Two-way Fixed-effects Research Articles

Does digital technology promote ecological civilization construction? Evidence from China.

With the rapid development of digital technology, it is of great significance to make good use of digital technology to accelerate the green transformation of production and lifestyle and promote the ecological civilization construction (ECC). This study first analyzes the impact mechanism of digital technology on ECC. Secondly, this study constructs evaluation index systems and measures the level of digital technology and ECC in 31 provinces of China, from 2011 to 2022. Thirdly, using a two-way fixed effect model, spatial spillover effect model, and threshold effect model, this study explores the promoting effect of digital technology on ECC. The main research conclusions include the following: (1) digital technology significantly promotes ECC, and regional heterogeneity exists in the promoting effect, manifested as western > central > eastern. (2) The promoting effect of digital technology on ECC has a significant spatial spillover effect. (3) When the three threshold variables of industrial structure, education level, and R&D investment cross the threshold value, the promoting effect of digital technology is significantly enhanced. However, when fiscal decentralization crosses the threshold value, the promoting effect of digital technology is significantly weakened. Based on the above research conclusions, this study identifies some policy implications.

Assessing the Effects of Chinese Foreign Direct Investment on Green GDP Development in North and South American Regions

This study aims to investigate the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) on the growth of green GDP (GGDP) in North America and South America. The research is based on a comprehensive dataset covering the period from 2009 to 2019, drawn from multiple countries. By employing a two-way fixed-effects model, the study analyzes the effects of key factors, including FDI, trade openness, economic development level, urbanization level, population size, and industrial structure on GGDP growth.The findings indicate that, in North America, both FDI and the level of economic development exert a significant positive influence on GGDP growth, whereas trade openness demonstrates a negative impact, suggesting that increased trade activities may exacerbate environmental pressures. In South America, while the level of economic development shows a significant positive correlation with GGDP, the effect of FDI is not statistically significant. The study recommends that policymakers focus on enhancing the effectiveness of foreign investment and implement stricter environmental protection policies to ensure that trade activities do not adversely affect the environment. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to adjust the current industrial structure to promote a transition toward more sustainable development models. Ultimately, this research emphasizes the importance of ensuring environmental sustainability while fostering foreign investment and economic growth to achieve long-term growth in green GDP.

E-commerce operations and technology perceptions in promoting farmers' adoption of green production technologies: Evidence from rural China

Agricultural green production is vital for ensuring product quality, safety, and mitigating environmental issues. E-commerce operations have emerged as a key driver of green production transformation. Based on a sample of 704 farm households in Jiangsu Province, this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model, Propensity Score Matching (PSM), Instrumental Variable Probit (IVProbit), and Extended Regression Model (ERM) to address endogeneity, alongside stepwise regression to test the mediating role of technology cognition. The results show that e-commerce operations significantly and positively influence the adoption of green production technologies among farmers, with technology cognition acting as a positive mediator. The impact of e-commerce on technology adoption varied across different age groups and geographical terrains, with older farmers and those in plain regions benefiting the most. Additionally, e-commerce played a crucial role in the adoption of green technologies, particularly in the use of organic fertilizers. To promote the broader adoption of green technologies among farmers, it is recommended that governments strengthen e-commerce support systems, enhance technical training for farmers, improve the inclusivity of e-commerce platforms, and address gaps in the availability of green production technologies.

Digital technology innovation and corporate resilience

This study identifies over 220,000 digital invention patent applications for digital invention and creates an index of enterprise-level digital technology innovations. Using an empirical analysis based on a two-way fixed-effects model, this study examines the impact of digital technology innovation on enterprise resilience. Results show that digital technology innovations improve enterprise resilience. This improvement is mainly achieved by reducing internal and external information asymmetry, reducing operating costs, improving management levels and operational efficiency, and increasing market profitability and sustainable earning capacity. Moreover, this study extracted all announcements containing phrases such as “strategic alliance,” “strategic co-operation,” and “business alliance” from 3.208 million announcements on the JUCHAO website and further filtered them to select those strategic alliances in digital technology as their content of collaboration and identified them as digital technology strategic alliances. The findings show that companies that join digital technology strategic alliances have a greater impact on improving enterprise resilience. Furthermore, this study found that digital technology innovation can significantly improve the enterprise resilience with better network infrastructure and a more comprehensive intellectual property protection system. This study expands the research scope of the microlevel effects of the digital economy and provides valuable insights for governments to optimize digital economy policies and enterprises to develop digital innovation strategies.

