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• The impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity in China is investigated. • The evidence on digital economy from a policy perspective is further supplied. • The ordinary least squares model and fixed effects model are used to research simultaneously. • Technological innovation, industrial structure optimization and resource misallocation as the transmission channels are considered in mechanism test. Digital economy has become a major driver of the green transformation of the economy. The "National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone" policy is taken as a quasi-natural experiment. The Difference-in-Differences model is employed to explore the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity, and the heterogeneity of this impact is further explored. The mechanism test model is applied to investigate its indirect transmission mechanism. It is found that digital economy significantly enhances green total factor productivity. Further, the impact is larger and more significant in the mid-western, non-resource-based, and large cities, whereas it is smaller or insignificant in the eastern, resource-based, and small and medium-sized cities. Results of mechanism analysis show that digital economy enhances green total factor productivity through the transmission channels of technological innovation, industrial structure optimization, and resource misallocation. Policy recommendations are provided on the basis of these results to establish the environment and digital economy that are mutually beneficial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Sectoral total factor productivity and multipliers are negatively correlated. • Overall effect of the IO structure is dampened relative to the multiplier effect. • Sectors with high productivity generate fewer jobs than other sectors do. • The economic activity that the high-incomers increase the consumption does not spread. • Promoting the industry alone is not enough and a spillover perspective is required. This study demonstrates how differences in the prefectural input–output (IO) multiplier and sectoral total factor productivity (TFP) translate into aggregate income differences across prefectures within a country. Furthermore, this study investigates the job creation generated from the IO multiplier and TFP relationship and considers expenditure in the high-income group. Our results show that aggregate multipliers substantially amplify average sectoral TFP by propagating through the IO network. However, as log TFP levels and multipliers are negatively correlated, sectors with high multipliers have below-average productivity levels, which reduces income per worker because key inputs to downstream sectors are expensive. The overall effect of the IO structure is dampened relative to the aggregate multiplier effect. For example, the commerce sector has large multipliers in many prefectures and is thus amplified through the IO network, but their TFPs are lower and do not significantly contribute to the increase in income. The TFPs of the information and communication equipment sector in certain prefectures are higher than those in Tokyo, but the benefits are not amplified well within the prefecture because their multipliers are low. Furthermore, sectors with high productivity generate fewer jobs than other sectors do. The sectors with a large influence on job creation in other sectors are not amplified well through the IO network because of the small multiplier. From the expenditure viewpoint, the high-income group increases their education consumption exponentially, but the multiplier is low and not widespread within the prefecture. The construction sector has a significant influence on job creation in other sectors. However, their economic activities do not spread widely within a prefecture, and the high-income group does not increase housing consumption in proportion to their income. Residents in prefectures with high multipliers tend to spend more money outside their residential prefectures, such as online shopping. Thus, expenditure outside residential prefectures reduces the effect of the multiplier that amplifies the average sectoral TFP and the difference in income across prefectures. This study contributes to the existing literature by providing an explicit understanding of these relationships. Our findings make people realize that promoting the industry alone is not enough to increase income and generate highly productive jobs. A spillover perspective is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We investigate how GVC participation and centrality in the intermediate trade network are associated with firms' productivity in the MENA countries. • Using several measures of GVCs, we show that firms in GVCs are more productive. • Multi-level estimations show that country-sector intermediate trade network centrality is also positively associated with firms' productivity. • Results are confirmed using propensity score matching and shift-share instrumental variable approach. Global Value Chain (GVC) participation is typically associated with a productivity premium, yet similar firms can benefit differently depending on the possibility for creating production linkages offered by their countries' involvement in trade. We show that country-sector intermediate trade network centrality is also positively associated with firms' productivity, suggesting that the connectivity of the business environment may enhance productivity on top of direct firm-level involvement in GVCs. For a large cross-section of MENA countries included in the World Bank Enterprise Surveys (WBES), we find evidence of productivity premia using several firm-level GVC participation measures and network centrality indicators constructed from the EORA input-output tables. Centrality is also positively associated with firms' productivity, adding to the direct effect of GVC participation. Our results are confirmed using OLS, multi-level models, Propensity Score Matching techniques, and a Shift-Share instrumental variable approach which help addressing endogeneity issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how firm heterogeneity plays a role in trade deflection effects when exporters exit trading partners' markets with trade-restrictive measures and deflect exports toward third markets with less stringent ones. We develop a Cournot-type three-country theoretical framework that highlights the role of firm productivity in trade deflection effects of trade-restrictive measures and empirically examine research hypotheses using a firm–product–destination level panel data of Korean exporting firms during the 1996–2010 period. We find that highly productive firms facing higher tariffs are more likely to deflect export to new third-country markets with lower tariffs as alternatives. However, once they enter the third destination, the positive effect of tariffs on the deflection of trade volume is less prominent for highly productive firms due to a lower trade destruction effect for them. Our results imply that the magnitude of trade deflection at both the intensive and extensive margins can be heterogeneous across firm productivity and multi-destination status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the relationship between air pollution and total factor productivity and new pathways, This paper examines the impact of air pollution on total factor productivity of A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen between 2015 and 2019. It investigates this relationship by considering two pathways: investor sentiment and government attention. The findings indicate that air pollution suppresses total factor productivity of firms. However, air pollution stimulates investor sentiment, which in turn increases R&D investment and total factor productivity, reducing to some extent the dampening effect of air pollution on total factor productivity. There exists a notable positive correlation between air quality and government attention, acting as a mediating variable. This implies that air pollution has the potential to capture the attention of governmental entities, leading to the implementation of appropriate measures aimed at managing and mitigating the occurrence of air pollution caused by industrial enterprises.And the relevant governments should formulate a series of policies to meet the different needs of different enterprises. These two approaches have varying impacts depending on the type of enterprises, thus governments