Prefecture-level Cities In China Research Articles

THE IMPACT OF THE AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVE SERVICE INDUSTRY ON THE INCOME GAP BETWEEN URBAN AND RURAL RESIDENTS: EVIDENCE FROM 276 CHINESE PREFECTURE-LEVEL CITIES

Based on the panel data of 276 prefecture-level cities in China from 2009 to 2018, this paper explores the impact of the agricultural productive service industry on the income gap between urban and rural residents by constructing the spatial econometric model and threshold regression model. The results show that the development of the agricultural productive service industry has a significant spatial spillover effect, which has a significant restraining effect on widening the income gap between urban and rural residents in the neighboring areas. Developing the agricultural productive service industry in the eastern and central regions significantly narrows the income gap between urban and rural residents. There is a significant urbanization threshold effect on the impact of the agricultural productive service industry on the income gap between urban and rural residents. When the urbanization level crosses the threshold of 3.7469, the role of the agricultural productive service industry in reducing the income gap between urban and rural residents increases significantly. Therefore, this paper proposes accelerating the development of the agricultural productive service industry, improving the urban–rural integration mechanism, strengthening the coordinated development between regions and playing the external effects of the agricultural productive service industry.

The carbon emission reduction effect and mechanism analysis of digital economy: Evidence of prefecture-level cities in China

ABSTRACT This study investigates the impact and mechanisms of carbon emission reduction associated with digital economy development, utilizing data from 265 prefecture-level cities in China during the period of 2003 to 2019. The comprehensive index of digital economy development at the prefecture level is evaluated using the entropy method, followed by empirical analysis employing the dual fixed effect model. The findings confirm a significant improvement in urban carbon emission reduction resulting from the digital economy. Mechanism analysis reveals that the digital economy enhances the carbon emission reduction effect in cities by promoting urban green innovation and reducing energy consumption intensity. Additionally, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the carbon reduction effect of digital economy development is influenced by factors such as city location, population size, and development type. By shedding light on the relationship between the digital economy and carbon emission reduction, this study offers valuable insights into the mechanisms through which the digital economy contributes to sustainable urban development.

Can digital economy improve employment structure?-Mediating effect based on a spatial Durbin model.

Based on the panel data of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this study constructed an index measurement system of digital economy, economic agglomeration, innovation and entrepreneurship, and employment structure. The index of digital economy was developed by entropy weight method, and the double-fixed spatial Durbin model was constructed based on the intermediary effect from the spatial perspective to determine the direct effect, indirect effect, and total effect of the digital economy, economic agglomeration degree, and innovation and entrepreneurship on employment structure. The results indicated a significant spatial correlation between the three aspects, i.e., digital economy can significantly optimize the employment structure, with an evident spillover effect. The mechanism analysis revealed that the level of innovation and entrepreneurship poses a stronger intermediary effect than the degree of economic agglomeration, and the digital economy in the eastern region directly impacts the urban employment structure; however, the influence of digital economy on the employment structure is significantly higher in small- and medium-sized cities than in large-sized cities.

Analysis of the impact of local government debt policy on the financial ecological environment-based on debt level and debt structure perspectives

This paper employs panel data from 227 prefecture-level cities in China spanning the period from 2000 to 2020 to investigate the effects and influences of local government debt policies on the financial ecological environment. Considering regional economic foundation, financial development, government governance, and the construction of the social credit system, our analysis reveals the following outcomes regarding debt level and debt structure: Firstly, we find that higher debt levels and an increased proportion of hidden debt at the local government level have impacts on various dimensions of the financial ecological environment. Specifically, debt expansion facilitates regional economic foundations and financial development but hampers government governance and the construction of the social credit system, leading to a deterioration in the development of the financial ecological environment. Furthermore, employing a threshold regression model, we have not identified a significant nonlinear relationship in this context. Secondly, local government debt exhibits a reverse spatial spillover effect on the financial ecological environment of surrounding regions, contrasting with the effects observed within the local area. This effect manifests as the enhancement of the financial ecological environment in neighboring areas.

Whether the agricultural energy rebound offsets the governance effectiveness of the China's natural resource audit policy?

