The Effects of a Cross-Border Freight Railway Project on Chinese Cities’ Green Innovation Intensity: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Expansion of the China Railway Express

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Accept in present form

Accept in present form

Author Response

Thank you very much for reviewing our paper! 

Best regards!

Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 3)

 

I am writing to provide my evaluation of the manuscript assigned to me for review. After careful examination of the content, theoretical foundation, methodology, and presentation, I believe that the manuscript stands out in its quality and rigor, exhibiting a high level of academic excellence and insightful understanding of the subject matter.

The authors have adeptly addressed a significant area of research, presenting a robust analysis that is both thorough and illuminating. The methodology adopted is sound, and the interpretations drawn from the findings are well-articulated, meaningful, and deeply rooted in the context of the study. The manuscript is well-structured and meticulously organized, facilitating a seamless reading experience that encourages engagement with the subject matter.

In terms of the language and style of writing, the manuscript meets and exceeds the required standard, featuring clear, concise, and coherent language that effectively conveys the authors' insights and arguments. The referencing is exhaustive and appropriate, indicating a comprehensive engagement with existing literature and effectively positioning the current study within the broader scholarly conversation.

Given the above, I am of the opinion that the manuscript is of a high academic caliber and has reached the level required for publication. As such, I have no reservations or issues to point out for revision and I am pleased to recommend this manuscript for publication.

Thank you for entrusting me with the task of reviewing this manuscript. It was a pleasure to engage with such well-crafted academic work.

Author Response

Thank you very much for reviewing our paper!

Best regards!

Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

·       Title – The title has to be corrected. Please do not put the question in the tiltle.

·       Abstract: It is necessary to rewrite the abstract. Please give research Goals, Research Method, Results, Conclusions, Implications, Originality. Please give numerical results in abstract.

·       I suggest dividing the paper into the following parts: Introduction, Literature review, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions. There are no research questions and no hypotheses. Some of them should be added to the text because the research aim is not sufficient.

·       It is necessary a separate point for Literature review. Currently there is no critical information in this perspective. Authors should provide a comparison with the previous studies to highlight the research gaps and contributions.

·       Research methodology should be presented. Give the steps of methodology.

·       The discussion is small.

·       Conclusion - It is necessary to clarify what is new in this study, what is new in the methodological approach. Give conclusions to guide readers to the importance of the study. Authors should provide a comparison with the previous studies to highlight the research gaps and contributions.

·       How the results are verified?

·       Conclusion - It is necessary to clarify what is new in this study, what is new in the methodological approach. Give conclusions to guide readers to the importance of the study. Authors should provide a comparison with the previous studies to highlight the research gaps and contributions. Give numerical results in conclusion.

 

Author Response

Reply to the questions and suggestions of reviewer 3:

1. We have adjusted the abstract to clarify the research goals and methods adopted.
2. For two reasons, we believe that there is no need to adjust the title. Firstly, the existing researches haven’t yet explored the relationship between the operation of international freight railway lines and green innovation, making it difficult to judge whether there the operation of CRE project will really affect the green innovation intensity of the city. To prove whether cross border freight railway project will affect the intensity of cities’ green innovation intensity is an important goal of this paper. It is not rigorous to use as the titles such as "Research on the Impact of CRE project on Cities’ Green Innovation Intensity" when it is unknown whether there really exists impact. Secondly, according to the standard paradigm of economic research, there is no reason to refuse the inclusion of a question in the title. Such as AMERICAN ECONOMIC JOURNAL has published an article with a name of “Does Discipline Decrease Police Misconduct? Evidence from Chicago Civilian Allegations”. If the reviewer does require us to change the title, please provide us a clear reason.
3. After careful examination, we believe it would be better not to add a separate literature review chapter.

Firstly, this paper has reviewed the representative literatures in the introduction, then explained why it is urgent to study the relation between the operation of international freight railway lines and green innovation and why it is difficult to predict such relation according to the existing research. Based on this, the necessity of this study is proposed. In order to help the reviewers better understand the logic of the introduction section of this article, here we will provide an overall writing approach for the introduction section:

 The introduction mainly explains how we have found the focus of this article from existing researches. Firstly, we clearly introduced the background, definition and status of China Railway Express. In the first paragraph, we specifically explained that launching CRE project is not the construction of domestic railway lines. With more cities have launched CRE project, it is important to figure out the impact of CRE project. Since the main purpose of CRE project is to stimulate foreign trade and economic growth of cities, we reviewed related researches which focus on the stimulating effect of CRE project on economic growth in the second paragraph. At present, technological innovation has become a considerable driving force of economic growth. In the third paragraph, we reviewed researches focus on the impact CRE project has on technological innovation. After review such researches, we can get that CRE project is an important factor affects local technological innovation ability of Chinese cities. However, China is not only confronted to the problem of how to stimulate economic growth but also the ecological risks gradually appeared in the process of development. Green innovation refers to new methods and technologies that can help avoid environmental damage, the intensity of green innovation reflects the ability of a region to control pollution and its willingness to follow the concept of ecological development (Takalo et al. 2021). So, we introduced the problem be discussed in our article in the fourth paragraph from the perspective of both urgency and necessity.

