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This paper aims to develop a construction and operation cost model of wastewater treatment for the paper industry in China and explores the main factors that determine these costs. Previous models mainly involved factors relating to the treatment scale and efficiency of treatment facilities for deriving the cost function. We considered the factors more comprehensively by adding a regional variable to represent the economic development level, a corporate ownership factor to represent the plant characteristics, a subsector variable to capture pollutant characteristics, and a detailed-classification technology variable. We applied a unique data set from a national pollution source census for the model simulation. The major findings include the following: (l) Wastewater treatment costs in the paper industry are determined by scale, technology, degree of treatment, ownership, and regional factors; (2) Wastewater treatment costs show a large decreasing scale effect; (3) The current level of pollutant discharge fees is far lower than the marginal treatment costs for meeting the wastewater discharge standard. Key implications are as follows: (l) Cost characteristics and impact factors should be fully recognized when planning or making policies relating to wastewater treatment projects or technology development; (2) There is potential to reduce treatment costs by centralizing wastewater treatment via industrial parks; (3) Wastewater discharge fee rates should be increased; (4) Energy efficient technology should become the future focus of wastewater treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The international recovered paper trade serves two important functions: increasing raw material availability in the paper and board industry and providing economic incentives to recycle. The purpose of this paper is to shed further light on emerging patterns in this trade by empirically analysing the changes in the bilateral trade flows of recycled paper between 1992 and 2008. According to our estimations, two important changes occurred in the 1990s and 2000s. First, the growing importance of developing economies in global recycled paper trade plays a significant role in import demand as a determinant of trade flows. Second, the changes in global trade patterns necessitate investigating the transportation cost measures used in applied research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper investigates the determinants of corruption in Russia based on an original survey of 1,376 businesspeople in 39 regions. Regression analysis reveals economically and statistically significant correlations between bribes, development, and state intervention in the economy. Using the instrumental variable of geographical location, this paper provides supportive evidence for a causal (negative) relationship between prosperity and bribes. It finds a positive correlation between regional corruption and state ownership and a negative one between corruption and the size of the bureaucracy. These results hold for both perceived and experiential corruption. This paper contributes to the investigation of corruption in Russia and post-communist countries. It illustrates the importance of economic development, effective bureaucracy, and the reduction of state property for mitigating corruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researches on the Porter hypothesis have paid more attention to the effect of the external constraint force of environmental regulation on green total factor productivity (GTFP), while ignoring the effect of internal force of market competition on GTFP. Using the panel data of Chinese manufacturing industries, this paper measures China's GTFP with the global frontier MML index which is based on the EBM model. The paper then studies the effect of environmental regulation and market competition on GTFP. The combined effect of environmental regulation and market competition on enhancing GTFP is further investigated. The results are as follows: 1) The GTFP of the manufacturing industry has progressed during the study period and the progress of green technology plays a crucial role in promoting GTFP improvement. 2) The environmental regulation and market competition both have an obvious nonlinear effect of U-type on GTFP. Relying solely on the external constraint force of environmental regulation or the internal force of market competition does not promote the improvement of GTFP quickly. 3) As for the combined effect, improving market competition is beneficial to the positive effect of environmental regulation on GTFP. Market competition and environmental regulation show a significant combined positive effect, accelerating the arrival of environmental regulation inflection point. Thus the rapid improvement of GTFP requires the combined effect to be effectively exerted. However, only when the level of environmental regulation is strong or the level of market competition is high can a combined positive effect appear. The conclusion provides China with a meaningful reference for better implementing the policy of environmental regulation and market-oriented reforms to promote green economic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization and the release of carbon emission are two significant features of contemporary economic and social progress in China. However, there are few studies that consider how urbanization policy goals affect carbon emission. This paper aims to study the nonlinear effects of urbanization policy goals on carbon emission in 13 cities of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. In this paper, a multi-dimensional spatial disturbance grey model is proposed. Based on matrix perturbation theory, this paper explores the spatial perturbation bounds of the novel model and verifies that the spatial property of the model is consistent with the viewpoint of the First Law of Geography. Then, the novel model is used to predict the urban carbon emission under different urbanization policy goal scenarios. The results showed that the novel model has spatial regional correlation in spatial region prediction. With the development of urbanization level, carbon emissions show a downward trend in more than 50% of cities from 2022 to 2025. In addition, the improvement of urbanization policy goals will promote the carbon peak time of most cities. The carbon emission intensity will exhibit an inverted U-shaped trend distribution in space. The research results are conducive to providing scientific guidance for the formulation of new-type urbanization policies and helping to achieve the dual carbon goals. • A multi-dimensional spatial disturbance grey model is proposed. • The novel grey model is consistent with the viewpoint of the First Law of Geography. • The spatial distribution of carbon intensity showed an inverted U-shaped pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the complex interplay between economic development and environmental sustainability in the context of India's pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It examines the inherent contradictions and trade-offs involved, particularly in agriculture, industrialisation, and infrastructure sectors. The paper highlights how economic growth, essential for improving living standards, often conflicts with environmental objectives. The paper underscores the importance