should develop laws to cater to the various demands of different types of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to simulate total factor productivity, following the original proposal made by Cobb and Douglas (1928). Estimates with annual frequency are computed for the United States during two periods, i.e. 1899-1992 and 1933-2019. In the case of Mexico, estimates are computed for the 1993-2015 period. An income distribution in favor of capital in recent decades is found both for the United States and México. Capital share has grown in the United States from 25% in 1899-1922 to 89% in 1993-2019, while for Mexico it has been 82% for 1993-2015. Functional income distribution requires close monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the predicament of sustainable improvement in traditional cities, the low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCPP), as a novel development mode, provides thinking for resolving the tensions of green development, resource conservation and environmental protection among firms. Using Chinese A-share listed companies panel data during 2007–2019, this study adopts the difference-in-differences model to explore the impact of LCCPP on firm green innovation. Based on theoretical analysis, LCCPP-driven environmental rules have the impact of encouraging business green innovation. The relationship between LCCPP and green innovation is strengthened by external media attention and organizational redundancy resources. The mechanism study shows that the incentive effect of LCCPP on firm green innovation is mainly due to the improvement of enterprises' green total factor productivity and financial stability. In addition, the heterogeneity analysis shows that the LCCPP has significantly positive effects in promoting green innovation in high-carbon industries and state-owned enterprises. This research contributes to the understanding of city-level low-carbon policies as a driving force for corporate green innovation, offering practical implications for policymakers and businesses striving for sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving the logistics industry's green total factor productivity (LGTFP) is a key source of power to achieve its high-quality development (HQD) in China. Technological innovation (TI) and environmental regulation (ER) policies are vital factors that affect the improvement of LGTFP. Although the impact of ERs or TI on LGTFP has been extensively researched, few studies have examined their combined effect. This study utilizes panel data from 30 Chinese provinces during 2006-2020 to estimate LGTFP using the Epsilon-based measure and global Malmquist-Luenberger index. Moreover, this study employs a dynamic spatial Durbin model to explore the influence of TI on LGTFP and its spatial spillovers, as well as the modulatory effect of ER in the relations between TI and LGTFP. The results show that (1) China's LGTFP displays positive spatial spillovers and is influenced by the preceding period's level. (2) In the short term, an improvement in TI levels had a positive effect on local LGTFP, but negative spillovers on neighboring districts. Nevertheless, in the long run, an improvement in TI levels had a notably negative influence on local LGTFP but positive spillovers on adjacent regions. (3) ER had an "inverted U-shaped" modulatory roles with spatial spillovers on the relations between TI and LGTFP in the long-term. These discoveries offer valuable insights into the coordinated development of TI systems and ER policies, enabling the formation of a policy system that aligns with the logistics industry's HQD in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By utilizing the center of gravity-standard deviation ellipse, kernel density estimation, and GeoDetector, this paper analyzes the spatial distribution pattern of China's agricultural green TFP and the dynamic evolution law of its distribution in different regions based on the provincial-level related input-output data of China's agriculture from 2001 to 2020. It also investigates the factors that affect its spatial differentiation. We find that (1) China's agricultural green TFP, which has a long-term upward trend and an average annual growth rate of 3.21% between 2001 and 2020, is mostly fueled by technological advancements in the field of agriculture. (2) Agricultural green TFP tends to move eastnorthward, and its spatial distribution is gradually expanding, showing a northeast-southwest pattern. (3) Agricultural green TFP in the country as a whole and the three major food regions has increased over the study period, with absolute differences within the country gradually narrowing, and cities with higher agricultural green TFP within the regions approaching the average, and the polarization phenomenon easing. (4) The main determinants of the spatial divergence of green TFP in agriculture are the replanting index, agricultural output per capita, and the degree of financial support for agriculture. The strength of the interactions between the various factors is significantly greater than the explanatory power of any one factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the systematic GMM and intermediation model, the impact of China's direct investment on the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries are examined from the data of 48 countries during the period of 2008-2019. The results show that China's direct investment can significantly contribute to GTFP in BRI countries through the mediating mechanisms of scale, structural and human capital effects. Of these, the main one is the scale effect. In addition, the scale, structural and human capital effects all positively moderate the green driving effect of China's direct investment in BRI countries, while the technology effect weakens the process. [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]

Intellectual property is crucial for the development of firms. At the micro level, firm comprehensive intellectual property ability involves abilities about intellectual property creation, utilization, protection, and management. In order to develop the comprehensive intellectual property ability of firms, the China National Intellectual Property Administration began to implement the national intellectual property demonstration advantage firm (NIPDAF) policy in 2013. Based on this exogenous policy shock, using data from listed companies from 2011 to 2020 as the research sample, the time-varying DID method is used to test the impact of the NIPDAF policy intended to cultivate comprehensive intellectual property ability on firm productivity. The results show that after policy implementation, the total factor productivity of NIPDAFs increased by about 3.3% compared to the control group. This finding is robust after a series of tests. Furthermore, the NIPDAF policy promotes firm productivity through stimulating technology innovation, improving investment efficiency, and enhancing competitive advantage. In addition, the NIPDAF policy has a more significant incentive effect on the total factor productivity of non-state-owned enterprises, firms in the eastern region, and firms in patent intensive industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing prominence of climate and energy issues, enterprises, as the micro-subjects of economic activities, need to pay attention to environmental responsibility to promote sustainable and high-quality economic development. However, one of the crucial controversies is whether enterprises will sacrifice efficiency to fulfill their environmental responsibilities. To try our best to answer the controversy, this paper explores the impact of ESG on total factor productivity and its mechanism. The research conclusion shows that Chinese enterprises fulfilling ESG responsibilities can improve staff efficiency, reduce financing costs, ease financing constraints, and increase innovation investment, thus effectively improving total factor productivity. Compared to non-state-owned enterprises, this effect is more significant in state-owned enterprises. In addition, the promotion of ESG construction on the total factor productivity of enterprises also presents specific acceleration characteristics. This shows that in the socialist market economy environment, there is an obvious "social responsibility dividend" in the implementation of the ESG concept by Chinese enterprises, which is helpful to enhance their long-term value and realize a win-win of social value and commercial value. The conclusions of this study