Due to the absence of a Chinese agricultural environmental trading market and the national government's "dual carbon" goal, government audit reform has been an important central government tool to ensure parallel economic and environmental performances and promote the green transformation of agriculture; however, in practice, the energy rebound effect may offset this effort. Based on panel data from 206 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this study took China's leading official accountability audit of natural resources (LOAANR) pilot as a standard natural experiment to explore the policy effects and action paths of LOAANR on the agricultural direct energy rebound (DAER) and the indirect energy rebound (IAER), for which a spatial difference-in-difference (SDID) model was used. The results show that the LOAANR resulted in an agricultural energy rebound (AER) in the pilot cities and also had positive spillover on the AER in neighboring cities through demonstration, imitation, and training effects. It was also found that this effect was strongest in developed and agricultural non-focus cities. Finally, the mechanism test found that the LOAANR positively promoted AER in the pilot cities and negatively affected the AER in neighboring cities through agricultural energy efficiency (ATFEE). Therefore, several policy recommendations that can refine the LOAANR policy audit checklist and promote the green transformation of agriculture were presented.

Does green innovation reduce carbon emission intensity of Chinese cities? Analysis based on GS2SLS

ABSTRACT In the 14th Five-Year Plan, China’s economic and social development aims to focus on carbon peaking and carbon neutrality. On the basis of panel data of 284 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2020, this study uses the generalized spatial two-stage least squares method (GS2SLS) to analyse empirically the relationship and mechanism between the green innovation and carbon emission intensity（CEI） of Chinese cities. The research reveals several findings. (1) The CEI of Chinese cities has a significant spatial spillover effect. Moreover, green innovation has reduced the CEI of Chinese cities. The robustness and endogenous tests further verified this conclusion. (2) The carbon emission reduction effect of green innovation shows significant regional heterogeneity, which is more significant in eastern regions and cities with high innovation capabilities. In contrast, this outcome is not significant in regions with weaker innovation capabilities and in the central and western regions. (3) Green innovation mainly reduces the CEI of Chinese cities by promoting the upgrading of industrial structures. A higher level of digital economy development will also have a significantly positive catalytic effect on green innovation to inhibit CEI.

Has China’s Free Trade Zone policy promoted the upgrading of service industry structure?: Based on the empirical test of 185 prefecture-level cities in China

As the pillar industry of China’s national economy, the service industry has always experienced a lag in structural upgrading. As an important measure of China’s institutional innovation, China’s Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy is of great significance for promoting the development of the service industry. Based on the panel data of 185 prefecture-level cities in China from 2010 to 2019, this paper empirically tests the impact of the FTZ policy on the upgrading of service industry structure by using the progressive difference-in-differences model. The results show that the FTZ policy can promote the upgrading of service industry structure, and the effect is enhanced with the extension of time. The heterogeneity test shows that the impact of the FTZ policy on the structural upgrading of the service industry is mainly reflected in promoting the development of the information service industry as well as the leasing and business service industry. The transmission mechanism test shows that the FTZ policy can promote the structural upgrading of the service industry by improving the level of trade facilitation and investment facilitation.

Carbon intensity constraint, economic growth pressure and China's low-carbon development

Within the context of promotion tournaments among local governments, the management of economic growth goals plays a crucial role in China's economic development. Despite China's rise as the second-largest economy globally, it has also emerged as the largest emitter of carbon emissions. Since the implementation of the 12th Five-Year Plan in 2011, the Chinese central government has made carbon intensity targets mandatory indicators for national economic development. This has prompted local governments to pursue low-carbon growth and adjust their economic growth targets (EGT) to comply with carbon intensity constraints. In this study, a sample of 282 prefecture-level cities in China is used to empirically examine the impact of carbon intensity constraints on total factor carbon emission efficiency (TCE) using the intensity difference-in-differences (DID) framework. The study also emphasizes the role of the transmission channel for economic growth pressure (EGP). The findings of the study reveal several key results. Firstly, the implementation of carbon intensity constraints leads to an average increase of 8.24% in total factor carbon emission efficiency (TCE), which is supported by robustness tests, parallel trend analysis, and placebo tests. Secondly, these constraints result in an average decrease of 0.1828 in local governments' economic growth targets (EGT) and a reduction of 0.1269 in economic growth pressure (EGP). Thirdly, cities with a higher proportion of secondary industry experience a more significant mitigation effect, although the promotion of provincial EGT hinders this effect. Fourthly, synergistic policies can effectively promote low-carbon development, and government expenditure on technology and marketization can facilitate a positive relationship between carbon intensity constraints and TCE. Lastly, the effects of carbon intensity constraints vary across the east, middle, and west regions, suggesting the presence of heterogeneity. The article proposes a shift in the assessment of lower governments by superior governments, from growth assessment to low-carbon growth assessment.