of integrating economic, environmental, and social objectives to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The land question is an emotive issue across the world. At independence, erstwhile colonies adopted land reforms to address colonial imbalances in landholding. South Africa is one such country that has embarked on land reforms with the view to correcting economic imbalances created by the apartheid past. However, land reform in South Africa has not only been slow but has failed to deal with the twin challenges of poverty and inequality. Using qualitative research design and neoclassical theory, this paper investigates South Africa's land reforms under the auspices of radical economic transformation. The paper argues that the wholesale expropriation of land without compensation does not fit into the obtaining (neoliberal) economic blueprint that has dominated the country over the years. The call for a radical transformation of landholding rights in the country without structural changes in macroeconomic management remains political rhetoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes and probes the plausibility of a framework to explain how business associations position themselves politically as trade-related sustainability obligations get stronger. An analysis of the submissions of EU business associations during a consultation on trade and sustainability indicates that firm-level and organisational characteristics explain well trade associations' political cleavages. The paper can provide new insights to help understand a major development in the EU and beyond. The EU is passing through an unprecedented shift in its approach to trade and sustainability as it is likely to rely on legal sanctions to enforce sustainability commitments in trade agreements. Understanding the position of EU business interests in that process is relevant to project the consequences of such shift. Besides, as sustainability provisions in trade agreements get stronger, associations may play an ever-important role in promoting their members collectively or in shielding them from reputational costs. Understanding their political positioning is thus key to understanding the very politics of trade and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological civilization construction is an important dimension to achieve high-quality economic development. This paper evaluates the eco-efficiency improvement effect of China's ecological civilization pilot zone policy utilizing the synthetic control method (SCM) differences-in-differences method (DID) and examines the influence mechanism of ecological civilization pilot zones on eco-efficiency in the light of the environmental pollution penalty, green technological innovation, and environmental publicity and education. The study results indicate that the construction of the ecological civilization pilot zone policy has substantially boosted eco-efficiency in the pilot areas, with the strongest boosting effect on eco-efficiency in Fujian province, followed by Guizhou province, and not significantly on eco-efficiency in Jiangxi province. Further, this paper also reveals that the construction of ecological civilization pilot zones has effectively contributed to eco-efficiency through channels such as strengthening the environmental pollution penalty, stimulating green technological innovation, and broadening environmental publicity and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economics of Recycled Paper Sludge conversion into ethanol was here assessed with emphasis on integrating a cellulase recycling system. Without cellulases recycling this process presented positive economic outputs (payback period of 7.85 years; 10.90 Million US$ of accumulated NPV) despite the modest ethanol titers. Recycling both free and solid-bound enzymes allowed considerable savings of enzyme but also an increase on annual costs (0.88%), resulting on a superior economic output: payback period decreased to 7.25 years; accumulated NPV increased to 14.44 Million US$. Recycling exclusively the liquid fraction enabled a clear costs reduction, however, also total ethanol decreased, attenuating the abovementioned benefits. Targeting higher ethanol concentrations, superior solids consistencies were also evaluated. Despite a costs reduction, total ethanol decreased due to a higher ethanol retention on the solid. A sensitivity analysis further revealed that the cost of enzymes and ultrafiltration membrane may be critical on enzyme recycling economic feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic historians researching other countries, Australian economic historians employed outside Australia (but retaining links with home), and well-known non-Australian economic historians, who spent some of their careers in Australia, are afforded comparatively little attention. I Australian Economic History i is very much an appeal to universities and policy-makers - not to mention historians and economists - to recognise the role that economic history can play in solving the big challenges of our time. A somewhat peculiar dimension of Wright's account is its emphasis on Australian-based economic historians working primarily on Australian economic history. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the role of the Spanish legal ecology in maintaining social cohesion, bolstering the popular legitimacy of the imperial project, and setting the boundaries of economic development. Drawing the connections between Hapsburg and Bourbon governance through two (inconclusive) legal cases, the first lasting throughout the Spanish War of Succession (1700-1713), and the second occurring during the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763). The ambiguity of missing appeals and references to previous legal actions corresponds to the reality for Africans and their descendants in the Spanish Indies for whom there was rarely a clear endpoint in their dealings with the courts. The first case follows two sisters, Maria Josefa Copete and Lorenza Elena, as they defend their freedom against their half-brother. In the second case Nicolás Quintana, an African slave, fights to avoid being sent to the gold mines and separated from his family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most of the literature on the politics of industrial policy describes a policy realm that is dominated by business–state relations. This paper goes beyond this and proposes that, in democratic settings, political competition and civil society actors also play a vital role in industrial policy. Through a lens focused on Brazil during the 2000s, the study delves into the dynamics between the election of a centre-left party and the subsequent industrial policy, highlighting the interplay of democratic mandates, entrenched economic interests, and supportive developmental alliances. Notably, the continuation of a centre-left coalition and consistent institutional frameworks witnessed considerable shifts in industrial policy outcomes, which allows for an in-depth evaluation of interest group influence on policy formation and implementation. By triangulating data from 23 interviews with actors in the industrial policy process, data from the Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES), and an analysis of industrial policy plans, this paper posits that the prevalence of economic issues in the electoral debate and the