Protection Expenditure Research Articles

Do Fiscal Environmental Protection Expenditures Crowd Out Corporate Environmental Protection Investments?

This research investigates how fiscal environmental expenditures impact corporate environmental investments and whether corporations act as free-riders. Using a sample of 1688 firm-year observations from 2008 to 2019 in the Chinese context, we observe that fiscal environmental expenditures have a significantly negative “crowding-out” effect on corporate green investments, which is mediated by the disclosure of pollution emissions. Additionally, a heterogeneity analysis reveals that this negative impact is more pronounced for non-heavily polluted and state-owned corporations and corporations located in three major agglomerations. This finding remains robust when employing an instrumental variable approach to address potential endogeneity. Our study contributes to the current literature by providing new insights regarding government environmental protection behaviors’ impacts on corporate green behaviors. The study also provides insights for policymakers to focus more on light-polluting corporations and state-owned corporations, because they have more chances to avoid environmental responsibilities.

The causal mechanisms behind expansive basic universalism in Kosovo

The majority of Kosovo’s public social welfare provision is today spent on basic universal programmes, namely, old-age pensions, healthcare services and child benefits. These programmes are tax-financed, citizenship-based and unconditional with regard to other criteria. Such expansive basic universalism is unusual for the Western Balkans and the rest of post-socialist Southeastern Europe. The first two of these programmes emerged through a complex process of policy formation led by powerful international organisations (IOs). The third programme was more recently initiated by the first-ever left-wing majority that came to power after two decades of democratic elections, implementing a manifesto that endorses a progressive policy mix. This outcome is counterintuitive: the IOs would be naturally expected to lean towards means-tested, targeted programmes, and Kosovo to crystallise into a (neo)liberal welfare regime (path-dependency). The article examines the detailed causal mechanisms that intervened in producing the outcome. Basic universalism has already had a significant impact in Kosovo by contributing to poverty reduction, the size of overall social protection expenditure and citizenship-building, and by serving as a good policy standard.

Research on the impact of inclusive finance on agricultural green development: Empirical analysis of China's main grain producing areas.

In order to study the impact of inclusive finance on agricultural green development, This paper uses both static panel and dynamic panel (system GMM model) estimation methods to make empirical analysis of the impact of inclusive financial development on agricultural green development. The results both find that there is a significant positive correlation between the level of inclusive financial development, real GDP per capita, the proportion of the added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery in GDP and agricultural green development. This paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to promote agricultural green development, including vigorously developing inclusive finance, promoting economic growth, promoting the development of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery, and increasing environmental protection expenditures.

Tools adapted to Ethical Analysis of Data Bias

Data Bias, a bias embedded in data during collection, storing, and use, and in the apps used by a human, is an emerging issue of data privacy exemplified by Artificial Intelligence bias (AI bias). This issue is becoming gradually an added vulnerability to data ethics, an added threat to data security, and an added burden to data protection. It has an effect to induce a reduction in data protection expenditure, and is crucial to the success of any creative endeavours in the data-driven technology-intensive era, including Engineering, exemplified by AI bias, and AI bias is bias created when biased data creeps in during design, development, and training of AI algorithms. AI indeed culminates in a phenomenon in which the populace jumps, yet a sober minority steers away from because of the pervasive cyber-threats that AI bias raises. At issue is not data bias per se, nor the multi-dimensional issues induced by human bias, which are usually complex and slippery, but a need for a method to enable a holistic view covering the technical, financial, legal, social, ethical, and ecological aspects of a given problem, action, policy, or decision. Recommendable is a method composed of the Ethical Matrix Algorithm and Hexa-dimension Metric Algorithm (Lee, forthcoming) based respectively on the Ethical Matrix and Hexa-dimension Metric (Lee, 2021).

