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With the adoption of the concept of sustainable development, mega sports events (MSEs) are gradually aiming to be greener and to lower their carbon footprints. As such, does the hosting of MSEs provide an opportunity for urban green transformation? Taking MSEs in China as a quasi-natural experiment and using prefecture-level panel data from 2000 to 2020, we empirically explored the effects and mechanisms of MSE hosting on the green economic development in urban areas by applying a time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The findings revealed that the hosting of MSEs can significantly increase the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the host city, indicating that MSEs promote the green transformation of urban areas. The results of the mechanism analysis showed that hosting MSEs promotes urban green transformation through three channels: encouraging residents to choose public transport, promoting the development of the digital economy, and upgrading of the industrial structure. In addition, the effect of hosting MSEs on green transformation is stronger in cities where the public is more concerned about the environment. We argue that host city governments should implement the concept of green sports when organizing MSEs, increase public concern about the environment, focus on the development of urban public services, and vigorously develop tertiary industries to drive urban green transformations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of the "ear of high-speed railways", the space–time distance between cities has drastically decreased. The opening of high-speed railways has not only increased the factor-flow speed across regions, but has also reduced the cost of factor movement. However, there is some controversy about whether high-speed railways can be used to promote regional economic growth. The Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway is the earliest section of the Beijing–Guangzhou high-speed railway, and it was the first high-speed railway in China with a real speed of 350 km per hour. The Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway opening spawned a three-hour economic circle in the south of China, injected new vitality into the economic and social development along the line, and had an important impact on accelerating regional economic interoperability and integration. Taking this into account, this paper took the Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway as the case study. Firstly, this paper used the theory of system dynamics to analyze the mechanism of the impact of high-speed railway opening on regional economic growth. Secondly, the accessibility model was used to analyze the impact of the high-speed railway opening on the accessibility of cities along the line, and a difference-in-differences model (DID) was used to explore the impact of the high-speed railway opening on regional economic growth. Finally, on the basis of the analysis of the previous mechanism, the mechanism of the impact of the high-speed railway on regional economic growth is discussed. The results of this study show the following: (1) Since the opening of the high-speed railway, the accessibility of cities along the line has grown by more than 60%. (2) The opening of the high-speed railway has promoted regional economic growth, mainly through the influence mechanism of "increasing the total cargo volume". This study not only scientifically and quantitatively analyzed the impact of the opening of high-speed rail on regional economic growth, taking the Wuhan–Guangzhou high-speed railway as an example for empirical analysis, but also further summarized the high-speed railway construction achievements in China and provides reference experience for planning the opening of high-speed railways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the panel data of 263 prefecture-level cities in China, this article explores the development of green technology innovation under the influence of intra-city industrial collaborative agglomeration and inter-city network connectivity. Regression results prove that both of them can enhance green technology innovation. However, further heterogeneity tests suggest that the promoting power of industrial collaborative agglomeration is only significant in the eastern, central and medium-level cities. Meanwhile, there is a significant negative moderating correlation between industrial collaborative agglomeration and network connectivity. This negative moderating effect is particularly significant in the eastern, high and low-level cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transport enables trade between people, which is essential for the development of civilizations. Transport is a crucial necessity for specialization, allowing production and consumption of products to occur at different locations. High-speed rail (HSR) allows the flow of people between regions, cities, countries. With rapid global development in HSR technology for passenger transportation, it plays a vital role in transportation systems. The improvement of the quality of cities with different emphasis will bring different economic development results. Therefore, exploring the impact of high-speed railways and quality of place on economic development is necessary. This paper takes the prefecture-level city with a high-speed railway opened in 2008–2013 as the research sample and takes other prefecture-level cities in the country as the control group. The study findings revealed that employment, investment in fixed assets, average wage, and higher education institute significantly affect China's regional economic growth. Institute of higher education reflects the negative effect on the regional economic growth whereas the employment, investment in fixed assets, and average wage rate positively impact it. Based on the results, it can be concluded that China's regional economy is significantly affected by its quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]