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• Global recycling trade is analyzed by network method and top1 network perspective. • The evolution of global recycling trade networks shows three distinct stages. • The top1 recycling import network obviously differs from export network. • Recycling policy of economies has a serious impact on recycling trade pattern. Recycling trade transfers recyclable resources and relevant environmental pressures on a global scale to solve resources limitation problem for some economies and alleviate urgent environment protection pressure for other countries/regions. Correspondingly, recycling trade relationships among economies are changing profoundly with the constant adjustment of economic and environmental policies. Based on complex network approach and top network analysis, this paper aims to comprehensively explore the structural features and their evolutionary patterns of global recycling trade networks from the macro, medium and micro levels by using global multi-region input-output data. The results are: At the macro level, the depth of global recycling import and export markets has strengthened continuously. The breadth of recycling exports showed a "pre-concentration, post-diversification" trend, and the import market breath demonstrated an opposite trend. At the medium level, the community structure of the global recycling export market increased rapidly in the early stage and became stable in the medium and late stages, while that of import market rapidly declined in the late stage, which means the import market was more sensitive to relevant policies and economic events. At the individual level, developed economics have been trying to transfer recycling products to developing economies, causing the former dominate global recycling export markets and the latter dominate the import markets. Recycling policies of economies, especially the developing economies have a serious impact on the global recycling trade pattern. Therefore, China's new announcement in 2018 for prohibiting import "foreign waste" will inevitably have a huge impact on the global recycling market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A distribution dynamics approach is employed to examine the converge of TFEE across Chinese PAA level cities. • The findings show a clear convergence in TFEE. • Convergence comes more from efficiency drops in high TFEE cities than from efficiency gains in low TFEE cities. • The environmental protection polices in key cities improved energy efficiency. • Large-sized cities show better performance in energy efficiency than small- and medium-sized cities. Improving energy efficiency is considered the most direct route to reducing carbon emissions on a massive scale. To examine the long-run trend of China's energy efficiency, this paper employs a distribution dynamics approach to analyze the convergence of total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) across 286 Chinese cities between 2002 and 2014. The result suggests the existence of convergence, which comes more from the efficiency declines in the high TFEE cities rather than the efficiency gains in the low TFEE cities. Despite the fact that a few cities have performed well in energy efficiency, the majority of cities have converged to a low-efficiency point. Further analyses show that the inefficiency was attributed to inefficient energy use in small- and medium-sized cities. Our analysis provides strong scientific support for China's ongoing energy conservation and environmental protection policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of significant environmental changes, the urgency of adopting green innovation has become increasingly apparent as a central mechanism for adjusting industrial structures in China. This transition serves not only as a crucial way to address pressing environmental challenges, but also as a fundamental strategy to improve the ecological efficiency of urban areas. Existing research mainly keeps a close eye on the unidirectional relationship between variables such as technological innovation and environmental protection. There is less relevant literature that has researched the cointegration relationship among green innovation, industrial structure, and eco-efficiency of cities. The essential role of green innovation and industrial structure in reaching a higher eco-efficiency of city are discussed in this research and the relationship among these three variables are analyzed by the evidence from cities in China from 2011 to 2019. The fact that the variables are cointegrated in the long run is evidenced by the results for the full sample. The sub-sample results report that in the eastern region, green innovation, industrial structure upgrading, and industrial structure rationalization could improve urban eco-efficiency. However, in Midwest regions where economic development is relatively backward, green innovation's effect on urban eco-efficiency is not in a significant positive way. The results obtained in this paper have implications for different cities in China to formulate corresponding policies on green innovation, industrial structure, and urban eco-efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental protection and sustainable development are now profoundly ingrained in the public consciousness in the modern era of the global green revolution. First, this paper uses an evolutionary game model to theoretically analyse the impact of environmental regulation and green finance on enterprises by dissecting the game behaviour between local governments, banks and enterprises. Then, we incorporate entrepreneurial spirit into the model to determine whether entrepreneurial spirit accelerates the achievement of green sustainability objectives. Environmental regulation and green finance are found to