Digital Inclusive Finance Supports the Modernization of Agriculture Development

In the process of financial development, the high threshold and credit asymmetry not only increase the difficulty and cost of financing in rural agriculture, but also hinder the upgrading of agricultural industrial structure and delay the development of agricultural modernization. With the development of information technology and the wide application of big data, digital inclusive finance has become an important path and inevitable choice to promote the upgrading and modernization of China's agricultural industrial structure. The project intends to use the entropy method to measure the development level of agricultural modernization; Based on the two-way fixed effect model, the paper explores the effect of digital inclusive finance on agricultural modernization. With the help of the intermediary effect model, this paper explores the internal mechanism of the influence of the digital inclusive financial policy on the development of rural modernization from the level of "the upgrading of agricultural industrial structure". Based on the empirical results, this paper analyzes the heterogeneity of the effects of digital financial inclusion policies from the two dimensions of rural location and rural characteristics, and explores an effective path to promote digital financial inclusion and industrial upgrading in rural areas with prominent internal differences, with a view to providing reference and basis for the formulation and implementation of future digital financial inclusion and agricultural modernization development policies.

The Functional Mechanisms through Which Artificial Intelligence Influences the Innovation of Green Processes of Enterprises

Green process innovation is an important strategy in the high-quality development of enterprises. Digital technology is becoming a key factor in helping businesses address environmental issues and contributes to their green process innovation and sustainable growth. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies on how particular digital technology categories affect corporate green process innovation. Artificial intelligence (AI) is an important part of digitalization as it can provide new technical means and guidance for enterprise’s innovation of green processes. This study aims to fills this research gap by revealing the logical relationship between digital technology and the green development of enterprises. Using China’s A-share-listed companies as the research object from 2013 to 2022, this study employed a two-way fixed-effects model and investigated the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on corporate green process innovation and the moderating effect of multidimensional intellectual capital. The results revealed that AI positively impacts corporate green process innovation. Human capital, structural capital, employed capital, and relational capital strengthen this positive effect. Robustness tests validated these conclusions. This study expands the literature on digital technology and corporate green innovation and provides a reference for enterprises to implement green practices using digital technology.

Top Management Team Heterogeneity, Top Management Incentives, and ESG Performance: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies

The challenge of balancing economic and social benefits has emerged as a critical issue for corporate sustainable development. Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria are key considerations for enterprises aiming to enhance both social and economic benefits simultaneously. Based on the upper echelons theory, differences in cognitive foundations and values brought about by top management team heterogeneity can influence corporate decisions. Taking A-share listed companies in China from 2011 to 2022 as samples, we construct a two-way fixed-effects model by firm and year to explore the impact of top management team heterogeneity on corporate ESG performance, and we introduce top management incentives as a moderating variable to further analyze the underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrate that the gender heterogeneity, functional background heterogeneity, and overseas background heterogeneity of top management teams have significant positive impacts on corporate ESG performance, and monetary compensation incentives and control incentives to top management teams play a positive moderating role, while equity incentives exhibits a negative moderating effect. These findings remain robust across alternative measures of corporate ESG ratings and monetary and control incentives, and through the SYS-GMM model test and instrumental variable approach to address endogeneity. This research contributes to the literature on corporate ESG by validating and extending the understanding of how top management team characteristics affect organizational outcomes, and it provides practical guidance for enhancing corporate ESG practices. The implications of this study suggest that to enhance corporate ESG performance, enterprises should prioritize the promotion of top management team heterogeneity and tailor their incentive mechanisms accordingly.