participation of societal actors in the policymaking process are enablers of innovation-focused industrial policies; this allows governments to countervail the power of incumbent sectors and undertake policies that are not favoured by the prevailing business interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the historical and philosophical roots of economic thought, drawing connections between the entrepreneurial mindset and the scholastic traditions that have shaped the conceptual landscape of free markets. Through a multidisciplinary approach, the paper examines how religious and scholastic influences have contributed to the development of economic ideas, providing a nuanced understanding of the ethical dimensions inherent in entrepreneurial endeavors. By unraveling the threads that connect entrepreneurship, prayer, and scholasticism, this paper also seeks to illuminate the symbiotic relationship between faith, intellectual heritage, and the principles that underpin free-market economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against the backdrop of the current political developments in Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries, such as Ukraine, Poland, and Romania, the question arises as to the role played by economic transformation and the resulting innovation linkages in these countries over the last 20 years. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of economic and institutional dimensions on the development of CEE countries, explicitly distinguishing between European Union (EU) members and non‐members, and thus reflecting the differences in institutions and path dependency. Furthermore, the paper contrasts the performance of CEE countries with that of Western European countries. To achieve these objectives, the impact of factors such as innovation, institutions, and political practices on the economic development of 37 European countries from 2000 until 2020 is followed using fixed effects regression and Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression. The results of the analysis show the importance of institutional factors such as low levels of corruption, political freedoms, and intellectual property. The effect of institutional variables was particularly pronounced in the case of non‐EU countries, which indicates the particular importance of the development of stable institutions for achieving higher levels of economic development for this category of countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the background of rapid global economic transformation, the influence of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) has penetrated all fields of production and life. It is significant to study how it affects the regional carbon emission intensity for regional sustainable development. Based on the data from 30 provinces from 2004 to 2017, this paper takes a complete account of spatial heterogeneity and the dynamic impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emission intensity using a spatial econometric model. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) For more than ten years, there have been significant differences and instabilities in economic policy uncertainty and carbon emission intensity in different regions of China. (2) China's local carbon emission intensity shows an objective spatial aggregation effect, which is significant, spatially auto-correlated and clustered. (3) Based on the national level, economic policy uncertainty will significantly increase the regional carbon emission intensity. Additionally, economic policy uncertainty has a significant positive spatial spillover effect, which may increase carbon emission intensity in neighboring provinces. (4) Based on the provincial level, the impact of economic policy uncertainty on carbon emission intensity in various regions is significantly positive, with the most significant impact on the western region. Based on the above conclusions, the paper proposes policy suggestions to stabilize the regional carbon emission intensity in all directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A system of indicators has been established for the high-quality economic development index developed by the Chinese government. • High-quality economic development is divided into five dimensions. • Reliance on the resource industry has significantly reduced the level of high-quality economic development. • The theoretical mechanisms of the impact of resource industry dependence on high-quality development are analyzed. • Government governance capacity weakens the impact of resource industry dependence on high-quality economic development. In resource-dependent regions, the meaning of high-quality economic development has yet to be clarified by published research, despite substantial scholarly interest in the topic. With the help of the economic development index developed by the Chinese government, this paper accurately measures high-quality economic development in 30 provinces in China and investigates how resource dependence and government governance capability affect regional high-quality economic development. Research has found that resource industry dependence has a significant inhibitory effect on high-quality economic development. Additionally, the analysis of the mechanisms revealed that resource industry dependence reduces high-quality economic development through a series of effects including crowding out innovation, weakening coordination, lagging green development, hindering global openness, and sharing in weakening. Further research has revealed that government governance capacity weakens the impact of resource industry dependence on high-quality economic development. A detailed analysis of three subsystem indicators of government governance capacity, namely policy planning, capability commitment, and performance assessment, indicates that they all have a weakening effect. To this end, the paper proposes policy recommendations, including increasing innovation inputs, advancing industrial restructuring, promoting green development, enhancing marketization levels, and constructing a diversified employment system. These measures aim to transform resource disadvantages into resource advantages and facilitate high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares immigration reforms across democratic and autocratic states. Mobilising two large-scale datasets, it first challenges the prevailing notion that political regime types inherently dictate immigration policy outputs. The analysis shows that although immigration is central to political debates worldwide, reforms are not that frequent and, when enacted, their restrictiveness does not consistently differ by regime type. Instead, restrictions focus on border controls and openings on entry and integration policies regardless of the political regime in place. The paper then mobilises case studies from around the globe to delve into the policy dynamics underpinning immigration reforms across regimes. It shows that while all migration states grapple with the multifaceted challenges that immigration raises, autocratic politics offers a broader toolkit to resolve the trade-offs between cultural, rights-based, economic and security issues. This creates unexpected opportunities for open immigration reforms under autocratic politics, a dynamic I call the 'illiberal paradox' as a counterpart to the 'liberal