contribute substantially to the innovation of green technologies by local enterprises, while entrepreneurial spirit accelerates this process. Finally, we empirically test the findings based on a prefecture-level panel dataset from 2007 to 2020. We find that green finance has a positive impact in Central and Western cities of China, while Eastern cities are in greater need for government environmental regulation controls. For entrepreneurial spirit, the incentive effect of entrepreneurial spirit on the level of green technology innovation is more significant in Central and Western regions of China. This paper enriches the field of research on entrepreneurial spirit and regional green sustainable development by providing empirical evidence for the evaluation of environmental regulatory and green financing policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the implementation process of economic and environmental policy, a key concerned problem is the inability of some local officials to faithfully implement environmental policies made by the central government in China, as well as many other developing countries. In this paper, a multitask principal-agent model is established to make a comprehensive comparison on the role that the current incentive mechanism (CIM) and the long-term performance-oriented incentive mechanism (LTPOIM) play in policy implementation. In addition, both the incentive effect and the choice of incentive intensity in the LTPOIM are investigated. The results provide the insight that local officials may trade off the efforts of environment protection for economic growth in the CIM. However, local officials are incentivized to allocate higher efforts toward the implementation of environmental policies (IENP) to strengthen environment protection, or invest higher efforts toward IENP and the implementation of economic policies (IECP) to pursue the win-win situation for economy and environment in the LTPOIM. Besides, the chance of distributing higher efforts toward IENP and IECP in the case of complement tasks is higher than that in the case of substitute tasks. The optimal incentive intensities of long-term performance in the case of complement tasks are higher than those in the case of substitute tasks. • The long-term performance-oriented incentive motivates local officials to balance environmental and economic policies. • The central government makes use of the multitask agency problem to gain a win-win situation for economy and environment. • The adjustment of local officials' efforts portfolio and central government's incentive strategies are investigated. • The chance of distributing higher efforts toward two tasks is higher in the case of complement tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China's policymakers are being forced to balance socioeconomic development with the need for environmental protection. In this paper, we have briefly discussed the main characteristics of the environmental problems that China will face in the 21st century and the challenges that must be met in order to develop policies that will support environmental management. As our discussion in this paper shows, the negative effects of China's economic development on its environment will continue to rise for some time, despite strong efforts to reverse the situation. It will also be necessary to change China's resource-intensive mode of economic development, change the economic development philosophy to one in which controlling pollution is as important as economic development, and raise public awareness of the need for environmental protection. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In response to the national air pollution, China implemented the Clean Air Action policy from 2013 to 2017. The vigorous implementation of the policy has ensured that the policy targets have been achieved, and the haze problem has been effectively controlled. To evaluate the policy effect of environmental regulation on labor demand, this paper conducts policy evaluation by designing a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the variations of labor demand in the region dimension (272 cities) and sector dimension (5 major sectors) from 2008 to 2017, the results of the difference-in-difference-in-difference estimation show that: 1) The implementation of Clean Air Action has a significant negative impact on industrial employment. 2) The dynamic shocks are concentrated in the final stage of the policy. 3) Policy effects show heterogeneity in different regions. Since China is in the critical stage of economic transformation, the findings and enlightenment of this paper can be extended to other environmental and climate policies. • The Clean Air Action provides a quasi-natural experiment. • Environmental regulation has a negative impact on labor demand. • The shocks are mainly concentrated in the final stage. • The policy effect is insignificant in the central and western regions and resource-based cities. • The government should make a trade-off between economic growth and environmental protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The promotion of modern industrialization has caused heavy environmental pollution. Environmental protection is a basic national policy of China. In 2011, China began to implement the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Environmental Protection" (12th FYP_NEP). Using the survey data of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Shandong Province of China, this paper empirically explores the impact of 12th FYP_NEP on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs. It is found that the environmental policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on both efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs, and has a greater positive impact on operating efficiency. Our heterogeneity