Search Results (546)

The escalating frequency of natural disasters and political conflicts has heightened focus on industrial supply chain resilience and security, making corporate supply chain resilience enhancement a critical global concern. Data, as a novel production factor, presents an effective pathway to fortify supply chain resilience. This paper investigates data factor marketisation by constructing a theoretical framework linking it with manufacturing enterprise supply chain resilience. Using China’s Big Data Comprehensive Experimental Zone establishment as a quasi-natural experiment, we analyzed data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms spanning 2003–2023 to empirically validate our theoretical analysis. Our findings reveal that data factor marketisation significantly enhances manufacturing enterprise supply chain resilience, as confirmed using rigorous robustness checks. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that data factor marketisation improves resilience by reducing information asymmetries, boosting management efficiency, mitigating supply chain reliance, and enhancing supply chain financing. Heterogeneity analysis indicates stronger positive impacts in non-state-owned enterprises, smaller firms, companies with advanced data capabilities, non-digital-intensive businesses, enterprises with substantial supply chain funding needs, and those in regions with strong rule of law. Further analysis shows that improved employment, financing, innovation, and communication environments amplify the positive relationship between data factor marketisation and supply chain resilience. This study provides crucial insights for policy makers seeking to leverage data marketisation for industrial resilience enhancement and offers strategic guidance for enterprises navigating an increasingly uncertain global supply chain environment. Full article

Digital supply chain management (DSCM) has emerged as a critical driver of enterprise performance in the modern economy, yet empirical evidence on its causal impact on productivity remains limited. This study examines how DSCM adoption affects total factor productivity (TFP) by leveraging China’s supply chain innovation pilot program as a quasi-natural experiment. Using a difference-in-differences approach with propensity score matching, the analysis employs a comprehensive dataset of 2843 Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022; the analysis reveals that DSCM adoption leads to an average TFP increase of 14.1%. This positive effect strengthens over time, demonstrating a clear dynamic of organizational learning. Mediation analysis indicates that this productivity enhancement operates through two primary channels: innovation capability enhancement (accounting for approximately 35% of the total effect) and cost efficiency improvement (21%). Crucially, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effects of DSCM are significantly more pronounced in supply-chain-intensive industries, such as manufacturing, and for firms with higher R&D intensity. The findings provide robust causal evidence on the productivity effects of DSCM, offering valuable insights into its underlying mechanisms and key boundary conditions for both enterprise strategy and digital transformation policy. Full article

The registration system reform (RSR) represents a landmark innovation in China’s IPO system, aiming to promote a more transparent, competitive, and sustainable market. Exploiting the staggered implementation of RSR as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) model using a sample of Chinese A-share IPO firms from 2016 to 2022 to investigate its impact on corporate sustainability, as proxied by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. Our findings indicate that RSR significantly enhances corporate ESG performance, especially the governance (G) performance. Mechanism analysis suggests that market competition, investor rationality, and sponsor reputation are potential channels through which the reform facilitates corporate sustainability. Furthermore, the above relationship is more pronounced in regions with a higher degree of marketization, among non-state-owned enterprises, and those with weaker profitability. Moreover, the reform not only exhibits long-term effects but also demonstrates positive spillover effects on peer firms originally listed under the approval-based system. Overall, our study extends the understanding of how capital market institutional reforms promote corporate sustainability in the era of the digital economy and provides valuable insights for regulators to standardize and enhance RSR, thereby establishing a resilient and sustainable financial ecosystem. Full article

Against the backdrop of global commitments to sustainable development and carbon neutrality objectives, the agricultural sector faces compelling imperatives to transition toward environmentally sustainable and resource-efficient production systems. Focusing on the critical role of agricultural inputs, this study investigates how China’s Zero Growth Policy for Fertilizer and Pesticide Use (ZGP), implemented in 2015, influences green transformation in the agricultural inputs sector through a quasi-natural experiment framework. Employing a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) design with comprehensive nationwide firm registration data from 2013 to 2020, we provide novel micro-level evidence on environmental regulation’s market-shaping effects. Our findings demonstrate that the ZGP significantly enhances green market selection, stimulating entry of environmentally certified firms, with effect heterogeneity revealing policy impacts are attenuated in manufacturing-intensive regions due to green entry barriers, while being amplified in major grain-producing areas and more market-oriented regions. Mechanism analyses identify three key transmission channels: intensified regulatory oversight, heightened public environmental awareness, and growing market demand for sustainable inputs. Furthermore, the policy has induced structural transformation within the industry, progressively increasing green enterprises’ market share. These results offer valuable insights for designing targeted environmental governance mechanisms to facilitate sustainable transitions in agricultural input markets. Full article