paradox' observed under democratic politics. To advance theory-building across the democracy/autocracy divide, the paper concludes by arguing that the liberal and illiberal paradox concepts are not exclusive to democratic or autocratic regimes, respectively, but are valuable analytical tools to understand immigration politics across the political regime spectrum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context and background: The existence, survival and continuity of a number of income-generating activities (farming, mining, etc.) depend on land, making it an important lever for a country's development. However, if land is not properly managed and governed, this can leave the door wide open to various forms of embezzlement, including corruption. Corruption is well known to have a deleterious effect on its victims, and when it affects land tenure and access to land, it can affect more than just a country's economy. It can at the first time undermines a country's ability to trade properly with its neighbors, and hindering the continent's ability to fully harness the benefits of free trade agreements as well. Goal and objectives: In the context of Africa's commitment to promoting industrial development through the development of agriculture and food security, it is vital to talk about issues that could hinder these developments, and more specifically the reaching of the Acceleration of the African Continental Free Trade Area implementation. In this instance, the aim is to talk about land corruption. Readers will be led to reflect into the critical role of addressing and eradicating land corruption as a fundamental prerequisite for the successful implementation of free trade initiatives in Africa, but also to facilitate sustainable economic growth and harmonious regional integration. Methodology: This paper offers a broad panorama of negative impacts of land corruption in Africa, and will be based on the experience and lessons of anti-corruption strategies deployed on the land sector in Madagascar. Through an in-depth analysis of the existing challenges, far-reaching consequences, and potential solutions, this work elucidates the paramount importance of curbing land corruption to foster sustainable economic growth, regional integration across the continent and African Continental Free Trade Area’s swift and sustainable implementation. Results: How does corruption affect the land tenure system? What impact does it have? Why and how is it incompatible with the objectives of the African continental free trade area? What can be done to tackle it, based on experience from Madagascar and extended to the African context? This paper gives inputs to those burning questions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Renewable energy sources (RESs) offer key transformative potential from a societal point of view due to their modularity and ability to generate energy at the local level, allowing for the development of grassroots democratic and participatory initiatives. The paper aims to share insights into the processes of creating RES cooperatives in Poland. One of the first cooperatives to be established in the Upper Silesian region in Poland was the energy cooperative (EC) "Our Energy". This study presents an in-depth empirical analysis of a community-based renewable energy cooperative. The study employed a case study methodology, including a SWOT analysis framework, to describe the research subject and identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Key findings indicate that members benefit from stable energy prices and full recovery of the energy produced, and the cooperative is at the forefront of energy-sharing practices that minimize costs through direct transactions with the local municipality. The strategic goals of the EC focus on expanding membership, increasing the number of photovoltaic installations, implementing energy balancing, combating energy poverty, and reducing emissions. Challenges such as financial constraints and a lack of real-time monitoring of energy distribution are acknowledged, and carbon footprint reduction innovations and stakeholder engagement are highlighted as forward-looking approaches. The study highlights the role of cooperatives as a model for community-led sustainable energy initiatives. However, the study acknowledges the limitations of its small sample size, suggesting the need for broader research to understand the impact of collaborative energy on decarbonization. Future research directions are proposed, focusing on the long-term sustainability and socioeconomic impacts of energy cooperatives. This study contributes to the scholarly discourse on renewable energy cooperatives by offering insight into their potential to bridge the gap between energy producers and consumers and support sustainable community development. The main novelty of this paper lies in its detailed examination of a specific renewable energy cooperative, incorporating SWOT analysis, stakeholder perspectives, quantitative assessments, and a forward-thinking approach. This multifaceted analysis contributes to the existing literature on renewable energy initiatives, providing a valuable reference for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses knowledge base as an intermediary variable and takes Chinese A-share manufacturing listed companies from 2010 to 2018 as the research object to examine the impact of technological mergers and acquisitions on corporate innovation performance. The study found that: (1) Technology acquisition plays a significant role in promoting the innovation performance of enterprises, indicating that for every 1% increase, the technological innovation of manufacturing enterprises will increase significantly by about 0.44%. Using different core variable metrics, different regression samples, and different estimation methods, the results still exist, indicating that this finding is robust. (2) The nature of enterprise property rights, the level of economic development, and the level of technological development have led to the heterogeneity of technological mergers and acquisitions in driving enterprise innovation. (3) The scale of the knowledge base is the key intermediary variable. The findings of this paper are helpful to understand the internal dynamic mechanism of Chinese innovation-driven strategy, and pro-vide policy inspiration for the transformation of high-quality economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting an appropriate intensity of epidemic prevention and control measures is of vital significance to promoting the two-way dynamic coordination of epidemic prevention and control and economic development. In order to balance epidemic control and economic development and suggest scientific and reasonable traffic control measures, this paper proposes a SEIQR model considering population migration and the propagation characteristics of the exposed and the asymptomatic, based on the data of COVID-19 cases, Baidu Migration, and the tourist economy. Further, the factor traffic control intensity is included in the model. After determining the functional relationship between the control intensity and the number of tourists and the cumulative number of confirmed cases, the NSGA-II algorithm is employed to perform multi-objective optimization with consideration of the requirements for epidemic prevention and control and for economic development to