analysis showed the following results. The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. The policy "12th FYP_NEP" has a greater positive impact on the energy utilization efficiency of SMEs in China's first and second tier cities, but it has no significant impact on their operation efficiency. This shows that SMEs in first and second tier cities are more effective in coping with the national environmental policy reform strategy. It can be seen that the promulgation of China's environmental policies can significantly improve the energy utilization awareness of these SMEs. The incentive effect of the policy on the two efficiency performances of SMEs in cities with "heavy air pollution" is greater, indicating that the implementation effect of "12th FYP_NEP" on SMEs in such cities is better. The enlightenments are as follows: the current situation of Chinese SMEs is that the energy utilization efficiency is low, while the operating efficiency is high. Most enterprises attach great importance to their own operating profits and economic development, and the awareness of energy utilization needs to be greatly strengthened. "12th FYP_NEP" has obvious positive effect on the energy utilization and operating efficiencies of SMEs, but there are slight differences among different types of enterprises. It is suggested that governments can refine their own environmental regulation standards and implement different environmental regulations for different types of enterprises, so as to enhance the performance of domestic enterprises most effectively. • This paper used the China survey data on SMEs over the period 2010–2013. • It is found that the Chinese "12th FYP_NEP" has a significant incentive effect on efficiency performance of Chinese SMEs. • The incentive effect is different in different industries and enterprises of different sizes. • The policy makes for improving the energy efficiency of SMEs in first and second-tier cities and heavy-polluted cities. • Chinese SMEs should attach great importance to energy utilization rather than operating profits only. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of existing studies argue that rich people and the residents in high-income countries and regions have stronger willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection. Does such a rule hold true for China at the present stage? Previous studies pay little attention to this issue due to the lack of related data. Merging the micro data from the Chinese General Social Survey in 2010 (CGSS2010) with the macro data at the corresponding urban level of China, as well as two types of satellite monitoring data, this paper investigates the effect of income on residents’ WTP for environmental protection at both macro and micro perspectives based on the ordered Logit model. The results show that the rich do have stronger WTP for environmental protection. However, with the increase in residents’ income, the marginal WTP for environmental protection will decline, and a reversal occurs at the top income level. Therefore, the WTP does not always rise with the increase in income, and the middle-income class has the strongest WTP for environmental protection. Moreover, after controlling individual characteristics, residents’ WTP for environmental protection more depends on environmental pollution degree rather than urban average income level measured by both GDP per capita and the nighttime lights data from satellite monitoring. The residents in more polluted cities have stronger WTP for environmental protection. Therefore, it is not reasonable to improve people’s environmental preferences purely through economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid development of China’s port industry has caused numerous problems, among which the most significant is environmental pollution. A major goal for government and port enterprises alike is the achievement of both effective environmental protection and operational efficiency. Therefore, environmental factors should be considered when evaluating port efficiency. However, most of the available data envelopment analysis (DEA) models that have been used in previous studies enable each decision-making unit (DMU) to choose its favorite weight-combination with a rather careless approach. This may have caused some DMUs with very good economic indexes but very poor environmental indexes to be evaluated as fully efficient. This paper proposes a non-radial DEA preference model, based on the assumption of variable returns to scale (VRS) and the Directional Distance Function (DDF). The proposed model has been used to evaluate and analyze the efficiency of Chinese-listed port enterprises. The efficiency results showed the average efficiency to be low for all ports when environmental factors are considered. The regression results show that port assets, berth quantity, and the geographical location can significantly impact the environmental performance of Chinese port enterprises. This study also classified all ports into four categories, based on throughput and efficiency. Recommendations for the implementation for improvements of different environmental policies have been made for the individual ports in each category based on the actual situation of each port. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the gradual strengthening of environmental supervision, how to coordinate the relationship between environmental protection and full employment has become an urgent problem. This paper takes China's carbon emission trading policy as the research subject, and evaluates the employment effect of carbon emission trading policy from the perspective of micro enterprises under the premise of considering the spatial spillover effect. This paper aims to verify and evaluate the spatial spillover effect of China's carbon emission trading pilot policy on labor demand of enterprises, and study the effect of environmental policies on the employment market in China. Firstly, from the theoretical point of view, comparisons among the differences of the average employment effect, spillover effect and total effect coefficient of carbon trading right policy are conducted under the condition of spillover effect or not. Secondly, from the empirical perspective and relaxing the STUVA conditions, a Triple Difference Model is constructed to evaluate the impact of carbon emission trading policy on the labor demand of enterprises by using the panel data of China A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2008 to 2017. Thirdly, this paper further uses the synthetic control method to analyze the employment effect differences of carbon emission trading policies in different pilot areas of China. The results show that the carbon emission trading policy in China has an about 10 percent positive spillover effect on the neighboring provinces in pilot areas. Moreover, the results indicate that China's carbon emission trading policy has generated some employment dividend, and the total effect is about 11.5 percent when the ratio of individual sample is considered. In addition, the impact of carbon emission trading policy on employment is gradually increasing, and the employment effect of carbon trading policies in different pilot areas of China is quite dissimilar. The findings of this paper confirm the positive employment effect of China's carbon emission trading policy, and have important policy implications for the further promotion of the national carbon emission trading market. At the same time, it helps to clarify the relationship between environmental protection and full employment. • Verifies and evaluates the spatial spillover effect of carbon trading policy. • Constructs a Triple Difference Model for evaluating the impact of carbon trading policies on the labor demand of enterprises. • Finds about 10% positive spillover effect of the carbon emission rights trading policy in China. • Shows about 11.5% total employment effect of carbon emission trading policy when the individual sample ratio was considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of environmental policy on environmental conditions resulting from China''s accession to the WTO. We estimate environmental technological efficiency under both weak and strong disposability assumptions and use the difference to calculate the pollution abatement cost (PAC). We then undertake Tobit regression analysis on several explanatory variables, including dummies for different time periods and regions. Generally, our findings show that China''s accession to the WTO did not guarantee better environmental conditions even though China adopted stronger regulations to meet the higher standards. In particular, the eastern region does not seem to be strictly regulated. These interesting results may be partly attributable to China''s need to attract foreign investment and may represent a case in which institutional regulations are not always effective in practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: To some extent, there are some uncertainties factors in forecasting energy demand of road transportation. Scientific forecasting China''s energy demand of road transportation is a key for make long-term development plans of the nation''s road transportation, and relevant policies of environmental protection and energy-saving. Basing on the energy demand of China''s road transportation, considering the factors average fuel consumption of singleautomobile and the workload of road transportation, the paper does a comprehensive forecasting for China''s energy demand of transportation in the future. The result is that in 2030, the energy demand of road transportation will amount to 250 million tons, which is 1.4 times that of 2020, and 2.3 times that of 2010. The significant increase of energy demand will inevitably bring great pressure to resources of energy and environmental protection, so the implementation of scientific development concept, saving resources and protecting the environment and adopting sustainable development policy will be the objective requirements for highway transportation development of China in the future. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper investigates the systemization process of environmental impact assessment (EIA) in China through the review of China''s experience in EIA implementation and legislation. The purpose of this study is to analyze the key driving forces of this systemization process and provide advice for future improvement of China''s EIA system. It is found that there are three key drivers promoting the systemization of China''s EIA: the Government''s powerful guidance on the environmental policy implementation; the critical environmental pressure caused by the scale expansion of construction projects and planning activities; and people''s consciousness-raising on environmental protection and environmental rights. Based upon the analysis results and China''s political, legislative and administrative characteristics, some recommendations are proposed to improve the effectiveness of EIA system in China, in terms of internal measures on refining EIA legislative framework and external mechanisms concerning supporting the efficient operation of EIA legislation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Agricultural ecosystem protection is the current strategic focus of China''s environmental protection. Based on the analysis of the current situation of agricultural ecosystem protection in Hebei Province, the paper first points out that it is mainly exposed to the problems like severe widespread pollution from the overuse of pesticides and fertilizers in rural areas and inadequate protection of