help deal correctly with the relationship between business value and social value of enterprises and provide inspiration for promoting healthy and sustainable economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cariprazine—the only single antipsychotic drug in the market which can handle all symptoms of bipolar I disorder—involves trans-4-substituted cyclohexane-1-amine as a key structural element. In this work, production of trans-4-substituted cyclohexane-1-amines was investigated applying transaminases either in diastereotope selective amination starting from the corresponding ketone or in diastereomer selective deamination of their diasteromeric mixtures. Transaminases were identified enabling the conversion of the cis-diastereomer of four selected cis/trans-amines with different 4-substituents to the corresponding ketones. In the continuous-flow experiments aiming the cis diastereomer conversion to ketone, highly diastereopure trans-amine could be produced (de > 99%). The yield of pure trans-isomers exceeding their original amount in the starting mixture could be explained by dynamic isomerization through ketone intermediates. The single transaminase-catalyzed process—exploiting the cis-diastereomer selectivity of the deamination and thermodynamic control favoring the trans-amines due to reversibility of the steps—allows enhancement of the productivity of industrial cariprazine synthesis. Stereoselective production of trans-4-substituted cyclohexane-1-amines—including a key intermediate in the synthesis of antipsychotic drug cariprazine—remains challenging. Here, the authors develop a process catalyzed by a single transaminase to produce trans-4-substituted cyclohexane-1-amines from the corresponding cis/trans-diastereomeric mixtures via a cis-deamination approach in continuous-flow, to achieve a dynamic cis-to-trans isomerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, the number of senior citizens has grown, along with the burden of old age, and aging has hampered economic growth. The advent of the digital age has led to the emergence of the digital economy as a new engine for economic growth. This paper uses DEA-Malmquist index model to measure the total factor productivity growth rate of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021, and uses the moderating effects model to empirically investigate the relationship between the digital economy, aging and total factor productivity, and to verify whether the development of the digital economy can mitigate the negative impact of aging on total factor productivity. The results show that aging inhibits total factor productivity growth, and the digital economy can promote total factor productivity growth. Digital economy can alleviate the negative impact of aging on total factor productivity growth, and has a moderating effect. Digital economy plays a moderating role by improving the level of human capital and facilitating technological progress. The regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the moderating effect of the digital economy exists in the eastern and western regions and the southern region, but not in the central region and the northern region. Furthermore, the digital economy has a moderating effect on both the high and low aging groups. The research in this paper not only helps to evaluate the productivity effects of the digital economy, but also has important implications for finding ways to mitigate the negative effects of aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We prove that if the total factor productivity A of an aggregative economy is right at the barrier $ \sigma +\lambda $ σ + λ , with σ being the growth rate of labor force and λ the real interest rate, then the unique policy to optimally control the economy is the same as the one for optimally controlling weak economies, where $ A \lt \sigma +\lambda $ A < σ + λ. This result gives a complete answer for the interesting open question raised by Vu Thi Huong in her recent paper [Optimal economic growth problems with high values of total factor productivity. Appl Anal. 2022;101:1315–1329]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploration of the agricultural carbon emission reduction effect of digital rural construction offers a promising path towards achieving dual carbon goals. This study establishes an evaluation system for digital rural construction and analyzes its impact on agricultural carbon emissions using various creative techniques including panel fixed effects, mediation effects, threshold effects, and spatial Durbin models based on provincial panel data from 2011 to 2021.It is found that: (1) The impact of digital rural construction on agricultural carbon emissions exhibits a "inverted U-shaped" pattern, with a nonlinear effect on emissions through promoting agricultural green total factor productivity and adjusting agricultural structure.(2) Digital rural construction has both promoting and inhibiting effects on agricultural carbon emissions, both locally and in adjacent areas. It also demonstrates a threshold effect, with rural human capital as the sole threshold. Once the threshold value 8.830 is surpassed, the agricultural carbon emission reduction effect becomes prominent.(3)Digital rural construction has a dual effect on local agricultural carbon emissions in terms of both promoting and then restraining the emissions, which has a spatial spill-over effect in the neighboring areas. This study contributes to our understanding of carbon reduction pathways by highlighting the comprehensive utilization of digital rural construction and expanding research on the dynamic context of its impact on carbon emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving agricultural total factor productivity is crucial for comprehensive rural revitalization and building a strong agricultural nation. Digital inclusive finance amalgamates the benefits of digital technology and inclusive finance, mitigating financial exclusion in agricultural production. It fosters rural revitalization and the modernization of agriculture by bolstering farmers' innovation, entrepreneurship, and agricultural technology advancements. Consequently, it significantly enhances overall agricultural total factor productivity. This study uses panel data from 2011 to 2020 to empirically investigate the impact and mechanism of digital inclusive finance on agricultural total factor productivity in Zhejiang Province, China. The research results show that digital inclusive finance significantly enhances agricultural total factor productivity in Zhejiang Province, which holds true even after a series of robustness tests. Analysis of the mechanism reveals that the integrated development of rural industries plays a crucial mediating role in empowering agricultural total factor productivity through digital inclusive finance. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive effect of digital inclusive finance on agricultural total factor productivity is more pronounced in the northeastern region of Zhejiang Province and in areas ranked in the second tier of agricultural development. Therefore, we recommend comprehensively enhancing the development of digital inclusive finance in rural areas, fostering a financial ecosystem that integrates rural industries, promoting the coordinated development of digital inclusive finance in different regions, and comprehensively improving agricultural total factor productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the impact of renewable energy consumption, total factor productivity (TFP), income, imports, and exports on consumption-based CO2 emissions in Turkey from 1990 to 2019, utilizing the Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL) method. The findings indicated that the use of renewable energy, total factor productivity and exports negatively influence CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the positive impact of income and imports on CO2 emissions was found. The negative impact of renewable energy consumption and total factor productivity highlights the importance of implementing environmentally friendly measures in the energy sector (particularly raising the proportion of renewable energy in overall energy consumption) and technological innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shift towards digitalization is fundamentally transforming societies and changing lives. Meanwhile, many African countries are lagging behind on the dividends of accelerated digital technologies to address their developmental