get an appropriate traffic control intensity and suggest scientific traffic control measures. With Xi'an City as an example. The results show that the Pearson correlation coefficient between the predicted data of this improved model and the actual data is 0.996, the R-square in the regression analysis is 0.993, with a significance level of below 0.001, suggesting that the predicted data of the model are more accurate. With the continuous rise of traffic control intensity in different simulation scenarios, the cumulative number of cases decreases by a significant amplitude. While balancing the requirements for epidemic prevention and control and for tourist economy development, the model works out the control intensity to be 0.68, under which some traffic control measures are suggested. The model presented in this paper can be used to analyze the impacts of different traffic control intensities on epidemic transmission. The research results in this paper reveal the traffic control measures balancing the requirements for epidemic prevention and control and for economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to study the relationship between regional logistics efficiency and economic development in 31 provinces of China and analyze their coupling coordination. To comprehensively evaluate the coordination between logistics and the economy, we introduced external indicators, such as carbon emissions, based on traditional evaluation indicators. We constructed an evaluation index system to coordinate regional logistics efficiency and economic development. The research approach used in this paper is the cross-DEA method, and data from 2010 to 2019 were selected for empirical calculation. The research findings indicate that Eastern and Northern regions of China show higher logistics efficiency, while Northwestern and Southwestern regions exhibit lower logistics efficiency. Coastal areas have relatively higher economic development levels compared to inland areas. Regarding the coupling coordination between logistics efficiency and economic development, different regions show temporal fluctuations and spatial disparities. Some regions demonstrate higher coordination between logistics efficiency and economic development, while others show lower coordination. Additionally, as the economy experiences rapid growth, logistics efficiency also improves, but the level of coordination varies among different provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of digital finance on enterprise economic development and ecological environment has been widely debated and researched. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate and deconstruct the relationship between digital finance and the synergy of enterprise economic development and ecological environment. The paper examines the benefits and drawbacks of digital finance and its influence on the economy, as well as its impact on the ecological environment. Through a comprehensive literature review and empirical analysis, the study investigates the mechanisms through which digital finance affects the synergy of enterprise economic development and ecological environment, and evaluates the effectiveness of current measures and policies to address these impacts. The results of this study provide valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners on how to achieve a balance between digital finance and sustainable development. By deconstructing the relationship between digital finance and the synergy of enterprise economic development and ecological environment, this paper aims to contribute to the development of sustainable finance models and to foster a deeper understanding of the role of digital finance in shaping a sustainable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, a new pattern of world economic development is taking shape, and different development models featuring a green, low-carbon, and recycling economy have become the goals pursued by all countries. China is in a critical period of economic transformation. Establishing a sound financial system for green, low-carbon, and recycling economic development is an essential initiative for China to realize the dual-carbon goal, build a modern financial system for sustainable development, and promote the construction of a community of human destiny. Therefore, it is of great practical significance to dynamically monitor the development of China's green, low-carbon, and recycling economy and explore regional development differences to realize coordinated and sustainable regional development. This paper measures the level of green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development in 30 provinces and cities in China by constructing a dynamic evaluation system for green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development and utilizing a dual incentive model. The empirical results show that since 2014, the level of green, low-carbon, and recycling economy development in China's provinces and cities has been on an upward trend. Still, the level of action needs to be balanced. Therefore, it is imperative to create an institutional environment conducive to advancing green and low-carbon technologies, promoting structural adjustment and energy efficiency, and reducing regional differences in green, lowcarbon, and recycling development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of the political hierarchies of cities in China from different perspectives. First, we examine the economic disparities between prefectural cities and municipalities. Furthermore, this paper draws upon a quasi‐ experiment to analyze the impact of upgrading Chongqing to a municipality in 1997 using the synthetic control method. The city‐upgrading policy significantly increased Chongqing's gross domestic product (GDP) in the following 4 years. Finally, we find that the policy increased GDP in treated cities within 1200 km of Chongqing by about 10%–13% relative to the control cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper critically dissects the contemporary policy landscape and its ability to counter precarious work for construction workers in the Indian context. By focusing on the governance challenges faced by welfare institutions and the pre-existing fault lines exposed by the pandemic, the paper argues that social policies are languishing and inefficient to respond to the challenges of growing precarity. The paper uses Breman's conception of 'Footloose labour' to understand informality related to construction workers and Gilbert and Terrell's social policy analytical framework to understand the institutional response. The two major arguments that make the social policy languish are the inability of the policy to alter neoliberal employment relationships and the operational challenges that institutions face in implementing welfare schemes for many footloose labourers. Moreover, the situation is further exacerbated by inherent contradictions of the state which is entangled between promoting economic growth through neoliberal policies while consecutively ensuring labour welfare. If the Institutional challenges persist along with the persuasion of neoliberal reforms, footloose labour is only going to be further marginalized and pushed to limits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined whether the contribution of social capital to household economic outputs was greater than