Are government budgets a visible stabilizer? Evidence from China since the tax-assignment reform

PurposeThis study quantitatively examines the relationship between economic fluctuations and government budget size in the context of China’s fiscal decentralization, drawing inspiration from theoretical predictions of the Keynesian view and empirical studies on other economies.Design/methodology/approachThe panel comprises 31 provinces or equivalents in mainland China, spanning from 1994 to 2019. Diverse estimation strategies including two-way fixed effect regression, the generalized method of moments (GMM) and threshold regressions are, utilized.FindingsThe results suggest that under the “tax-assignment system”, neither the central government’s fiscal transfers nor the provincial budgetary revenues or expenditures help reduce economic volatility. Surprisingly, some regression outcomes suggest that government size measures destabilize business cycles.Originality/valueWhile the study does not provide supportive evidence for the stabilizing effect of public budgets in Chinese provinces, it promotes a rethinking of the government’s intricate role in macroeconomic stabilization in the context of China’s fiscal decentralization.

Revisiting the Occupational Health Impact of Right-to-Work Laws: A Research Note.

This research note reevaluates the occupational health impact of right-to-work (RTW) legislation, incorporating recent developments in causal inference techniques. In an era marked by an uptick in the adoption of anti-union legislation and increases in workplace fatalities and injuries, it is particularly urgent to examine the extent to which RTW laws affect workers' health. Using a state-year-level dataset spanning 28 years and collected from multiple data sources, we apply an innovative generalized synthetic control method to overcome several limitations of the traditional two-way fixed-effects approach to examine the effect of RTW laws on occupational fatal injuries as well as various other health outcomes. Robustness checks were conducted using a wide range of alternative methods for two-way fixed-effects adjustments. In contrast with findings from previous studies, we found null effects on occupational fatal injuries, as well as on all other health outcomes. Overall, our results indicate that findings from previous studies are based on very thin empirical evidence, with potentially underestimated standard errors and unobserved confounders. Our results highlight the importance of revisiting research questions using updated methodological tools.

School leadership and students’ decisions about further education: exploring the roles of goal setting and school socioeconomic composition

ABSTRACT This study focuses on the relationship between various leadership goal setting and students’ decisions about further education in the context of the Danish educational system. Furthermore, the potential of school leadership to reduce social disparities in such decisions is explored. The data set is based on repeated measurements of school leaders’ attitudes and practices from 819 schools over 4 years, merged with administrative register data. Multilevel multinomial logistic regression and two-way fixed effects multinomial regression were applied. We find no relationship between achievement goals and educational decisions. Depending on modeling choices, results indicate that leadership goal setting concerning transition is associated with a small increase in the chance of students choosing the academic track, and the goal of promoting citizenship among students was associated with a slightly higher probability of choosing the vocational track. Furthermore, transition goals moderate the relationship between school socioeconomic status and students’ probability of choosing the academic track.

Digital economy and the medical and health service supply in China.

The impact of the digital economy on the healthcare sector is becoming increasingly profound. This article focuses on the relationship between the development of China's digital economy and medical and health services supply. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2021, the CRITIC weight method was applied to measure the supply capacity of medical and health services and the level of digital economy development, and the kernel density estimation method and Dagum Gini coefficient method was used to characterize the evolutionary trends and regional differences. Additionally, a two-way fixed-effects model is adopted to investigate the impact of digital economy development on medical and health services supply. The results show that both the supply capacity of healthcare services and the level of digital economy development have been increasing continuously in terms of evolutionary trends. From the perspective of regional differences, compared to the supply level of healthcare services, the regional differences in digital economy development are more significant. The intra-regional differences in medical and health services supply are greater than the inter-regional differences, while the development of the digital economy exhibits the opposite trend. The findings of this paper provide supports for China to enhance the development level of digital economy and improve supply of medical and health service.