Implementation challenges of Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana: A Cross- Sectional study in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh

Background: Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana has been launched to provide financial protection expenditure to nearly 500 million vulnerable Indians. For expanding the coverage under the scheme, it is necessary to understand the perspective of health care service providers involved in the scheme. Aim & Objective: To find out the bottlenecks in implementation of PMJAY scheme using empanelled hospitals’ perspective Settings and Design: Cross sectional study Methods and Material: 8 Public and 23 Private hospitals were selected through Simple Random Sampling from the list of PMJAY empanelled hospitals. The PMJAY Medical Officer co-ordinators in the empanelled hospitals were interviewed using a predesigned and pretested questionnaire. Statistical analysis used: Data was analysed using descriptive statistics in Epiinfo software. Results: Among the 31 empanelled hospitals studied, 93.5% were satisfied with the process for empanelment under PMJAY. 64.5% hospitals were not satisfied with the Health Benefit Packages. 77.4% hospitals perceived the PMJAY to be poorer as compared to private health insurance with reasons being poor grievance reprisal, poor claim processing and settlement, denial of reimbursement of health packages, poor rates of health packages and little information about the scheme. Conclusions: Various hurdles are being faced in the implementation of the scheme. There definitely remains a huge scope for further improvements so as to enhance the insurance coverage in the country.

Exploring the Relationship between Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability

This research examines the link between economic development and ecological sustainability, paying special attention to the detrimental effects that rapid economic expansion could have on the natural world. We used descriptive statistics, trend analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, hypothesis testing, sensitivity analysis, and robustness checks on cross-sectional data from a selection of countries to investigate the moderating role of environmental protection expenditure on the relationship between GDP per capita and carbon emissions per capita. We find that spending on environmental safeguards moderates the correlation between GDP per individual and carbon emissions. These results stress the significance of supporting environmentally sustainable development practices and increasing spending on environmental protection, especially in countries experiencing rapid economic expansion. For those working to support sustainable development and lessen the environmental costs of economic growth, our research offers crucial new information.

The importance for tuberculosis of mitigating economic crises

The importance for tuberculosis of mitigating economic crises

The cyclicality of government environmental expenditure: political pressure in economic upturns and in recessions

ABSTRACT This is the first paper to explore the determinants of the cyclicality of government environmental protection expenditures. Attention focuses on political pressures to increase expenditure on public-sector programmes. These pressures change systematically over the economic cycle. In economic upturns, voters experience ‘fiscal illusion’. Governments can exercise discretion to increase environmental expenditures. In recessions, voters are far more aware. Vote maximising governments divert expenditures away from the environment, toward programmes that deliver more private-good benefits. Predictions are tested with reference to 28 OECD countries’ expenditures between 1992 and 2012. The cyclicality of expenditures depends on government sensitivity to systematic changes in voter awareness.

Heterogeneity in the Effect of Environmental Protection Expenditure in China: Causal Inference from Machine Learning

ABSTRACT The amount of fiscal expenditure on environmental governance in various regions of China in recent years has increased greatly, but its effect on environmental protection is often controversial in existing research. The conflicting finding is largely due to endogenous problems or selection bias. Generally, the cities with high smog pollution have been encountering environmental protection expenditure (EPE) shocks more greatly since 2011. To estimate the causal effects of EPE shocks more accurately, this research uses new machine learning to the estimate heterogeneous treatment effect of the EPE shock on urban air pollution from 216 cities in China, from 2011 to 2018. Empirical results from causal forests show the following. First, the positive EPE shock has contributed to China’s short-term improvements in air pollution. Long-term causality has not been confirmed statistically, though there is a strong correlation between an increase in EPE and a decrease in PM2.5. Second, a positive EPE shock leads to deterioration of smog in low-income and above-medium smog areas in the long term. Third, the positive EPE shock is conducive to the long-term improvement of air quality in moderately industrialized areas, but it does not lead to the long-term improvement of urban air pollution with a high or low degree of industrialization. Similarly, an EPE shock in cities with medium population density improves air quality for a long time, but runs the opposite in cities with high or low population density.

How Does the Circular Economy Applied in the European Union Support Sustainable Economic Development?

This research paper aims to find a causal relationship between the circular economy and sustainable economic development. The implementation of the circular economy in the European Union requires, on the one hand, smart regulation and on the other hand, the long-term involvement of all actors in society at all levels—member states, regions, cities, businesses, citizens—and their ability to develop cooperation networks and suitable collaboration and exchange patterns. Moreover, the circular economy is based on business models for reusing, recycling and recovering materials in the production and consumption of goods. This research establishes correlations between circular economy performance measurement indicators and sustainable economic development using panel analysis. Statistically significant correlations were noted between GDP per capita and three independent variables, mainly due to the high R-squared coefficient. This research’s innovation contribution is related to the selection and combination of circular economy indicators. Finally, the results confirmed that an increase in the recycling rate of municipal waste and a decrease in environmental tax revenues and environmental protection expenditures led to an increase in GDP per capita and sustainable economic development.