that of other types of capital, whether different dimensions of social capital contribute equally to household income, and whether the role of social capital varies among different categories of house- holds. We developed a reduced-form model of the household production function, in which social capital is treated as a production factor similar to other conventional factors such as physical capital, labor, and human capital, with household income and expenditure as dependent variables. The results show that social capital has a strong and positive contribution to household income, and the positive contribution of social capital to the general (the poor) house- hold's income is greater than that of the paper-recycling (the rich) household's income. In contrast to other studies, the number of memberships in associations does not have an impact on household income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A previous paper on RIS3 assessed its potential to influence growth strategies and their delivery. It held that significant further investment work was needed in tools and techniques, data and intelligence, and innovation in leadership capacity and capabilities. It further asserted that such investment was needed to be part of a commitment to a long-run learning and evaluation process. This paper considers synergies and dissonances between these national approaches to development in England. In particular, it explores how far RIS represents a step change from previous approaches to innovation-led growth. Alternatively, is it more accurately an incremental facelift and rebranding of previous orthodoxies? Does it add value to or detract from national policy for England? What roles might the approach play in the so-called ‘devolution revolution’? Can the (small scale, ‘light touch’) Advisory Hub approach support and promote those roles? What, if anything, might the England experience have for other nations and regions of Europe? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving energy efficiency is an effective way to address the issues of economic development, energy saving and emissions reduction. For any important industries it is therefore necessary to measure energy efficiency and set a practical target for it. In this paper, we use CCR, SBM and energy intensity to measure the energy efficiency of the paper industries of 22 EU countries. Results indicate that the SBM and CCR efficiency value is more meaningful for policy makers than that of energy intensity, as measurement results of energy intensity deviate from reality and economic efficiency. The CCR and SBM have roughly the same fluctuation trends and the average SBM energy efficiency value is 0.71, always 10 percent lower than CCR model, as it takes simultaneous account of both the optimal input-output and has more discriminatory power in efficiency measurement. Furthermore, EU policy makers could improve energy efficiency by raising energy prices. As for the 2030 EU target of energy saving and emission reduction, the EU should pay more attention to five major paper producers: Finland, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how the competing concerns of environmental effects and economic development were used to frame the news coverage of mountaintop coal mining in community and metro papers in Kentucky and West Virginia, regions heavily dependent on the coal-mining industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• New panel dataset of Marxist variables for 43 countries from 2000 to 2014. • Dataset includes rates of surplus value, composition of capital, shares of productive activity, and profit rates for the global economy. • The paper tests Marx's hypotheses on economic development at the world level. • Marx was right at the global level: capital intensity rises faster than exploitation rate, and the global profit rate declines. • Productive capital relocated to China, and unproductive activity increased in developed countries. We assess Marx's hypotheses about capitalist development on a global scale by constructing a new dataset of Marxist variables (profit rates, exploitation rates, composition of capital, and shares of productive activity) for 43 major economies, derived from world input-output data and national accounts in the 2000–2014 period. Consistent with Marx's hypotheses, the average profit rate declines at the world level, between countries, and within countries. The global rate of exploitation increases until 2008 but stagnates after the financial crisis, while capital intensity continued to increase. At the cross-country level, rich countries became increasingly dominated by unproductive activity. China absorbed much of the world's productive activity and kept the labor share of value added roughly constant at the world level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the determinants of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) adoption using the Technology-Organizational-Environment framework. This framework explains how the process of adopting and implementing XBRL is influenced by the technological context (country's firm-level technology absorption and technological capacity), organizational context (education) and environmental context (level of economic development; degree of external economic openness; investor protection; accounting system and the burden of government regulation). Using a sample of 78 countries during the period 2009–2017, we find that countries with high levels of technology absorption, higher levels of economic development and strong investor protection are more likely to adopt XBRL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern communication technologies make information more easily and quickly accessible, leading to more transparent and competitive markets. Based on a theoretical model, this paper provides new empirical evidence on the potential impact of online search intensity on asymmetric cost pass‐through. Prices often move as 'rockets and feathers': they rise quickly in response to cost increases and they fall slowly in response to cost reductions. A panel threshold error correction model is applied to weekly producer and retail prices of chicken and mutton in Iran. The results suggest that the volume of online searches is associated with a more complete and less asymmetric cost pass‐through from farmgate to retail prices. Thus, online platforms and search engines have the potential to increase competition by bringing prices closer together and reducing profit margins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the early 2000s, plant closures have been a significant concern in Ontario, Canada. Scholars and policymakers alike aim to investigate the causes of plant closures and determine how to mitigate their impacts. Despite the large body of literature on plant closures, local economic development practitioners' perspectives and experiences have been neglected. To fill this gap, this paper interviewed twenty-two practitioners from various cities in Ontario to understand how practitioners perceive and respond to plant closures. The findings provide a comprehensive overview of the various dynamics of plant closures. Also, based on the findings, seven policy recommendations are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of China's economy entering a new stage, the quality of life, which centers on the well-being of residents, provides