challenges. This is partly because of the dearth of evidence demonstrating how technological integration impacts on economic growth and poverty reduction. By relying on panel data for the period 2011–2021, this study empirically estimates the degree to which ICT adoption contributes to South Africa's economic competitiveness along four indicators: boosting productivity, accelerating business growth, increasing government operational efficiency, and creating opportunities for people. The data were analyzed using multivariate regression analysis. The findings indicated a strong positive correlation between the application of digital technologies and the improvement of business operations welfare improvement, and GDP growth. The findings suggest to policymakers the need to prioritize interventions that drive investment in digital infrastructure. Given the net positive effects of ICT innovations, it is also recommended that policymakers focus on building the ICT skills of South Africans, while ensuring a business-friendly environment that enables fast digital penetration in the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leveraging a reform that assigns central inspectorates to local units in China to oversee industrial land transactions, this study examines the effects of unleashing the local government's influence on land prices using a difference-in-differences design. Our research provides compelling evidence that the reform leads to an additional 50% increase in industrial land prices and significantly enhances the productivity of local industrial firms. The rise in land prices can be attributed to an increase in market-oriented transactions. Additionally, we discover an improvement in the quality of new entrants and a reduction in resource misallocation following the reform. By demonstrating the positive externalities of central supervision on local government intervention in the industrial land market, our findings suggest that, in certain cases, central inspection can mitigate distorting behaviors of the local government in input markets. This, in turn, facilitates the screening of productive entrants and hinders investments by unproductive incumbents, thereby improving the overall productivity of economic entities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It has become a new trend for the future development of Chinese agriculture to accelerate the transformation from increasing production to improving quality and realizing green growth. This paper uses the sequential DEA to measure the agricultural green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 306 Chinese cities from 1996 to 2017, then tests its convergence. The results show that the average growth rate of Chinese agricultural GTFP is 0.58%; the main driving force coming from technical progress. The convergence of agricultural GTFP has dual characteristics of stages and regions, and the significant σ convergence only exists in the central region during 1996–2003. There is significant β convergence at the national level, in the eastern and central regions, and neither convergence nor divergence in the western region. However, during 2004–2017, only the eastern region had β convergence. Finally, the conditional convergence speed is higher than the absolute convergence, and the eastern region is higher than the central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on Resource-based theory and Internal Control (IC) theory, this study elucidates the impacts of corporate digital transformation on total factor productivity, and IC effectiveness, as well as the mechanism among digital transformation, IC and total factor productivity. The results show that digital transformation promotes total factor productivity and IC effectiveness. And effective IC has a significant mediating effect for the impact of digital transformation on total factor productivity. Heterogeneity discussion shows that compared with high-tech enterprises, in non-high-tech ones, digital transformation increases total factor productivity, and more significantly enhances IC effectiveness, presenting a mechanism that digital transformation facilitates IC, and increases total factor productivity. For non-high-tech enterprises, with higher heterogeneity of executive education backgrounds, digital transformation promotes IC effectiveness and total factor productivity, showing the transmission effect among digital transformation, IC and total factor productivity. Finally, it is suggested that the regulatory authorities advance digital infrastructure construction, to reinforce IC and risk prevention, thereby increase total factor productivity. And enterprises grasp the opportunity of digital economy development, promote the mechanism that digital transformation facilitates IC effectiveness, and increases total factor productivity. Non-high-tech ones motivate digital elements' governance efficacy, optimize executive structure, coordinately promote digital strategy, and help the national economy acquire high-quality development. The study provides enlightenments to achieve high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the ongoing implementation of the "dual carbon" goal, research has focused on the impact of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives on green innovation. However, few studies have analyzed in depth the mechanisms of ESG impact on green total factor productivity (green TFP). Here, we explored the impact of ESG performance on green TFP, green technical efficiency, and green technological progress using A-share listed companies in China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2011 to 2021. The results show that good ESG performance can significantly improve the green TFP of enterprises, and that this effect is more prominent in industries with lower environmental risks and enterprises in the growth and maturity stages. We identified the importance of the psychological account path and propose that the promotional effect of ESG performance on green TFP mainly derives from improving green technical efficiency, rather than from expanding green technological boundaries. These findings have practical implications for guiding companies to implement ESG concepts, strengthening the synergistic role of government regulation and professional supervision, and promoting micro-level implementation of innovation-driven and sustainable development strategies, thereby promoting high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental regulations are important means to influence manufacturing enterprise green development. However, there are two completely different conclusions both in theoretical and in empirical research, namely the "Follow Cost" theory and the "Porter Hypothesis". The nonlinear mechanism needs to be considered. Therefore, this study aims to explain the threshold impact of heterogeneous environmental regulations on enterprise green total factor productivity. Environmental regulations are divided into different sub-categories, then based on the panel data of 1220 Chinese manufacturing listed companies from 2011 to 2020, this paper uses threshold regression model to examine the impact of heterogeneous environmental regulations on Chinese manufacturing enterprise Green Total Factor Productivity. The empirical results show that: (1) Command-controlled, market-incentive and voluntary-agreement environmental regulation all have a significant nonlinear impact on enterprise Green Total Factor Productivity. (2) Enterprise R&D investment plays a threshold role in the impact. (3) There are industry and equity type differences in the impact process. This study focuses on the micro level of enterprises and tests the threshold mechanism, which make some theoretical complement to previous researches. The research results are not only beneficial for the government to propose appropriate environmental regulatory policies, but also for enterprises to achieve green growth through heterogeneous R&D investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fintech is driving the revolution of finance and profoundly affecting the development of the financial sector. However, few studies examined how commercial banks' fintech innovation affects total factor productivity (TFP). To build up the fintech index of commercial banks, we use web crawler technology to accumulate news related to the fintech innovation of commercial banks in Baidu news. We use the panel data of 72 banks in China from 2010 to 2020 to explore the impacts and mechanisms of fintech on commercial