Exploring the impact of renovation subsidies on housing markets – evidence from the Swedish property market

PurposeThe primary aim of this research is to examine the effects of the Renovation, Conversion, and Extension (ROT) tax deduction for renovations on the scope and quality of renovations and its subsequent impact on house prices across various Swedish municipalities.Design/methodology/approachThis study utilises a two-way fixed effect instrument variable (IV) spatial Manski approach, analysing balanced panel data from 2004 to 2020 at the municipal level (290 municipalities) in Sweden. The methodology is designed to assess the impact of the ROT subsidy on the housing market.FindingsThe study reveals that the ROT subsidy has significantly influenced house prices, with noticeable variations between municipalities. These differences are attributed to the varying amounts of tax reductions for renovations and the extent to which property owners utilise these subsidies.Research limitations/implicationsThe research is limited to the context of Sweden and may not be generalisable to other countries with different housing and subsidy policies. The findings are crucial for understanding the specific impacts of government subsidies on the housing market within this context.Practical implicationsFor policymakers and stakeholders in the housing market, this study highlights the tangible effects of renovation subsidies on property values. It provides insights into how such financial incentives can shape the housing market dynamics.Social implicationsThe research underscores the role of government policies in potentially influencing equitable access to housing. It suggests that subsidies like ROT can have broader social implications, including the distribution of housing benefits among different income groups and regions.Originality/valueThis study contributes original insights into the field of applied real estate economics by quantitatively analysing the impact of a specific government subsidy on the housing market. It offers a unique perspective on how fiscal policies can affect property values and renovation activities at the municipal level in Sweden.

Media coverage, social trust and corporate financing efficiency

The increasing influence of media coverage on corporate financial outcomes has become a critical area of study; however, the intricate relationships among media reporting, social trust, and corporate financing efficiency remain underexplored. This study examines how different types of media coverage impact corporate financing efficiency, while considering the moderating role of social trust. We employ two-way fixed-effects and moderating effects models to analyze these relationships using data from A-share listed companies in China from 2004 to 2022. The findings reveal that positive and neutral media coverage significantly enhances corporate financing efficiency, with positive coverage exhibiting a stronger effect. In contrast, negative media coverage substantially diminishes financing efficiency. Notably, social trust amplifies the impact of all types of media coverage, intensifying both positive and negative effects. We also find that state-owned enterprises are more sensitive to media coverage than non-state-owned counterparts. These results contribute to the understanding of information dissemination in financial markets and highlight the importance of social context in shaping corporate financial outcomes. Our study offers valuable insights for developing corporate communication strategies and targeted policymaking, emphasizing the need for proactive media management and consideration of social trust in financial environments. Future research could explore these dynamics in diverse cultural and economic settings to further elucidate the complex interplay between media, social trust, and corporate finance.

The path of digital transformation driving enterprise growth: The moderating role of financing constraints

This study utilizes data from A-share listed companies of China between 2010 and 2021 to investigate the impact of digital transformation on corporate growth performance using a two-way fixed-effects model. We find that digital transformation has significantly promoted corporate growth performance, which remains robust across a series of tests. Mechanism analysis indicates that overall financing constraints and debt financing have significant moderating effects on the relationship between digital transformation and growth performance, whereas equity financing has similar effects only after PSM matching. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the promotion effect of digital transformation on growth performance is more pronounced in private enterprises, regions with superior business environments, and non-high-tech industries. Furthermore, both debt financing and equity financing were found to have a threshold effect on the growth performance promotion of enterprise digital transformation. Based on these, it is proposed that the configuration of enterprise capital scale and financing path should be considered when pursuing the positive effects of enterprise digital transformation.