an essential hand in promoting the transformation of the regional economy from high-speed development to high-quality development. Based on a panel threshold regression model, we examine in this paper whether quality of life helps regional economies realize developmental convergence. The research shows that: (1) The quality of life overall can promote regional economic development and passes the series test with relatively robust results. (2) The quality of life has a non-linear effect on regional economic growth, which is mainly manifested in the fact that the impact is more significant in regions with higher levels of quality of life and weaker in regions with lagging quality of life and may widen the gap between regions at the same time. (3) We categorize the study regions to test further regional heterogeneity based on regional location and development status. At the Quality of Life Level-I regions, their influence on economic development has a more substantial pulling effect. Therefore, each region should seize the strategic opportunity to improve the quality of life, focus on the balanced development of the quality of life, strengthen policy support and social security, and strive to promote the coordinated development of China's regional economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To stimulate economic growth, China has launched multiple economic stimulus plans in recent years, intensifying corporate debt financing and subsequently elevating the leverage levels. Addressing and effectively reducing the leverage levels of our country's enterprises has emerged as a pressing issue in the trajectory of our economic development. This paper primarily investigates the drivers, pathways, and mechanisms for reversing the over-leveraged values of enterprises. Key findings include: (1) Excessive indebtedness exerts a negative impact on corporate value, with the suppressing effect intensifying as the degree of over-leverage increases; (2) Over-leveraged enterprises can effectively decrease their debt levels and enhance their value through private placement. Further research suggests that this mechanism operates by amplifying the operational leverage of over-leveraged enterprises post private placement and alleviating financing constraints, thereby elevating corporate value. (3) Compared to non-state-owned enterprises, state-owned enterprises exhibit higher levels of indebtedness. Among over-leveraged firms, enhancements in corporate governance and increased investment efficiency can positively transform corporate value. This study offers valuable insights for the ongoing supply-side structural reforms and governance guidance from the regulatory bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional literature on Economic Growth highlights the role of the manufacturing sector in fostering economic growth. This sector, characterized by increasing returns, plays a fundamental role in both static and dynamic scale gains within the economy. Recently, an increasing number of studies have suggested that the increased share of the modern services sector also significantly contributes to innovation, productivity, and increased output. The aim of this paper is to reevaluate growth theories in light of the emerging prominence of the services sector and to outline key components of a research agenda that encompasses this sector as a crucial area of investigation. To substantiate this argument, we apply a GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) model to a dataset spanning from 1990 to 2018, encompassing fifty-one (51) countries, in order to evaluate the impact of modern services on manufacturing performance. An interaction variable is employed to test whether a symbiotic relationship between industry and services is the driving force behind economic growth. The results demonstrate the relevance of the services sector. Finally, we suggest possible research lines to be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What we propose in this paper is to elaborate on what it means to consider 'migration' as part of an oikonomia. This is not an 'economic perspective on migration' but a genealogy of migration as a way of managing people in light of both colonial divides and questions of labor and race. First, we argue that 'migration' is constituted as an effect of accounting, of the registration of comings and goings and of belonging within a reference space of governed territories. We illustrate how migration is born out of the specific accounting inventions made by Ernst Ravenstein. Second, we argue that the accounting of a singular thing called migration only starts to take off when nineteenth-century empire reaches its tipping point. Third, we illustrate how this accounting constitutes a form of double bookkeeping. To record or register migration is to make a record of what the nation would be if the people marked as migrants were not present, and it is to simultaneously record what it costs the nation now that they are. In this oikonomia, migration is enacted as a form of debt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frankish customs regulations recorded in the tenth‐century 'Inquest on the tolls of Raffelstetten' have long formed a cornerstone of traditional arguments about slavery's role in the early medieval European economic revival. This paper experiments with the application of a more‐than‐human lens to the Raffelstetten record and other evidence to generate new insights into the intimate experience of enslavement and the interspecies networks of relations that shaped the slave trade and slave markets in early medieval Europe. Human and animal entanglements, as revealed in the Raffelstetten record, determined how enslaved people experienced capture, transport, and sale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic impact of resource investments into higher education has been the focus of considerable research in recent years. Many contributions analyse the strength of the connection between economic development and higher education at the local level and the conditions which make certain systems more effective and efficient than others. In this paper, we provide a systematic bibliometric review of the available literature on the subject, various dimensions of this complex issue, constructing and analysing a map of variables used by selected researchers in the field. A summary of knowledge gaps, research limitations, topics explored and applied methods is provided to envisage future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of global urban development, there are urgent ecological security and environmental pollution problems, green development is the fundamental way for urban sustainable development, economic transformation and mitigation of ecological and environmental problems. Based on the panel data of 283 cities at prefecture level and above in China from 2003 to 2017, this paper analyzes spatial–temporal evolution characteristics of urban green development efficiency (UGDE) and the peer effects of UGDE between cities of different grades. It is found that during the study period, in terms of temporal evolution, the average UGDE in China increased from 0.47 in 2003 to 0.61 in 2017, with a cumulative growth rate of 29.79%, showing a rising trend in general. In terms of spatial evolution, the number of low-efficiency cities and medium-efficiency cities continued