banks' TFP. The results show that fintech innovation effectively improves TFP after a series of robustness tests. Further, we find that fintech innovation can improve commercial banks' TFP by promoting innovations of financial products, increasing risk control capability, reducing cost, and improving profit. Also, the utility of fintech is more significant in banks with more assets, facilities, and human capital, which means that fintech innovation creates a "bigger is better" mindset. Meanwhile, the result of quantile regression shows that the higher the fintech innovation, the more significant the increase in TFP, which further reveals that there is 'too big to fail' among commercial banks under digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the concept of the circular economy and its connection to emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Industry 4.0. It emphasizes the significance of the circular economy in promoting sustainability and the reuse of materials. The article also discusses the potential benefits of IoT technologies in implementing circular economy practices. It presents various research papers that delve into the challenges, risks, and advantages of utilizing the IoT for the circular economy. The overall aim of the research is to contribute to the existing knowledge on the circular economy and inspire further progress in the field. [Extracted from the article]

The thrust of this paper is to unravel the role of perceived motivation and workers' productivity in educational sectors. By its objectives, It will show the importance of motivation to employees, It will reveal the strategies likely to motivate employees for better work results. To achieve the purpose of this study, one research question was posed, and one null hypothesis was generated. Survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of seven hundred and ninety-two (792) respondents out of eight thousand one hundred and twelve (8112) administrative staff being the population was randomly selected from this study. The selection was done through the stratified random sampling technique. Questionnaire was the main instrument used for data collection. The instrument was subjected to face validation. The reliability estimate of the instrument was established using the Cronbach-Alpha reliability method. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was the statistical analysis techniques adopted in the study. The hypothesis was subjected to testing at 0.05 level of significance with relative degrees of freedom. The results of the findings revealed that, there is a positive relationship between medical services as motivational factor and workers' productivity. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that management of all educational sectors should ensure that they build a healthy public policy, zero bills, subsided medical services as motivational package for efficient and productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated high rate of inflation and adult workers' productivity in Southern senatorial district of Cross River State, Nigeria. To achieve the stated objectives of the study, four research questions and four research hypotheses were formulated to direct the study. The survey research design was adopted for the study. A sample of 225 was drawn from the population of 2.250 workers using simple random sampling technique. An instrument titled: High rate of inflation and adult workers' productivity questionnaire (HRIAWPQ). The hypotheses were analyzed using pearson product moment correlation coefficient and tested at 0.05 level of significance and 223 degrees of freedom. It was discovered that rise of food items, rise of fuel price, rise in transportation and rise in manufacture goods significantly relate to workers' productivity. Insecurity in the work place, high inflation rate are powerful factors influencing workers' productivity and performance in their workplace. It was recommended among others that the government should reduce the cost of purchasing power of people by regulating market prices to cushion the effect of buying power of the Naira. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to investigate the effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on total factor productivity (TFP) in the European mining industry, considering micro- and macroeconomic indicators of the relationship between CSR and TFP. Employing data from 40 European mining companies from content analysis, CSR Hub, and the World Bank between 2018 and 2021, this paper utilizes a combination of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and panel regression techniques to test the research hypotheses. The findings suggest that the TFP of European mining firms is positively affected by CSR initiatives implemented by the companies. Also, the empirical results depict that the CSR-TFP relationship is mainly established on institutional criteria. The results also indicate that CSR-related factors, namely, transparency and reporting, training, health and safety, and resource management, are the impacting indicators. The study broadens the horizons of this line of research and can be beneficial to CEOs, managers, experts, policymakers, decision-makers, and economists in the field of mining who are willing to promote responsible and sustainable mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the new normal period, the trend changes and adjustments of the environment such as international trade, production capacity, labor supply and resource constraints have put forward new requirements for China's industrial development, which have brought new challenges and given new opportunities. In the new normal stage where economic growth continues to decline, industrial growth is still an important support for economic growth. The advancement of industrial technology is the main driving force for improving the total factor productivity of the industrial industry. Therefore, the most important thing to promote industrial growth is to upgrade the level of industrial technology. In response to the above-mentioned problems, this paper analyzed the relationship between industrial technology and industrial output in the new normal environment by using the BP neural network (BPNN) algorithm. The connection between the two has been found, which provided a clear direction for the functional adjustment of economic law. Experimental studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between industrial technological progress and industrial output. When other conditions are the same, and when the non-new normal is selected, industrial output increases by about 0.36% for every 1% increase in industrial technological progress. When choosing to be in the new normal, industrial technological progress has a higher impact on industrial output. For every 1% increase in technological progress, industrial output increases by about 0.39%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's industrial sector generally relies on electricity as its main source of energy, and industrial production can be affected if there are problems with the electricity supply. In order to deal with the uncertain electricity supply and achieve the "dual carbon" target, the industrial sector needs to take effective measures to enhance carbon total factor productivity (CTFP). We use the biennial Luenberger productivity index (BLPI) to try to provide strategies for low-carbon industrial development in China. The results indicate that the overall CTFP of China's industrial sector showed an increasing trend from 2006 to 2019. Technology change was the main contributor to the change in CTFP, but fluctuations in efficiency change remained a challenge. Differences were observed between the light industry sector (LIS) and the heavy industry sector (HIS) in terms of changes in CTFP, with LIS showing more stable changes and HIS experiencing larger fluctuations. Most sub-sectors showed increased CTFP during the sample period. R&D investment and R&D personnel have a positive impact on CTFP, while energy structure is found to hinder CTFP. According to the research results of this study, we offer the corresponding policy implications. This study is the first to explore the balance between low-carbon goals and industrial production from the perspective of improving CTFP, providing a new viewpoint on the contributions of technological innovation to solving socio-economic issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The comprehension of the textbook and augmented