Technological anxiety: Analysis of the impact of industrial intelligence on employment in China

Employment is the greatest livelihood. Whether the impact of industrial robotics technology materialized in machines on employment in the digital age is an “icing on the cake” or “adding fuel to the fire” needs further study. This study aims to analyze the impact of the installation and application of industrial robots on labor demand in the context of the Chinese economy. First, from the theoretical logic and the economic development law, this study gives the prior judgment and research hypothesis that industrial intelligence will increase jobs. Then, based on the panel data of 269 cities in China from 2006 to 2021, we use the two-way fixed effect model, dynamic threshold model, and two-stage intermediary effect model. The objective is to investigate the impact of industrial intelligence on enterprise labor demand and its path mechanism. Results show that the overall effect of industrial intelligence on the labor force with the installation density index of industrial robots as the proxy variable is the “creation effect”. In other words, advanced digital technology has created additional jobs, and the overall supply of employment in the labor market has increased. The conclusion is still valid after the endogeneity identification and robustness test. In addition, the positive effect has a nonlinear effect on the network scale. When the installation density of industrial robots exceeds a particular threshold value, the division of labor continues to deepen under the combined action of the production efficiency and compensation effects, which will cause enterprises to increase labor demand further. Further research showed that industrial intelligence can increase employment by promoting synergistic agglomeration and improving labor price distortions. This study concludes that in the digital China era, the introduction and installation of industrial robots by enterprises can affect the optimal allocation of the labor market. This phenomenon has essential experience and reference significance for guiding industrial digitalization and intelligent transformation and promoting the high-quality development of people’s livelihood.

Can Artificial Intelligence Effectively Improve China’s Environmental Quality? A Study Based on the Perspective of Energy Conservation, Carbon Reduction, and Emission Reduction

The “technological dividends” brought by AI development provide a new model for the country to achieve green governance, enhance enterprises’ ability to manage pollutant emissions during production and operations, and create a new driving force for improving environmental quality. In this regard, this paper systematically examines the impact of AI on environmental quality in China by employing provincial panel data spanning from 2000 to 2020. Focusing on energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation, the analysis is conducted through the application of a two-way fixed-effects model and mediation effects model to explore both the effects and the mechanisms of AI’s influence on environmental quality. The findings indicate that the development and implementation of AI contribute positively to China’s efforts in energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation, ultimately leading to an enhancement in environmental quality. This conclusion remains valid after multiple robustness checks. Mechanism tests reveal that the optimization of regional energy structures, advancements in green technological innovation, and upgrades in industrial structures serve as crucial pathways through which AI facilitates energy conservation, carbon reduction, and emissions mitigation. Heterogeneity analysis uncovers a notable “path dependence” effect in China’s AI development; regions characterized by higher material capital investment, more advanced technological market development, and greater levels of marketization experience a relatively more pronounced impact of AI on the enhancement of environmental quality. This study offers direct references and practical insights for countries globally to foster AI development, enhance environmental quality, and advance high-quality economic growth amid the ongoing wave of digital and intelligent transformation.

How does the digital economy affect the green transition: The role of industrial intelligence and E-commerce

As a new economic form, the digital economy (DE) significantly impacts green development. However, the impact of the DE on green total factor productivity (GTFP) remains controversial. A two-way fixed effect model is constructed to explore the impact of DE on green development. It is found that (1) there is a U-shaped relationship rather than a positive relationship between DE and GTFP. (2) Industrial intelligence and e-commerce are essential for DE to affect GTFP. (3) The DE affects GTFP mainly by promoting efficiency progress rather than technological progress. In addition, in regions where government attention to the DE is higher than others, the DE substantially contributes to GTFP. The potential of integrating the DE and the real economy needs to be further tapped. This paper presents pertinent policy suggestions and provides new empirical evidence and valuable reference for promoting green development.