agricultural production resources, and then proposes some countermeasures and suggestions to promote the ecosystem construction adapted to local conditions and to enhance the protection measures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Grain for Green Programs (GGP) in Zhejiang province plays important role in protecting the environment, soil erosion prevention, production adjustment, and lifestyles promotion for local farmers. In this paper, the Chun’an County of Zhejiang Province was selected for the case study on analyzing the aspects of employment modes such as agricultural households, their income sources, and the corresponding industrial restructuring caused by the implementation of forestry ecological compensation in Zhejiang province. The corresponding strategies and suggestions for improving the mechanism of forestry ecological compensation were proposed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Since the 1980s Chinese economic reform has greatly accelerated its economic growth while in contrast China's environment is increasingly degraded. The Chinese government has recognized that environmental protection and sustainable economic development can promote mutual and sustainable co-development of the economy and the environment as a basic national principle. This paper examines the interactions between economic development and environmental change in China that were compared and analyzed for the years 1996 and 2000. Net primary production (NPP) was selected as a proxy evaluator of ecosystems and gross domestic product (GDP) was chosen as a proxy evaluator of economic development. An NPP change map was produced with Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) summed annual NPP imagery products. The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's Operational Linescan System (DMSP/OLS) nighttime imagery was used to produce a Chinese GDP change map. An integrated map was produced to exhibit the combined changes of NPP and GDP. This map showed that in the regions with increased GDP, NPP decreased but the regions with no GDP change were smaller in area for NPP increase while larger in area for NPP decrease. The changing pattern of NPP varied with the developing level of GDP at province level. A province's development of GDP is controlled by its accessibility to natural resources. Interactions between NPP and GDP are greatly affected by factors of spatial location aside from human factors and natural systems'' characteristics. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper has three purposes. First, it briefly describes some of the economic and cultural features of Chinese national parks that distinguish them from their counterparts in locations such as Europe, even while underlying similarities exist. Second, drawing on these differences it reports research into the efficiency of use of their resources by applying the technique, data envelopment analysis, to data made available for 136 national parks. Third, building on the results it identifies the role of external economies of scale in affecting resource usage and argues that being part of a portfolio of wider tourism locations is a means of improving resource usage. Such conclusions reinforce the role of Chinese national parks in rural economic regeneration through tourism, which arguably has as much importance in Chinese thinking as do issues of environmental protection. Thus tensions exist as to the role of national parks in China, and in their subsequent management. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Given the degradation of the environment, balancing economic development with environmental protection is key to a green China. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the impacts of different environmental policies on China's pollution-intensive industries (PIIs). We look at the main types of environmental policies tools of China in areas of legal, economic and informal regulations, and select typical policies of each type for research. Based on the theoretical model about how environmental regulations affect the transfer decision of polluting enterprises, quantitative empirical tests are conducted in this paper to study the influences of environmental regulations on the transfer of PIIs by using provincial panel data from 2003 to 2016. It is found that: (1) All three types of environmental regulations have significant yet heterogeneous impacts on the transfer of PIIs. (2) With an emphasis on the nonlinear impact of environmental regulations on PIIs' transfer, we find that all the three types of environmental regulations exert inverted-N shaped nonlinear influences. The findings indicate that regions with ultra-stringent or excessively loose regulations are not attractive to polluting industries. However, appropriate environmental regulations stimulate enterprises to innovate, enhance market competitiveness, and increase production. (3) Between regions, spatially heterogeneous influences on PII's transfer are also found. Currently, levels of all types of environmental regulations are relatively low in China, which induce an initial negative correlation between policies and polluting enterprises. As a result, governments should continue to improve environmental regulations to promote a state of positive correlation, realizing a win-win result for environmental protection and economic development. ● Environmental regulations (ERs) affect pollution-intensive industries' (PIIs). ● The impact of ERs on PIIs' transfer is nonlinearly inverted-N shape. ● Multiple ERs have heterogeneous impacts on PIIs' transfer. ● Spatially heterogeneous influences of ERs on PIIs' transfer exist. ● Currently, the levels of all types of ERs are relatively low in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promotion is an overwhelming motivation for local cadres in