Solow growth model has been studied to picture the consequences of workforce growth and capital. In the age of digitalization, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is also the first necessity identified factors affecting labor productivity. This paper revisits the augmented Solow growth equation by integrating ICT as an explanator that improves labor productivity in Southeast Asian emerging economies. We used a Two‐Way Random‐Effects Model to regress the impact of workforce growth rate, physical capital, and human capital on labor productivity. The results show that using human capital is essential to improve output in emerging market countries rather than only using physical capital. According to our adjusted ICT factors, our analysis reveals that using the Internet and mobile cellular significantly boosts labor productivity. Moreover, the analysis of total factor productivity shows that most Southeast Asian economies highly depend on implementing ICT, especially the contribution of Internet usage and mobile cellular. Therefore, this study contributes to further studies and policy recommendations in improving the introduction of Internet usage and installation, especially for the emerging Southeast Asian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of information technology has created conducive conditions for the digital economy. The digital economy is regarded as a critical pathway for transforming traditional economic models. Green total factor productivity serves as an indicator for assessing the quality of economic development. During pivotal periods of economic transition, the digital economy and green total factor productivity have emerged as two prominent themes for achieving sustainable economic development. But the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity is less discussed. Innovation environment refers to a confluence of conditions shaped by factors such as talent, funding, cultural atmosphere and government policies, all of which collectively support innovative activities within a region. The institutional environment encompasses the aggregate of economic, political, social, and legal rules. Currently, there is little discussion on bringing innovation environment and institutional environment into the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity. To fill the research gap, this paper adopts the Slack based measure-Directional distance function model and Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index to measure green total factor productivity in each region based on the panel data collected from 30 provinces in China from 2004 to 2019. Generalized Method of Moments method is constructed to carry out an empirical study on the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity. This paper constructs a panel threshold model with innovation environment and institutional environment as threshold variables. In further analysis, this paper employs panel quantile regression for the empirical analysis of the impact of the digital economy on green total factor productivity. Further analysis elucidates the evident disparities in the influence of the digital economy on green total factor productivity at various levels. The research results can provide a guide for discussing the green value of the digital economy and its role in fostering the development of a green economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the rapid development of digital economy and the urgency of green development, more studies focus on the relationship between digital economy and green development. However, the existing research focuses on the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity, ignoring digital technology, which is a key technology for improving efficiency to achieve green development. Exploring the impact of digital technologies on green total factor productivity helps to understand the impact of digital economic development on green development from an internal perspective of the digital economy. This paper uses an SBM-GML index to measure regional green total factor productivity based on provincial level data and innovatively constructs digital technology indicators based on micro-level ICT patent data in China. Fixed-effects model is used to study the impact of digital technology on green total factor productivity and moderating model is used to examine the moderating effect of capital accumulation. The results indicate that: (1) At the national level, digital technology is conducive to the improvement of green total factor productivity, and the result passes the robustness test. From a dynamic long-term impact perspective, the effect of digital technology development on green total factor productivity is showing an increasing trend. (2) Digital technology's effect on green total factor productivity is heterogenous. The results of the subregional heterogeneity analysis indicate that the effect is greater in the coastal regions and southern regions. The results of the heterogeneity analysis of the external environment indicate that the effect is greater in regions with smaller economies, regions with lower external economic dependence, and regions with lower government fiscal intervention. (3) Capital accumulation has moderating effect in the process of digital technology affecting green total factor productivity which will inhibit the improvement of digital technology development on green total factor productivity. Based on the conclusions, to better utilize the role of digital technology in promoting green development, it is necessary for the government to build a digital technology exchange platform, promote the balanced development of digital technology, and expand domestic demand to reduce the dependence on capital accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The second wave of industrialization at the end of the last century brought the attention of researchers to the effect of more energy usage and its effects on environmental degradation. It was also highlighted in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development goals (2015) that environmental degradation threatens humans' well-being unless countries use environment-friendly production processes. The present study has used the Malmquist- Luenberger Index (MLI) to estimate the environmental efficiency of the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region for the period 1990 to 2019. The estimated results showed that the environmental efficiency of APAC countries declined by 0.36%, on average, in the studied period. The results also highlighted that the Republic of Korea has the highest total factor productivity (TFP) output growth rate in the APAC region. In contrast, Lao People's DR and the Maldives have the lowest TFP. Conditional, unconditional, and Club convergence tests are also tested for the APAC region. The results also suggested that convergence in environmental efficiency is conditional on trade openness, industrial growth, and energy prices. Some policies are also suggested for the APAC region at the end of the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Robust infrastructure is essential to enhance urban productivity and support urban development. • Transportation infrastructure enhances urban productivity by promoting economic agglomeration. • Information infrastructure promotes urban productivity through labor mobility and agglomeration effects. • The promotion effect on urban productivity in eastern regions and megacities is more obvious. • Transportation and information infrastructure have positive spatial spillover effects on urban productivity. Improving total factor productivity is an important driving force for achieving high-quality economic development. Based on the panel data of 256 cities in China from 2009 to 2019, this paper investigates the effect of transportation and information infrastructure on urban productivity. The results show that transportation and information infrastructure promote urban productivity, and the effect in eastern regions and megacities is more obvious. The mechanism analysis shows that transportation infrastructure enhances urban productivity by promoting economic agglomeration, and information infrastructure enhances urban productivity by promoting labor mobility, economic agglomeration, financial agglomeration and industrial agglomeration. The spatial spillover effect shows positive spatial autocorrelation of urban productivity. Transportation and information infrastructure have significant positive spatial