Artificial Intelligence and Technological Innovation: Evidence from China’s Strategic Emerging Industries

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the driving force for the leapfrog development of science and technology, the optimization and upgrading of industry, as well as the overall leap in productivity. Using panel data of strategic emerging firms in Chinese A-Share Listed companies from 2012 to 2022, this study empirically examines the impact of AI on technological innovation through a two-way fixed-effects model. The study discovered that technological innovation capability can be greatly enhanced by the degree of AI present in strategic emerging industry businesses. This conclusion remains valid following a series of robustness tests. The mechanism study demonstrates how the degree of AI increases businesses’ capacity for technological innovation by lowering funding constraints and boosting R&D investment. According to heterogeneity analysis, AI has varying empowering effects on different industries within strategic emerging industries. Its strongest empowering effect is observed in the western region, with the central and eastern regions seeing the weakest effects. Additionally, the promotion effect of AI is greater for state-owned enterprises than for non-state-owned enterprises. To better play the role of AI in encouraging the technical innovation of firms in strategic emerging industries, it is required to establish dedicated funds, create an AI technology innovation platform, and develop differentiated regulations.

The Impact of Digital Economy Development on Improving the Ecological Environment—An Empirical Analysis Based on Data from 30 Provinces in China from 2012 to 2021

The rapid progress in science and technology has ushered in a new era of organized and efficient development within the digital economy. China has repeatedly emphasized the need for high-quality development that prioritizes ecological conservation. The central challenge is to balance economic growth with environmental protection, ensuring sustainable development. Understanding the environmental impact of the digital economy is critical for achieving green growth in China. This paper investigates the relationship between the digital economy and ecological protection, using data from 30 provinces and cities in China between 2012 and 2021. Through empirical analysis, including a two-way fixed effect model, mechanism analysis, regional difference analysis, and robustness tests, the study found a significant negative correlation between the digital economy and environmental pollution. This indicates that the development of the digital economy can effectively improve the ecological environment. In the information age, seizing the opportunities presented by the digital economy is crucial. By deepening the digital industry and leveraging digital technologies, China can enhance enterprise production, promote innovation, and create a positive feedback loop between economic development and environmental optimization. However, it is essential to recognize regional disparities in digital economy development and work to narrow these gaps, ensuring balanced and sustainable growth across the country.

Declining number of general practitioners can impair influenza vaccination uptake among Italian older adults: Results from a panel analysis

BackgroundSeasonal influenza vaccination coverage in Italian older adults is insufficient and well below the minimum target of 75%. In Italy, most influenza vaccine doses are administered by general practitioners (GPs), whose number has been declining. In parallel, the number of patients per GP and GP workload increased dramatically, which theoretically may impair vaccination counselling. In this ecological study, we aimed to assess whether influenza vaccination coverage in older adults is associated with the density of GPs having high number of patients.MethodsThe study outcome was the influenza vaccination coverage rate in adults aged ≥ 65 years and registered in 20 Italian regions over the last 23 years. The independent variable of interest was the proportion of GPs with more than 1,500 adult patients, which is an imposed normative ceiling. This latter variable was considered as a proxy of GP overload. By adopting a panel regression approach, different specifications of fixed- and random-effects models were run to assess the association of interest, when adjusted for several social structural, economic and healthcare-related variables.ResultsOver the last two decades, most regions showed a negative association between influenza vaccination coverage rates and the density of GPs with a high number of patients. This latter negative association was confirmed (P < 0.05) in different panel model specifications. In particular, in the fully adjusted two-way fixed-effects model, each 10% increase in the number of GPs with more than 1,500 patients was associated with a 1.7% decrease in influenza vaccination coverage. However, this association was present only in region-years where at least 18% of GPs were deemed overloaded.ConclusionsIn the upcoming years, the number of Italian GPs is projected to decline further. At the same time, the aging Italian population will determine an even greater workload for GPs. This study demonstrated that increased GP workload may partially explain the spatiotemporal variation in influenza vaccination uptake in the Italian elderly. With the imperative of increasing or at least maintaining influenza vaccination coverage rates, several short- and mid-term initiatives should be implemented in order to optimize GP workload during seasonal immunization campaigns.