Secondly, since representatives have been reviewed in the introduction, reviewing too much of irrelevant literatures is not meaningful for this study. There are few papers focusing on the relationship between cross border freight railway project and the intensity of green innovation, and most studies involving the topic of railway and innovation are irrelevant to theme of this article.

Thirdly, as for the academic evidence of the theoretical analysis, we have reviewed such researches in the theoretical analysis section.

Fourthly, what really matters is the sign of the results in DID method, rather than the numerical result itself. For that key independent variable in DID method is 0-1 dummy variable.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

The paper is improved and cold be published.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

COMMENTS 1:

The problem which will be discussed in this paper has not been introduced clearly and precisely in part 1. In the other word, the problem should be introduced quiet precisely after the introduction of background and literatures.

 

COMMENTS 2:

The countermeasures have been put forward thoroughly in the end of this paper. while the conclusions of this paper should be summarized and still be explicit.

 

COMMENTS 3:

The very important point is the theory to support the relationship between China railway express and green innovation of cities. Do they have theoretical relation between these factors?  

Author Response

Dear reviewer 1:

 

Thank you for pointing out some important modifications needed in the paper. We have thoughtfully taken into account these comments. Through a careful study on the suggestions, we’ve made the following adjustments.

 

(1) To clearly put forward the problem be discussed, we have changed the title of the article and rewritten the introduction section. The title has been changed to “Dose Cross Border Freight Railway Project Affect Chinese Cities’ Green Innovation Intensity? A Quasi－natural Experiment Based on the Expansion of the China Railway Express”. The introduction mainly explains how we have found the focus of this article from existing researches. Firstly, we clearly introduced the background, definition and status of China Railway Express. In the first paragraph, we specifically explained that launching CRE project is not the construction of domestic railway lines. With more cities have launched CRE project, it is important to figure out the impact of CRE project. Since the main purpose of CRE project is to stimulate foreign trade and economic growth of cities, we reviewed related researches which focus on the stimulating effect of CRE project on economic growth in the second paragraph. At present, technological innovation has become a considerable driving force of economic growth. In the third paragraph, we reviewed researches focus on the impact CRE project has on technological innovation. After review such researches, we can get that CRE project is an important factor affects local technological innovation ability of Chinese cities. However, China is not only confronted to the problem of how to stimulate economic growth but also the ecological risks gradually appeared in the process of development. Green innovation refers to new methods and technologies that can help avoid environmental damage, the intensity of green innovation reflects the ability of a region to control pollution and its willingness to follow the concept of ecological development (Takalo et al. 2021). So, we introduced the problem be discussed in our article in the fourth paragraph from the perspective of both urgency and necessity.

 

(2) We’ve modified the expressions of the conclusion part. In this part, we still keep the policy implications, for the purpose of our research is to provide useful reference for government to deal with ecological risks. We’ve detailed such implications in this version.

 

(3) We’ve added literature and data support of mechanism analysis and modified our explanations of theoretical relation between launching CRE project and green innovation intensity in “2 Theoretical Hypotheses and Mechanism Analysis”. Direct impact of CRE project has on green innovation intensity is illustrated from the perspective of endowments and incentives of green innovation according to the innovation system theory modified by Cooke et al. (2004). In this part, we’ve explained why China Railway Express can optimize the allocation of human capital and R&D resources among Chinese cities in detail. And, we’ve added explanations and literature support on why launching CRE project will crowd out green innovation. After illustrating the direct impact CRE project has on green innovation, we’ve further detailed how CRE project will indirectly affect green innovation intensity of cities.

 

(4) English writing has been modified of the article.

Reviewer 2 Report

It is suggested that the theoretical section be expanded to include issues of green innovation. Especially as the literature on the subject is considerable.

Author Response

Dear reviewer 2:

 

Thank you for giving the suggestion of our article, we’ve made the following adjustment.

