1970) country size, trade openness, and government size of the spillover source country, whereas it decreases with the initial country size and trade openness of the spillover destination country. Important policy suggestions follow.

A Panel Analysis on the Nexus between Financial Development, Oil Production, and Trade-Openness and Its Impact on Sustainable Economic Growth: Evidence from Selected Arab Economies

In accordance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals agenda for decent and sustainable economic growth highlighted in the UNSDGs-8, several economies over the years have been on the quest for drivers for decent and sustainable economic growth, of which the Arab bloc is no exception. To this end, the present study draws strength from the classical growth model while exploring the dynamic nexus between oil production and economic growth while accounting for other key growth drivers like gross capital formulation accumulation, labour, trade openness, and financial development for a balanced panel of selected Arab economies. To operationalise the study objectives, the present study leverages second-generational panel econometric approaches. The econometrics techniques applied circumvent the cross-sectional dependency and slope heterogeneity in the sampled bloc. For co-integration analysis, the Westerlund’s panel co-integration test affirms a long-run equilibrium relationship between the study’s outlined variables. Furthermore, for long-run estimates, the present study leverages the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) methodology and the augmented mean group (AMG) method for robustness and soundness of the results and coefficients. The present study corroborates the trade-induced growth hypothesis in the entire panel at a p < 0.001 statistical level, which resonates with the mercantilism school of thought. Additionally, the present study also affirms the Solow–Swan hypothesis, where gross capital formation accumulation and labour drive economic growth. Interestingly, the panel bloc shows that oil production is a key driver to the nation’s economic growth, at a p < 0.05 statistical level. However, from a policy standpoint, there are policy suggestions for diversification of the Arab economies to move from a mono-economy dependent on oil production to other sectors like service, industry, and manufacturing, which require labour, capital accumulation, and more. Further policy caveats are outlined in the concluding section.

Intergenerational care and labor supply for children ——Panel analysis based on follow-up survey data

At present, the aging situation of the population in China is more serious. Older parents helping young parents care for their children helps increase the employment rate of young parents. In this paper, using panel regression using data from CFPS2010, CFPS2012 and CFPS2014, the results found that the promotion effect of intergenerational care was higher in women than men, and on urban users than that in rural areas. In this paper, the problem of endogeneity is solved according to the measure of whether the parents are alive, and the robustness is tested by annual robust regression and linear probability model. Finally, according to the conclusion of the study, the policy suggestions of the elderly are put forward: identify with the value of the elderly, encourage family harmony, and improve the supply structure through policies to encourage intergenerational care.