spillover effects on urban productivity. China should continue to promote the construction of transportation infrastructure, strengthen investment in information infrastructure, and promote the joint construction, sharing, coordination and integration of transportation and information infrastructure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Examine how the cross-border M&As strategies adopted by Chinese listed firms are affected by host countries' GVC embeddedness. • Firms are more likely to conduct large-scale M&As when a host country has higher backward GVC embeddedness and a relatively lower position within GVC. • Host countries' capital intensities, total factor productivity, and labor productivity moderate firm M&A location preferences along GVC. The global value chain (GVC) position of a host country is an important benchmark for firms from home countries to determine their degree of embeddedness within the chain and implement corresponding internationalization strategies. Although there have been a certain number of existing studies related to GVC from various aspects, the links between a host country's GVC embeddedness and firm-level cross-border activities stemming from home countries are surprisingly unexplored in the current literature. This study fills this gap and applies the feasible generalized least squares model to examine how the cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategies adopted by Chinese listed firms from 2005 to 2015 are affected by host countries' GVC embeddedness, with particular reference to their forward and backward embeddedness as well as the degree of participation along GVC. It is found that Chinese firms are more likely to conduct large-scale cross-border M&As when a host country has higher backward GVC embeddedness and a relatively lower position within GVC. This conclusion remains robust after considering alternative indices, sample range adjustments, and issues of self-selection bias. Further empirical discussions show that the Belt and Road Initiative results in more balanced M&A structures. Additionally, it is empirically demonstrated that host countries' capital intensities, total factor productivity, and labor productivity moderate Chinese firm M&A location preferences along GVC. This paper has far-reaching policy implications for the internationalization strategies adopted by Chinese firms and offers important insights into how firms could effectively utilize cross-border M&As to conduct optimal international investments around the globe. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• During 1993–2018, market services grew at a faster rate than non-market services. • Applying Domar weights we observed that transport and storage was the highest contributor among market services industries, while public administration has made relatively higher contribution to aggregate non-market services TFP growth. • TFP growth in manufacturing has a significant positive effect on TFP growth of both market services and non-market services. • Market services TFP growth is positively impacted by a spillover effect of TFP growth in India's trade partners. The services have been the driver of India's overall growth since the onset of economic reforms in the 1990s. The value-added share of services increased from 41 percent in 1990 to 53 percent in 2018. On average, the sector grew at 7.5 percent annually during 1993–2018, contributing to about half of the aggregate economic growth. Using the India KLEMS data, we examine the trends in total factor productivity (TFP) in individual industries within services and their contribution to aggregate TFP growth in the sector during 1993–2018. We find that transport and storage was the highest contributor among various market services industries followed by financial services, while public administration made a relatively high contribution to aggregate non-market services TFP growth. Moreover, we investigate the factors driving TFP growth in the services sector, particularly the role of manufacturing TFP – looking into spillover effect from manufacturing to market services and non-market services. Our results suggest that TFP growth in manufacturing had a significant positive impact on TFP growth in the services sector. Also, we find evidence of significant productivity spillover effect to India's services sector from other countries, particularly the developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emerging economies (EMEs) often ignore effective mitigation strategies for persistent climate changes to prioritise growth acceleration. This paper shows that they cannot sustain their economic growth due to the adverse impact of temperature rise on total factor productivity (TFP). Using a standard growth model, it demonstrates how temperature rise and variation for growing carbon emissions reduce capital productivity along with the damage to ecosystem services and labour productivity, adversely impacting total factor productivity (TFP) of an individual economy. A cross-sectional augmented auto-regressive distributed lag model (CS-ARDL), which addresses the issues of endogeneity, heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence with stochastic trends, has been applied to 21 EMEs over the period from 1990 to 2018 and reveals a strong negative impact of temperature rise on total factor productivity. Although EMEs have heterogeneous impacts across the countries depending upon their climatic zones and income levels, one degree increase in temperature, on average, has decreased the TFP by approximately 3.22 per cent. It is much higher in the extreme climatic zones and less developed economies. • Temperature rise and its variation for raising carbon emission reduce capital productivity along with ecosystem services and labour productivity, adversely impacting total factor productivity (TFP). • The cross-sectional augmented auto-regressive distributed lag model (CS-ARDL), which addresses endogeneity, cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity, has been applied to 21 emerging markets and developing economies for 1990 to 2018 and reveals a strong negative impact of temperature rise on total factor productivity. • One-degree increase in temperature, on average, reduces the TFP by approximately 3 per cent. • The temperature rise has heterogeneous and non-linear impacts on TFP across countries in geo-climatic locations. • Two extre-climatic zones are worse-affected than the moderate-climatic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effects of related and unrelated variety on total factor productivity (TFP) in Poland. Based on dynamic panel data regression results for Polish regions in 2003-2019, we find the positive effect of related variety and the strong negative effect of unrelated variety on TFP. This implies that regions with high related and low unrelated variety optimize TFP. Using the estimated TFP values, we tested for TFP convergence to the technological frontier using convergence tests that take into account significant differences in technological advancement across regions. We reject TFP convergence for all regions, but we find evidence of regional club convergence. The results of the convergence tests obtained for the simulation variants indicate that changes in related and unrelated variety structures may lead to the formation of convergence clubs with the regional technological leader. Furthermore, the changes primarily in related variety structures lead to the convergence of some regions to the regional technological frontier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the urban human settlements of 21 megacities and supercities from 2011 to 2020 in China and improve urban human settlements planning and management. First, the data envelopment analysis (DEA)–Malmquist–Tobit model is used to conduct a static and dynamic evaluation of the efficiency of urban human settlements and analyze the main factors that affect it. Then, the coupling coordination degree model is utilized to quantitatively evaluate the coupling coordination degree between urban human settlements and high-quality economic development. Finally, the GM (1, 1) model is established to predict each city's average input–output index during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. It is hoped that this paper could promote sustainable urban development. The empirical results are as follows: (1) the technical efficiency (TE) from CRS DEA of human settlements in China's megacities and supercities is low. Management and technology