 

We’ve added literature and data support of mechanism analysis and modified our explanations of theoretical relation between launching CRE project and green innovation intensity in “2 Theoretical Hypotheses and Mechanism Analysis”. Direct impact of CRE project has on green innovation intensity is illustrated from the perspective of endowments and incentives of green innovation according to the innovation system theory modified by Cooke et al. (2004). In this part, we’ve explained why China Railway Express can optimize the allocation of human capital and R&D resources among Chinese cities in detail. And, we’ve added explanations and literature support on why launching CRE project will crowd out green innovation. After illustrating the direct impact CRE project has on green innovation, we’ve further detailed how CRE project will indirectly affect green innovation intensity of cities.

Reviewer 3 Report

Thank you for submitting your manuscript entitled "Impact Mechanism of China Railway Express on Cities' Green Innovation: Evidence from Empirical Analysis" for review. Overall, the manuscript is well-written and presents an interesting analysis of the impact of China Railway Express on cities' green innovation. However, there are some areas that need further improvement before the manuscript can be accepted for publication.

Firstly, the mechanism analysis section needs to be further developed. While you have provided some theoretical analysis of the impact mechanism of China Railway Express on cities' green innovation, it would be helpful to provide more details and clarify the underlying mechanisms in a more comprehensive manner. This will enhance the rigor and validity of your study.

Secondly, the clarity of Figures 4 and 7 needs to be improved. The resolution of these figures is not sufficient for readers to clearly understand the results. Please consider using higher resolution images or improving the visual presentation of the figures to enhance their clarity.

Furthermore, it is recommended to include more domestic and international literature on China's high-speed rail development, particularly on the topic of green innovation. This will provide a more comprehensive and robust context for your study and strengthen the relevance and significance of your findings.

Lastly, please provide more details about your empirical analysis, including the data sources, variables, and methodology used. This will improve the transparency and replicability of your study.

Please revise your manuscript accordingly and resubmit for further review.

 

Author Response

Dear reviewer 3:

 

Thank you for pointing out some important modifications needed in the paper. We have thoughtfully taken into account these comments. Through a careful study on the suggestions, we’ve made the following adjustments.

 

(1) We’ve added literature and data support of mechanism analysis and modified our explanations of theoretical relation between launching CRE project and green innovation intensity in “2 Theoretical Hypotheses and Mechanism Analysis”. Direct impact of CRE project has on green innovation intensity is illustrated from the perspective of endowments and incentives of green innovation according to the innovation system theory modified by Cooke et al. (2004). In this part, we’ve explained why China Railway Express can optimize the allocation of human capital and R&D resources among Chinese cities in detail. And, we’ve added explanations and literature support on why launching CRE project will crowd out green innovation. After illustrating the direct impact CRE project has on green innovation, we’ve further detailed how CRE project will indirectly affect green innovation intensity of cities.

 

(2) The quality of figure 4 and figure 7 have been improved. Both images are now 600 dpi. The quality of the images may be reduced when convert Word to PDF format. We can provide original file of the images on require.

 

(3) Domestic and international literature on China's high-speed rail development have been added in our article to strengthen the relevance and significance of our explanations. We’ve reviewed 2 researches focus on China's high-speed rail development in line 84 and line 86. However, as mentioned in the same paragraph, CRE project is a cross border freight railway project, which makes it much different from domestic railway construction. We think including more literature directly focus on the impact of China Railway Express will make our analysis more comprehensive, so that 4 more related researches have been reviewed in line 77, line 95 and line 153.

 

(4) We’ve further added explanations on data and empirical test results. In “3.2 Data Analysis”, we’ve illustrated where we found and how we calculated the base data, especially supplement the source of IPC Green Inventory presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2010. In the part of “4 Empirical Test Results”, we’ve further illustrated the characteristics of regression results and explained the implications of these results.

 

(5) English writing has been modified of the article.

Reviewer 4 Report

On line 85 the authors note that the CRE "shortened the distance between China and European cities." It did no such thing. I am confident that the distance between any two cities in China and Europe is the same as it was before a railway was built in China. Please be careful with word choices.

The causal relationship between CRE and environmental regulation described on line 120 is shaky, at best. I don't follow he causal mechanisms, and i don't know what environmental regulation, as described generally, has to do with green innovation, which to this point in the paper has not been defined at all. This paragraph seems very speculative. 

The authors eventually define green innovation as measured by the number of patents for certain classifications by IPC. Patents are very problematic for innovation analysis, yet this is unremarked. The classifications are not well explained--waste management may not be "green," for example. 

The authors do not explain how the crowding out effect works. It seems overall that the effects are mixed across space and time, and probably aren't robust in a practical sense, though the econometric models have been worked to be statistically significant. 

The conclusions don't follow the work on CRE. They are generic and well-meaning, but they are just ideas about supporting green innovation and don't say anything about railroads, which is the mechanism that was studied.