Conceptualising a Social Protection Index Framework for a Megacity in China from the Evidence of Guangzhou

The concept of social protection and its analytical framework have gradually become important tools for analysing the development of social policies globally. However, few studies have examined social protection issues in Chinese megacities. This article uses the social protection index developed by the Asian Development Bank to analyse the development of social protection in Guangzhou, a megacity. Results have shown that between 2013 and 2015, Guangzhou's soaring social protection expenditures and the ongoing improvement of social protection have significantly improved people's standard of living. Despite the narrowing gap in gross domestic product per capita between Guangzhou and developed countries, there is still a huge gap in social protection. In addition, since social policy is heavily biased towards social insurance and social assistance in Chinese megacities, there are far fewer labour market programmes developed for poor people, compared to other developed countries. The authors recommend that Guangzhou increases its social expenditures and focuses on restructuring its social protection system.

Evaluation and evolution analysis of water ecosystem service value in the yangtze river delta region based on meta-analysis

Rapid economic development, industrialization and urbanization lead to environmental pollution and damage the stability of regional ecosystems. The Yangtze River Delta region is an economically developed region in China, faces the problems of water environment pollution and water ecosystem service degradation. Reasonable assessment of water ecosystem service value (ESV) is of great significance for grasping the status of regional water ecosystem services, improving water ecological environment, and realizing regional sustainable development. This study collects 119 research literature about China, including 156 observations to establish a value transfer database; specially builds a Meta-analysis model including the variables of climate conditions, environmental pollution and environmental protection, then assesses the waters ESV in the Yangtze River Delta using the model and analyzes the changes from 2009 to 2018. The study finds that the location, population density, the area of the site, average annual precipitation, literature characteristics, landscape characteristics, wastewater discharge, environmental protection expenditure, and wastewater treatment costs can affect the water ESV significantly. Based on the meta-analysis benefit transfer model to evaluate the water ESV in Yangtze River Delta region is RMB 177,126 yuan/ hha/year and the growth rate is 27.18%. The place with the highest value per unit area is Shanghai, and the total value in Jiangsu Province is the highest. Economic development, waste water discharge and wastewater treatment costs are the main reasons for the changes and differences in the value of water ecosystem services in the Yangtze River Delta region. The contribution of this study to the field of water ESV assessment is that the meta-analysis model includes a broader set of influencing variables, including landscape, population density, climate change and environmental protection. It provides a practical reference for water ESV assessment on the local scale and a scientific basis for water area management related to the development of water area and ecological compensation, as well as promote the sustainable development of water ecosystems.

How do environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation affect synergistically the financial performance of heavy polluting enterprises? Evidence from China

In recent years, economic growth has caused an increasing number of environmental problems in China. In order to achieve the goal of carbon peak on schedule, enterprises need to accelerate green transformation and upgrading. Environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation are important means of corporate environmental governance strategy, but it is unknown whether they can promote the sustainable development of enterprises. Therefore, this article will analyze the effect of enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation on financial performance. Based on relevant theories, this study builds a theoretical model to demonstrate how enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation can affect the financial performance of heavy polluting enterprises. Empirical tests are carried out using 293 heavy polluting enterprises in China as the sample. The results reveal that: (i) Enterprise environmental protection expenditure has significant negative effects on current enterprise financial performance, while green technology innovation can significantly promote enterprise financial performance. (ii) When the lag period is two periods, the enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation have positive effects on enterprise financial performance respectively, and the effects are the most significant. (iii) Enterprise environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation synergistically promote enterprise financial performance in the current period, and the impact has a lag effect. (iv) In state-owned enterprises and enterprises with higher corporate governance level, the synergetic promotion effect of environmental protection expenditure and green technology innovation on enterprise financial performance is more significant. Finally, this study provides suggestions for promoting the transformation and upgrading of heavy polluting enterprises and achieving sustainable development from the perspectives of the government, enterprises and the public.