are the shortcomings in the development of urban human settlements; (2) total factor productivity (TFP) has shown negative growth. Technical progress efficiency (TC) is the key to improving the efficiency of urban human settlements; (3) urban infrastructure has the most significant role when promoting the efficiency of urban human settlements; (4) the coupling degree between the efficiency of human settlements and high-quality economic development is mainly high-level coupling. The degree of coordination is gradually rising; and (5) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the investment in human settlements in both types of cities will continue to increase. With the continuous expansion of investment, the output will be imbalanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become an unavoidable problem in achieving sustainable development. As one of the major industries worldwide, tourism can make a significant contribution to mitigating climate change. The main objective of the paper is to assess the development level of low-carbon tourism from multi-aspect, using the Yellow River Basin as an example. Firstly, this study quantified tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy, and analyzed their evolution characteristics. The interaction and coordination degree between tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy were then analyzed using the improved coupling coordination degree model. Finally, this study analyzed the change in total factor productivity of low-carbon tourism by calculating the Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index. The results showed that: (1) the tourism industry in the Yellow River Basin has the characteristics of the initial environmental Kuznets curve. (2) There was a strong interaction between tourism carbon dioxide emissions and tourism economy, which was manifested as mutual promotion. (3) The total factor productivity of low-carbon tourism was increasing. Based on the above results, it could be concluded that the development level of low-carbon tourism in the Yellow River Basin has been continuously improved from 2000 to 2019, but it is still in the early development stage with the continuous growth of carbon dioxide emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) is believed to drive the next phase of sustainable productivity growth, meeting growing water demand, so as to address increasing environmental sustainability challenges. The Middle Route of SNWDP is regarded as an extremely large long-distance inter-basin water diversion project, which has benefited Henan, Hebei, Tianjin and Beijing since 2014 with great sustainable changes to the cities, groundwater, ecological environment, industrial structure and social development of the beneficiary areas. Taking the number of industrial enterprises above designated size (IEDS) in the water-receiving areas as the research object, this paper takes the year of policy implementation 2014 as the basic time point, evaluating the change of the number of IEDS in the beneficiary areas of the Middle Route of SNWDP through difference-in-difference model. The results show that: (1) The Middle Route of SNWDP promotes the additional growth of the number of IEDS in the beneficiary areas. (2) When the Middle Route of SNWDP promotes the growth of the number of IEDS in beneficiary areas, there is no regional difference for regions with different development levels. (3) The reasons why the Middle Route of SNWDP contributes to the additional growth of the number of IEDS are composed of promoting mixed ownership reform of enterprises in beneficiary areas, increasing water supply and increasing population. However, the Middle Route of SNWDP has not had a significant impact on the traditional total factor productivity or the components of production factors, technology and capital. From the final outcome, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has played a facilitating role in the sustainable development of large-scale enterprises in the water-receiving areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the ribonucleic acid (RNA) productivity for industrial applications, this study employed strain screening and medium optimization to improve the content of RNA in Cyberlindnera jadinii. A rapid screening method, combining atmospheric and room temperature plasma mutagenesis, 48-deep-well plates fermentation, and microplate reader detection, was developed. A mutant strain named WB15 with high RNA content was successfully obtained, exhibiting the RNA content of 156 ± 4.5 mg/g DCW, 1.4 times of the starting strain CCTCC AY 92020. Furthermore, Plackett–Burman design and response surface methodology were employed to identify three significant factors (yeast extract, soybean peptone, and KH2PO4) affecting the RNA content. By utilizing the optimal medium composed of 13.43 g/L yeast extract, 12.12 g/L soybean peptone and 2.78 g/L KH2PO4, the RNA content of WB15 further increased to 184 ± 4.9 mg/g DCW. Additionally, the mutant strain WB15 exhibited a greater cellular width compared to AY 92020, along with increased growth rate and single-cell RNA content by 22% and 48.9%, respectively. Perturbations in ribosome assembly, specifically a reduction in the ratio of ribosomal proteins to ribosomal RNA of the large subunit, might indirectly contribute to the higher RNA content in the WB15 strain. Overall, the combination of rapid screening with fermentation medium optimization proved to be an effective approach for improving the RNA content of C. jadinii, thus facilitating the industrial production of RNA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of digital transformation (DGT) for increasing productivity cannot be negated and Chinese firms are rapidly embracing the digital transformation for their sustainability. But the mechanism and impact of digital transformation on total factor productivity (TFP) of firms is still unclear and this study is intended to fill this gap using the data of 3112 listed firms of China during 2011 to 2022. We applied various econometric techniques like stepwise regression analysis, instrumental variable approach, differences in difference approach, and mediating analysis to determine the relationship between digital transformation and TFP and robustness of estimated findings. The findings indicate that DGT has a positive impact on overall TFP of firms in China while operating efficiency, cheaper costs, and a stronger capacity for innovation mediates this relationship. Moreover, it is explored that conventional information and communication technologies have not significant impact on TFP of firms. The findings of the study remain valid even applying many robustness checks and attempts to control the issue of endogeneity. To fully leverage the potential benefits of digital transformation on TFP, it is essential to focus on enhancing digital literacy and skills among the workforce. Governments and relevant stakeholders should prioritize and invest in comprehensive digital literacy and skills training programs to empower the workforce with the knowledge and expertise needed to navigate the digital age effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on panel data from 2010 to 2020 of 151 A-share listed food-related enterprises in China, this research uses a fixed-effect model to analyse the impact of digital transformation on total factor productivity (TFP) in food--related enterprises. Our findings indicated that digital transformation has a positive and significant catalytic effect on TFP improvement in food-related enterprises. The mechanism test revealed that both cost-saving and innovation capacity enhancement effects of digital transformation contributed to the promotion of TFP improvement in these enterprises. Moreover, our heterogeneity analysis suggested that digital transformation is more effective in enhancing TFP in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the food-related industry, indicating that SOEs play a representative role in promoting advanced productivity in agricultural development. We also found that capital-intensive and technology- intensitve food-related enterprises were experiencing productivity paradox traps. Our results confirmed that digital transformation brings catch-up effects to labor-intensive food-related enterprises and those located in major grain production regions. Overall, this research can provide valuable insights for policymakers to upgrade the digital- -enabled food industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]