The Carbon Emission Reduction Effect of Carbon Emission Trading Policy in China

The carbon emission trading policy attributes carbon dioxide emission rights to commodities, representing an important exploration to reduce carbon emissions by the market mechanism. Since 2013, China has implemented the carbon emission trading policy. In order to study whether the carbon emission reduction effect of emission trading policy in pilot areas and what is the pathway, this paper uses multi-period difference-in-differences method and the medintion effect method. An empirical analysis of panel data from 283 prefecture-level cities in China between 2006 and 2019.The research findings demonstrate that: (1) The policy about carbon emission trading significantly reduced carbon emissions,which is still valid after a series of robustness tests, and had a synergistic effect. (2) The policy primarily promotes carbon dioxide emission reduction through innovation in green technology and adjustments in industrial structure. (3) In comparison to the eastern and western regions, the policy performs better in central regions. Furthermore, the effectiveness of emission reduction depends on the intensity of environmental regulations, thus, stricter regulations are more conducive to carbon reduction. This paper provides strong evidence to the expansion of carbon emission trading pilots, and guides the operation of carbon emission trading market in China.

Smart city construction and urban green development: empirical evidence from China

Smart city construction represents an advanced stage of China's urbanisation process and plays an important role in promoting green economic growth and sustainable development. Propensity score matching is combined with the difference-in-difference method to analyse the data of 221 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020 to assess the impact of smart city construction on urban green development. We found that smart city construction can significantly contribute to urban green development; this contribution has long-term benefits. Further analysis shows that smart city construction promotes urban green development via industrial structure and green technology innovation and that smart city construction has a significant positive spatial spillover effect, i.e., it promotes urban green development locally while significantly contributing to urban green development in neighbouring regions.

Is prefecture-level city a “city” in China: a critical review

ABSTRACT The definition and boundaries of cities often determine how research is undertaken due to the areal units used to provide geo-located data and thus affect the research findings. Prefecture-level cities are popular city-equivalent statistical units in China, particularly in studies of inter-city mobility. Most prefecture-level cities in China have been delineated as meso-scale administrative divisions for territorial governance through various approaches of administrative annexation. This study takes a critical look at the city definition in China and summarizes two critical challenges that emerge when prefecture-level cities are adopted as city-equivalent statistical units. The first challenge is that the population and other socioeconomic statistics of different prefecture-level cities are incomparable since a large amount of land administered by such cities is functionally rural. The second challenge is that, because prefecture-level cities cannot represent the real functional areas that are based on a daily labor-shed concept, the estimation of inter-city mobility could be largely erroneous by conflating the real inter-city travel with the de facto intra-metropolitan travel such as daily commuting. While the first challenge has long been addressed by scholars and eventually by the national government of China in 2008, the second challenge remains to be solved. These two challenges demand rigorous attempts to delineate cities in China considering integrated economic and social units. This study sheds light on how delineation of administrative boundaries affects our understanding of city hierarchy and spatial interactions. Its implications are not limited to China but applicable to other countries and regions.

Does the Collaboration of Digitalization Foster Regional Green Development?