FINANCIAL PROVISION MANAGEMENT FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OF THE TRANSBORDER REGION

The aim of the article is to conduct a comparative analysis of the Volyn region (Ukraine) and Lublin Voivodeship (Republic of Poland) environmental protection financing. As well as to determine the level of partnership participation in the financing of the environmental measures within the cross-border region. The system of financial support for environmental protection in the cross-border region is explored in the article. The content of the transboundary natural resources management mechanism is considered. The main sources of funding for environmental measures in the Volyn region and Lublin Voivodeship are identified. A comparative analysis of the dynamics and structure of current costs spent and capital investments for the environmental protection of the Volyn region and Lublin Voivodeship is carried out. It is determined that the structure of environmental protection expenditures within the cross-border region is dominated by costs spent on the protection of water resources, air, waste management, and biodiversity conservation. Linear trend models were built for the amount of funding in Volyn Oblast and Lublin Voivodeship using the trend forecasting methodology. The forecast of the dynamics of the environmental protection financing within the cross-border region for 2022-2023 is determined by the method of extrapolation.Determination of the degree of cooperation in the field of transboundary natural resources management and the division of responsibilities between its key players are important aspects of the financial model’s effectiveness. The degree of cooperation in the field of transboundary natural resources management, including independent control, dialogue, cooperation, coordination mechanisms and joint management is revealed in the article. It has been proved that the cross-border relations within the Volyn region and the Lublin Voivodeship are at the level of cooperation. But it is noted that efficiency will be achieved only at the level of joint cross-border management in this area. The main tools of integrated management of financial support for environmental protection are identified. The distribution of partnership participation in the financing of environmental measures is proposed depending on their location in the border areas of Volyn region and Lublin Voivodeship.

Central environmental protection inspection and green technology innovation: empirical analysis based on the mechanism and spatial spillover effects.

In this study, the central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) policy is considered a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the data of 216 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2018, the influence of CEPI on green technology innovation (GTI) is empirically examined mainly using difference-in-differences (DIDs), propensity score matching DID and spatial DID methods. The results indicate that CEPI can effectively promote GTI. Regarding different types of GTI, CEPI mainly promoted utilitarian GTI. Regarding the mechanism, CEPI significantly promotes local GTI mainly through the increase of environmental protection expenditure and research and development investment. Considering the dynamic marginal effect, CEPI starts to significantly promote GTI in the second year after the policy implementation but exhibited no effects in the third year. The extended study shows that GTI effect of CEPI only occurs in small-medium cities and big cities. Furthermore, there is a certain beggar-thy-neighbor effect between inspected and uninspected cities. Finally, the spatial decomposition of CEPI effects shows that the inhibitory effect of CEPI on GTI mainly occurs in the neighboring uninspected cities, while CEPI has no evident inhibition on GTI in neighboring inspected cities.

Do political connections foster or hamper firm environmental investment?

Extant studies of environmental investment determinants have not distinguished between different types of political connections. This study tries to close this gap by employing an extensive dataset based on the four-yearly Chinese Private Enterprises Survey conducted between 2006 and 2012. The central question in this paper asks whether different political connections (ascribed vs. achieved) are fostering or hindering environmental protection expenditures in private enterprises. The results show that achieved political connections serve as binds of promoting firm environmental investment while ascribed political connections act as buffers, hampering firm environmental expenditures. The moderating roles of environmental regulation and innovation capability demonstrate heterogeneous effects: environmental regulation stringency strengthens the positive impact of achieved political connections only. In contrast, innovation capability enhances the negative impact of ascribed political connections.

Environmental governance effects of local environmental protection expenditure in China

China’s economy is experiencing a rapid revival in the post Covid-19 era, while energy consumption is surging and environmental pressure is prominent. Environmental protection expenditure is an important means for local governments to improve environmental quality; it plays a crucial role in guiding market investment, providing environmental treatment funds and energy conservation and utilization. Based on a sample of 286 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2017, this study analyzes environmental governance effects of local environmental protection expenditure while considering the time duration, regional differences, and spatial spillover characteristics of industrial pollution emissions. The results reveal that local environmental protection expenditure could help reduce industrial pollution emissions in Chinese cities; however, the governance effects were heterogeneous in different clustering city groups. In addition, the effects of environmental protection expenditure at the neighborhood level varied greatly; the results showed that the stronger the spillover of pollutants, the more significant was the trans-regional governance effect of local environmental protection expenditure. Therefore, local governments should promote a cooperative mode of “joint prevention and control and cross-regional governance” when treating pollutants with strong spillover potential.