China. In the past, local cadres used to compete in economic tournaments for career advancement. As the central government shifts to emphasizing environmental protection, it is critical to examine whether the changed incentive structure drives local cadres to pursue environmental protection. Adopting a database covering cadres and pollution discharge for prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2016, this paper investigates the relationship between environmental protection tournaments and cadre promotion and explores the mechanism of environmental protection tournaments. The results show that environmental protection tournaments have contributed to cadres' promotion since 2007, when the central government's attention shifted to environmental protection. Environmental protection tournaments mitigate pollution in a "strong" way, through direct policy intervention. Our findings indicate that the existing incentive structure for local cadres' environmental protection is necessary but insufficient. • Political incentive promotes local cadres to conduct environmental protection tournament. • Local cadres strategically implement environmental protection policy. • Environmental protection tournament mitigates pollution by coercive means instead of adopting optimization of industry structure and innovation of technology. • Existed incentive structure for cadres' environmental performance is necessary but insufficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high-quality development of the environmental protection industry (EPI) requires the support of the corresponding industrial policy system. Taking the input-output efficiency of China's environmental protection enterprises (EPE) as the starting point, this paper conducts a micro-empirical analysis (including random frontier calculation, structural feature combing, and driving mechanism analysis) on the effects of and structural differences in different policy support measures such as taxation, subsidies, and credit. The study finds that first, there are significant ownership and regional differences in the technical efficiency (TE) of Chinese EPE, and the TE level of state-owned and central and western EPE is relatively low. Second, tax relief measures have significant efficiency enhancement effects, especially for non-state-owned enterprises. Third, government subsidies for non-state-owned enterprises and credit support for the central and western regions can produce efficiency improvements. Therefore, constructing a structured policy support system is an important measure to improve the high-quality development of China's EPI. • From the input-output perspective, the TE of EPE has ownership differences and regional heterogeneity. • The effects of different policy support methods are significantly different. • Tax reductions and government subsidies for non-state-owned enterprises have the effect of improving efficiency. • Credit support for the central and western regions can produce efficiency improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The successful implementation of the most stringent environmental protection institution is crucial for China to prevent and control increasingly serious environmental issues. However, the current environmental protection institutional system (EPIS) is constrained by various barriers. This paper aims to construct a path analysis model to reveal the methods and timing to best select and overcome different EPIS barriers systematically, especially determining at which stage prioritizing corresponding barriers may lead to the optimal improvement of EPIS's performance. The barriers categorized in the environmental legal, economic, administrative and public participation institutional subsystems are identified by combining an empirical survey and literature review. A novel path analysis model based on rough DEAMTEL-NK approach is proposed in which the interaction relationship and intensity between barriers are used to construct a heuristic path searching algorithm; the optimal path for overcoming barriers in China's EPIS is determined by simulating the climbing optimization process of the system on the fitness landscape. The path results show that the defective integration among legislation, plans, and policies and the inadequate environmental economic policy assessment mechanism are the two key barriers that should be prioritized. This study provides a strategic tool or remedial measure for management to better optimize the implementation of the most stringent environmental protection institution and achieve environmental sustainability from the novel perspective of prioritizing approaches to overcoming barriers. • The path for overcoming barriers influences the optimization of EPIS performance. • The 16 main barriers in China's EPIS are identified. • The causal relationships between barriers are revealed. • A rough DEMATEL-NK model is proposed to simulate the path of overcoming barriers. • Defective integration among legislation, plans, and policies should be prioritized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration of high quality waters has become an issue of great concern in China. The Chinese government has implemented a series of policies, laws and regulations to control water pollution and improve the surface water quality. However, these measures cannot fundamentally change the status of surface water pollution in China. Some high quality waters have been degraded and do not obtain effective protection. In this paper, we present our views that the lack of antidegradation policy restricts the protection of high quality waters in China. The viewpoint will be beneficial in solving the problem of water pollution in China and also to support other countries in their protection of high quality waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]