to decrease. The eastern region has always been the main distribution area of higher-efficiency cities and high-efficiency cities; in the central region, UGDE in most cities improved significantly; in the western region, UGDE has always lagged behind that in the eastern and central regions. In addition, the center of gravity of UGDE presented a trend of northwest migration in general, with a total displacement of 100.07 km, and UGDE showed a spatial dispersion trend. The empirical results indicate that the improvement of UGDE in large cities has a driving effect on that in neighboring medium cities and small cities through the positive peer effect, and the growth of UGDE in medium cities has a promoting effect on that in neighboring small cities through the positive peer effect; the increase of UGDE in medium cities has a positive peer effect on that in neighboring large cities, and the growth of UGDE in small cities has a positive peer effect on that in neighboring medium cities; UGDE promotes each other between large cities through the positive peer effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the applicability of economic policies and other developmentalist governmental actions to financialized economies. It mobilizes the theoretical-methodological regulationist principles for a historical and institutional macro-analysis. After a brief review of the concepts of the Regulation School, including the "economic policy regime" (Théret, 1992; Lordon, 2002; Boyer, 2015), the Brazilian case is analyzed as a remarkable example of institutional compatibility with rentier-financial accumulation to the detriment of the accumulation of productive fixed capital. Several indicators of this case are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serving as a crucial part of the Yangtze River Basin (YRB)'s flood control system, Flood Detention Areas (FDAs) are vital in mitigating large-scale floods. Urbanization has led to the development of urban FDAs, but significant losses could ensue if these FDAs are activated. With improved reservoirs and embankments, flood pressure in the middle reaches has lessened, posing challenges in balancing flood control and economic benefits. This paper presents a comparative analysis of land use, GDP, and population in FDAs and adjacent cities, enhancing our understanding of their disparities and interrelations. Using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP)–Entropy Weight Method (EW)–Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) comprehensive evaluation method, we assess changes in flood control and economic values in FDAs. The results show a conflict between flood control and economic policies in FDAs, highlighting their underestimated economic potential, especially in urban areas. This study identifies differences in economic development across FDAs and a strong correlation between flood control value and inundation rates. Based on evaluations and simulations of the 1954 flood, we provide recommendations for the FDAs' construction plan, which serves the development and flood management of the YRB and offer insights for similar assessments elsewhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of carbon price in emissions trading schemes (ETS) is an important issue in China in the context of its ambitious climate change goals. This paper adopts a staggered difference-in-differences model to estimate whether China's ETS reduced CO2 emissions while maintaining economic growth even under low carbon prices. The results indicate that despite the low carbon prices, the ETS effectively reduced CO2 emissions without undermining the economy. Specifically, an increase of $1 in the carbon price reduced CO2 emissions by 1.69% and increased the per capita GDP by $286. The carbon price primarily achieved emission reduction and promoted economic development through channels, such as technological innovation, foreign direct investment, energy mix, and industrial structure. Carbon leakage to neighboring regions was not evident. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the environmental effects of the carbon price were more pronounced in regions with higher levels of economic development and CO2 emissions. Conversely, the economic effects of the carbon price were more pronounced in regions with lower levels of economic development and CO2 emissions. The carbon price achieved significant economic effects in regions that solely adopted the free allocation mode of emission allowances, while regions that used a combination of free allocation and auctioning experienced substantial emission reduction effects. Despite low carbon prices, China's ETS effectively reduced CO2 emissions without compromising economic growth. This finding provides new empirical evidence for the effectiveness of carbon price as well as decision support for the future promotion of ETS. Technological innovation, FDI, energy mix, and industrial structure are crucial channels through which the carbon price achieves emission reduction and promotes economic development. The absence of carbon leakage to neighboring regions suggests that ETS is an internally effective mechanism for emission control. Heterogeneity analysis showed that regional characteristics and allowance allocation modes can influence the effectiveness of carbon price, thus emphasizing the importance of targeted policy design and appropriate allocation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 'place-based' interventions have become influential in shaping economic development policy, especially at the European level. From the 2007 to 2013 programming period onwards, EU Cohesion policy, adopted a 'place-based' approach to encourage the competitiveness of all regions. Rather than spatially-blind interventions, the focus is on tackling territorial inequalities via a more sophisticated spatially-sensitive approach to stimulate economic change, at the local level. The challenge is that place-based policies are complex, risky and the performance indicators used to capture the achievements from EU Cohesion policy focus on direct results rather than expected policy change, making it hard to prove effectiveness and value for money. This paper contributes to ongoing academic and policy debates about how to capture the achievements of EU Cohesion policy, through an in-depth case study of 'place-based' interventions made via Interreg funding, to encourage cross-border cooperation between Spain and Portugal. The evidence illustrates that there is a need for novel approaches, which are conceptually informed and spatially sensitive to be able to capture not only the quantitative but also the qualitative achievements generated through EU 'place-based' interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the debate on the role of technical change and industrial policy in Indonesian economic growth using the pulp and paper industry as a case study. The analysis indicates that industry and trade policies had a positive influence on growth and capital accumulation, but gave Indonesian pulp and paper companies few incentives to create or deepen their technological capabilities, resulting in fragmented and limited technology assimilation. The findings also raise questions about common interpretations of total factor productivity growth in Indonesia in terms of inspiration versus perspiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]