Research on the control path and countermeasures of net CO2 emissions in central China – represented by Jiangxi Province

ABSTRACT The demand for carbon peaking and ‘carbon neutrality’ is putting pressure on some provinces in central China that are on the rise in economic development and rely on coal as their main energy source. This article takes Jiangxi Province as an example to study the relationship between net CO2 emissions and 11 indicators, the STIRPAT model is used to perform multivariate linear fitting. The results of regression are used to calculate the peak value of net CO2 emissions under different scenarios, and the fuzzy set qualitative analysis method is used to study the development model of net CO2 emissions in Jiangxi Province and its control path. The results showed that: (1) Per capita GDP has the most significant impact on the net CO2 emissions, while the proportion of total forestry output value, energy conservation, environmental protection expenditures in public expenditures, the number of buses vehicles operating per 10,000 people are negatively correlated with net CO2 emissions. (2) After simulating the possible development scenarios of Jiangxi Province, it can be concluded that there are in three scenarios the net CO2 emissions are most likely to peak before 2030. (3) Configuration analysis results showed that if Jiangxi Province wants to achieve ‘carbon neutrality’ in 2060, it is necessary to maintain both economic structural adjustment and energy consumption structural adjustment, with carbon intensity reduction as the main goal development model. (4) The central China should give more play to the advantages of the forestry industry and strengthen the energy structure regulation policy.

Public Expenditure and Green Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Prefecture-Level Cities.

Whilst effective public expenditure policies are essential for transforming the traditional factor-driven economy into a green and innovation-driven economy, the impacts of public expenditure’s size and composition on green economic development have not been comprehensively investigated. This paper attempts to fill this research gap. Based on the data of Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2018, we first measure green total factor productivity (GTFP), the proxy variable for green development, and briefly analyze its spatial-temporal trends. Then, using the dynamic panel models, dynamic panel mediation models, and dynamic panel threshold models, we evaluate how public expenditure affects GTFP. The main findings are fourfold: (1) there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between the expenditure size and GTFP. (2) The expansion of social expenditures and science and technology (S&T) and environmental protection expenditures play an important role in stimulating green growth, while economic expenditures and administrative expenditures have adverse effects. (3) Public expenditure mainly promotes green development through four channels: human capital accumulation, technological innovation, environmental quality improvement, and labor productivity increase. (4) The expenditure composition influences the turning point of the inverted U-shaped relationship. Based on these findings, we propose some targeted policy suggestions to promote green development.

The Matthew Effect in Local Welfare Policy in Croatia

The ESSPROS methodology was first used in Croatia in 2018 to collect data on social protection expenditure in local government, for the year 2017. The aim of this research is to use these data to reveal the level of social inequalities between regional government units (counties) in Croatia and to demonstrate the Matthew effect in the functioning of local welfare policies. Quantitative analysis has demonstrated a significant level of spatial and local disparities in the availability of institutional care for the elderly and children, as well as uneven social protection in terms of the provision of cash or in-kind benefits. The Matthew effect in the local social protection can be found in different forms in different social protection programmes which are provided at the local level, with the general rule that the more developed local units invest more in social services and provide greater cash benefits to their citizens. The underdevelopment of these services is particularly noticeable in the less developed, eastern part of Croatia (counties of Slavonia), while at the same time, highly developed social services are provided in the City of Zagreb. Over the last 20 years, uneven economic development and partial decentralisation have created a situation in Croatia in which one of the fundamental principles of social welfare and social policy, the principle of equality, has been seriously compromised. This has brought about the problem of double inequalities: economic ones, as a result of a lower level of development and continuous lagging behind in the development of local and regional self-government units, and social inequalities, as a result of the inability of less developed units to provide similar levels of social protection to their citizens.