The collaboration of digitalization refers to a comprehensive digital governance system that achieves cross-regional digital industrialization and deep integration of industrial digitization through the construction of digital infrastructure, which paves the way toward regional sustainability. However, little is known about whether and to what extent regional digital collaboration contributes to green development. Furthermore, the specific role of digital collaboration in greening the regional economy and society remains unexplored. Thus, this paper tests the relationship between digital collaboration, business environment, and regional green development by using data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2022. The findings suggest that: (1) the hysteresis phenomenon of the “green dividend effect” response to regional digital collaboration is present; (2) digital collaboration in eastern cities positively impacted (but lagged) the greening of the economy and society, but cities in central and western regions negatively impact this process; (3) the business environment mediates the relationship between the lagged digital collaboration and regional green development, and it positively moderates the relationship between both the current and lagged digital collaboration and regional green development. By elucidating the relationship between digital collaboration, business environment, and regional green development, contributions have been made to previous digital innovation literature, and management insights have been provided for how regions can promote green development in the digital age.

How do local government fiscal revenue targets affect green technology innovation in China?

ABSTRACT The process of economic development in China cannot be separated from the ‘shadow’ of government target intervention. Under the Chinese system of fiscal decentralization, constraints created by local government fiscal revenue targets (CCFRTs) will have a series of influence on development economically and socially. Based on the fiscal revenue target data revealed in the government work reports of 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this paper explores the influence of CCFRTs on green technology innovation (GTI). The findings are as follows: first, CCFRTs significantly inhibits GTI. Second, Spatial Durbin model analysis shows that CCFRTs has significant negative spatial spillover effect on GTI. Third, CCFRTs can affect GTI through the optimization of industrial structure, the level of human capital, and the degree of opening-up, technological progress and economic growth. Fourth, CCFRTs has an obvious threshold effect on GTI. Finally, the influence of CCFRTs on GTI has regional heterogeneity in central, eastern and western China. In the western and central regions, CCFRTs significantly restrains GTI significantly, while in the eastern region, CCFRTs significantly promotes GTI.

Carbon Emission, Air Pollution, and Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities in China

Based on the instrumental variable method and the panel data of 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2016, we explore the relationship between carbon emission, air pollution, and total factor productivity (TFP). The results show that: (1) Both carbon emission-induced and air pollution-induced environmental regulations positively promote TFP. For every 1% increase in the two indicators of the intensity of environmental regulation, carbon emission, and air pollution, TFP will increase by 1.7150 percentage points and 0.6366 percentage points respectively. (2) Carbon emission-induced and air pollution-induced environmental regulation have similar coefficients on TFP, indicating that the effects of the two are synergistic. Carbon emission has a greater impact on TFP, so enhancing environmental regulation on carbon emission can better promote the improvement of TFP. (3) Financial scale and government intervention have a significant intermediary effect between environmental regulation in both aspects and TFP.

Does water rights trading promote resources utilisation efficiency and green growth? Evidence from China's resources trading policy

Strengthening ecological protection and resources management is imminent under the international context of net water resources shortage and ensuring green growth agenda. In this regard, this study employs a difference in differences (DID) model to assess the impact of China's water rights trading policy (WRT) on resource use efficiency from 2009 to 2021 using 281 prefectural-level cities in China. The results suggest that the WRT significantly enhances regional water use efficiency and supports regional green growth. The policy effects of WRT are more evident in coastal areas, areas where water supply capacity is strong, areas where water resources endowment is high, and areas where cross-regional water rights trading policy is implemented. WRT improves resources use efficiency by promoting technological innovation and improving the quality of water sources. WRT can also enhance regional welfare, but it has been observed to reduce water use efficiency in provincial border cities. These results offer valuable suggestions for all stakeholders.

Digital development and the improvement of urban economic resilience: Evidence from China

Digital technologies are empowering economic and social development, which attracts scholars’ attention to the relationship between digitalization and economic resilience, However, the empirical analysis for different countries and stages of development are inconsistent, and the influencing mechanism need to be further explored. Using panel data for 284 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2020, this study examines the impact of urban digital development on economic resilience. The findings are as follows: (1) The increased digitalization significantly enhances the urban economic resilience, and this effect was more pronounced in eastern regions and large-scale cities. (2) The relationship between digitalization and economic resilience follows an inverted U-shape as population density increases. (3) The spatial effects show that increased digitalization has a significant positive effect on local economic resilience, but weakens the resilience of the surrounding areas. (4) The analysis of mechanism reveals that the positive impact of digitalization on the urban economic resilience is mainly achieved by improving the quality of the regional labor force and total factor productivity. The study provides theoretical and empirical evidence for accelerating the digital construction, fully releasing the digital dividend in order to strengthen economic resilience.