As patents were slowing in growth overall, the authors should test how railways redistributed patent activities, which seems closer to what they want to test. There are ample studies that demonstrate how high speed rail redistributes activities as opposed to generates new activities, which matters even more when the sector is slowing. I have a hard time believing that CRE is the culprit for crowding out, if that is the case, which isn't tested, in that CRE is one bucket of spending. There is so much spending that can crowd out, if that is what happens. But there are lots of reasons that patent activity in certain sectors will slow. The easy patents may have been issued, for instance. All innovation follows an S curve.

The English in this paper needs substantial improvement from start to finish. The organization of the paper needs improvement. Green innovation needs to be defined, and this approach supported, much earlier in the paper. Environmental regulation is in the models but never really described. I don't have any idea how to evaluate this as a variable.

 

 

 

Author Response

Dear reviewer 4

 

Thank you for pointing out some important modifications needed in the paper. We have thoughtfully taken into account these comments. Through a careful study on the suggestions, we’ve made the following adjustments.

 

(1) We have carefully checked the expressions and English writing in our article.

 

(2) To clearly put forward the problem be discussed, we have changed the title of the article and rewritten the introduction section. The title has been changed to “Dose Cross Border Freight Railway Project Affect Chinese Cities’ Green Innovation Intensity? A Quasi－natural Experiment Based on the Expansion of the China Railway Express”. The introduction mainly explains how we have found the focus of this article from existing researches. Firstly, we clearly introduced the background, definition and status of China Railway Express. In the first paragraph, we specifically explained that launching CRE project is not the construction of domestic railway lines. With more cities have launched CRE project, it is important to figure out the impact of CRE project. Since the main purpose of CRE project is to stimulate foreign trade and economic growth of cities, we reviewed related researches which focus on the stimulating effect of CRE project on economic growth in the second paragraph. At present, technological innovation has become a considerable driving force of economic growth. In the third paragraph, we reviewed researches focus on the impact CRE project has on technological innovation. After review such researches, we can get that CRE project is an important factor affects local technological innovation ability of Chinese cities. However, China is not only confronted to the problem of how to stimulate economic growth but also the ecological risks gradually appeared in the process of development. Green innovation refers to new methods and technologies that can help avoid environmental damage, the intensity of green innovation reflects the ability of a region to control pollution and its willingness to follow the concept of ecological development (Takalo et al. 2021). So, we introduced the problem be discussed in our article in the fourth paragraph from the perspective of both urgency and necessity.

 

(3) We’ve added literature and data support of mechanism analysis and modified our explanations of theoretical relation between launching CRE project and green innovation intensity in “2 Theoretical Hypotheses and Mechanism Analysis”. Direct impact of CRE project has on green innovation intensity is illustrated from the perspective of endowments and incentives of green innovation according to the innovation system theory modified by Cooke et al. (2004). In this part, we’ve explained why China Railway Express can optimize the allocation of human capital and R&D resources among Chinese cities in detail. And, we’ve added explanations and literature support on why launching CRE project will crowd out green innovation. After illustrating the direct impact CRE project has on green innovation, we’ve further detailed how CRE project will indirectly affect green innovation intensity of cities especially the how CRE project affects green innovation intensity through changing cities’ environmental regulation.

 

(4) To make the problem be discussed more comprehensive, we’ve changed “green innovation” into “green innovation intensity”. Take number of patents granted as the indicator of innovation intensity is generally accepted in the field of technology economics (Related researches can easily be found in “www. cnki. net”). In the original version of the paper, we ignored to introduce what the IPC Green Inventory is, so in this version we’ve added explanation for this classification method: IPC Green Inventory was presented by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2010, which can be referred to in the website https://www.wipo.int/classifications/ipc/green-inventory/home.

 

(5) The crowding effect has been further explained in “2 Theoretical Hypotheses and Mechanism Analysis”. CRE project is not the construction of the domestic railway lines, so its impact is surely different from domestic high speed railway line. The starting point of our theoretical analysis is the characteristics CRE project. Even though, we still further detailed the theoretical analysis part.

 

(6) Environmental regulation is a special term to indicate government's supervision on environment. Higher environmental regulation intensity indicates enterprises' behavior of damaging environment will be subject to stricter penalties. Higher environmental regulation intensity also means that the increment in the number of employees and expenses in the environmental protection department. For there is difficulties in obtaining these data of prefecture level cities, so we use the method of Zhang and Zhao (2012), whose article was published in the journal of The Journal of Quantitative & Technical Economics, to take the reciprocal of pollution emission per unit of GDP as the substitution variable of environmental regulation intensity.