Urban scale, production efficiency, and dynamic development paths

The rise and fall of a city is the inevitable result of its response to sustainable development over time. Using the scaling analysis framework of urban total factor productivity (TFP), we find that it can reveal how the rise and fall of a city occurs and changes on a time scale. We estimate the scaling of TFP for 299 prefecture-level cities in China based on urban wage and labor force data from 1999 to 2019. We show that a doubling of urban population increases productivity by about 18 %. The estimation of the scaling helps us identify which cities are more advantaged. Surprisingly, resource-based cities are typical examples of high-productivity cities, with an average efficiency advantage of 6.8 % higher. However, there are significant differences within resource-based cities, which seem to show advantages only in growth and maturity cities. We also describe the trajectory of urban development based on the local dynamics of urban wages and labor and discuss the general trend and potential mechanisms behind this process. In conclusion, our analysis of urban economic efficiency is conducive to understanding the rise-and-fall of urban development, and provides new methods, ideas and research perspectives for describing this dynamic. Most importantly, we find the difference between developing and developed countries is whether local dynamics can be maintained for a long time. It is of great significance to enrich the research of urban scaling theory in developing countries.

Peer effects of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emission intensity: Empirical evidence from China

Under the peer effect theory, this study examines the impact of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emissions and investigates the existence of peer effects in environmental governance mechanisms. Using panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2019, a spatial econometric model reveals that environmental regulation significantly reduces local sulfur dioxide discharge while exhibiting positive spatial spillover effects in surrounding regions, reflecting the “beggar-thy-neighbor” dilemma of environmental governance in China. The study confirms the presence of a positive peer effect of environmental regulation, supporting the combination of ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’ ecological governance approaches. The impact of environmental regulation on sulfur dioxide emissions varies based on regulation intensities and urban characteristics such as geographical position, marketization degree, and official governor's tenure. Learning mechanisms and competition mechanisms partially establish the peer effect of environmental regulation in most Chinese cities. Additionally, exogenous shocks from macro events and strategic policies exert differential influences on the peer effect of environmental regulation, particularly in cities with low regulation intensity. This study provides valuable guidance for balancing environmental protection and sustainable economic growth, fostering intercity collaboration in environmental regulation, and formulating site-specific sustainable development strategies for China and other emerging economies.

Land Financing Model and Local Government Debt Governance: An Empirical Study of Prefecture-Level Cities in China

This paper addresses the lack of comprehensive research on land financing in relation to local government debt governance. It examines two land financing methods: "Getting revenue by selling land" and "land finance," using an endogenetic approach. The study analyzes the interactive relationship between local government debt expansion and land financing modes using panel data from Chinese prefecture-level cities. Key findings include: (1) Land financing methods significantly increase local government debt leverage, with varying performance levels. (2) Regional economic competition and financial status influence the interaction between land financing and local debt risk. (3) Fiscal and financial policies regulate local government's land financing behavior, leading to diverse approaches. To achieve effective fiscal and financial governance, it is crucial to establish a strong connection between local government debt risk prevention/control and land use mode. Implementing differentiated systems can enhance land use efficiency.

Does the environmental protection tax reduce environmental pollution? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China.

The environmental protection tax (EPT) is an important environmental policy in China. However, it remains unclear whether the EPT has reduced environmental pollution effectively since its implementation in 2018. Based on the panel data of 229 prefecture-level cities in China during 2015-2019 and the difference-in-differences (DID) model, this study empirically assesses the causal effect of the EPT on environmental pollution. It is found that the EPT has a significantly negative effect on industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) and industrial soot (dust) emissions but has no significant impact on industrial wastewater emissions. The mechanism analysis reveals that the EPT has the tax enforcement effect and energy efficiency effect, that is, the EPT reduces pollution emissions through increasing actual tax burden and improving the efficiency of energy utilization. However, the innovation effect is weak, which is only effective in reducing industrial SO2 emissions. Finally, we compare how different types of cities responded to the EPT. The results show that the EPT has limited effect on environmental pollution in large cities and southern China.