Traditional urbanization prioritizes economic growth but often degrades the environment, challenging SDGs 9 and 13. China’s New-Type Urbanization Policy (NTUP) balances economic expansion, energy conservation, and environmental protection. By applying the difference-in-differences (DID) method, this study examines the causal effect of NTUP on urban air quality, taking the full implementation of NTUP in 2014 and the designated pilot cities as the policy shock and treatment group, respectively. Furthermore, we explore the mediating roles of land use efficiency and innovation efficiency in this relationship. The results show the following: (1) NTUP significantly lowers urban PM2.5, robust to confounders and selection bias; (2) land use and innovation efficiency mediate this effect, verified by Sobel and Bootstrap tests; and (3) policy effectiveness varies by city level, industrial base, and economic structure. These findings highlight NTUP’s environmental benefits and inform sustainable urbanization strategies globally. Full article

Ecological compensation policies have become increasingly important for sustainable watershed management worldwide. Current research primarily examines environmental outcomes, resulting in a limited understanding of their economic impacts, especially concerning green development. This study evaluates the ecological compensation pilot in the Tingjiang-Hanjiang River Basin, using difference-in-differences (DID) and mediation analysis on panel data from 136 counties spanning the 2009–2022 period. The findings indicate that the ecological compensation policy reduced green economic growth by 3.94% in the compensated regions. However, it also promotes ecological protection, as demonstrated in the Wujiang and Yuanjiang River Basins, where compensation standards and methods are designed to encourage conservation. The main challenge to green economic development in the Tingjiang-Hanjiang River Basin during the first two phases of ecological compensation policies is the lack of environmentally focused technological innovation, resulting in limited growth. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that these policies are less effective in restraining activities in economically weaker upstream regions than in more developed downstream areas. Consequently, key requirements for advancing green economic development in the third round of compensation policies are proposed. Full article

Quasi-experimental methods are a cornerstone of applied social science, answering causal questions to inform policy and practice. Although open science principles have influenced experimental research norms across the social sciences, related practices are rarely implemented in quasi-experimental scholarship. In this perspective article, we describe open science research practices and discuss practical strategies for quasi-experimental researchers to implement or adapt these practices. We also emphasize the shared responsibility of external stakeholders, including data providers, journals, and funders, to create the circumstances and incentives for open science practices to proliferate. While individual quasi-experimental studies may be incompatible with some or most practices, we argue that all quasi-experimental work can benefit from an open science mentality and that shifting research norms toward open science principles will ultimately enhance the transparency, accessibility, replicability, unbiasedness, and credibility of quasi-experimental social science research. Full article

The supply chain is a critical tool for enterprises to withstand risks and ensure sustainable development. Integrating green and environmentally friendly practices into the supply chain has become an increasingly prominent trend. This study examines the impact of green supply chain management (GSCM) on supply chain resilience, using the green supply chain pilot projects implemented in China as a quasi-natural experiment, employing a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) model. Based on panel data from manufacturing enterprises listed on the A-share market in China from 2014 to 2022, the findings reveal three key insights. First, GSCM significantly improves the resilience of enterprise supply chains. Second, GSCM has both signaling and cost effects, as it can reduce corporate financing costs and enhance market value, lower market transaction costs, and improve productivity. These are potential channels through which GSCM exerts a positive influence. Third, the positive impact of GSCM on supply chain resilience is more pronounced in enterprises with third-party environmental certifications and higher institutional shareholder ratios. Additionally, this study also extends to demonstrate that GSCM directly and positively influences corporate environmental performance. These findings provide policy recommendations for enhancing green supply chain development and offer managerial insights to help enterprises proactively embrace green transformation. Full article

Amid the accelerating global transition toward a low-carbon and intelligent economy, the issues of resource misallocation and mounting environmental pressures in agriculture have become increasingly prominent, posing significant bottlenecks to the modernization of the sector. As a novel factor of production, agricultural and rural big data theoretically offer new avenues for facilitating a green transformation in agriculture. However, institutional constraints have hindered its full potential. Drawing on provincial panel data from 2011 to 2022, this study treats the big data policy pilot as a quasi-natural experiment and employs a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to comprehensively analyze its mechanisms and actual effects on high-quality agricultural development. An indicator system encompassing five dimensions—innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing—is constructed, and the entropy method is used to measure the level of high-quality agricultural development. Multiple empirical strategies, including parallel trend tests, are utilized to ensure the robustness of the findings. The results indicate that high-quality agricultural development exhibits significant regional gradients and periodic leaps. The implementation of the big data policy in 2016 marked a crucial turning point, yielding a significant positive effect on agricultural development. Notably, pronounced heterogeneity exists regarding regional distribution, major grain-producing areas, and development stages. The policy’s impact primarily operates through pathways of openness and sharing, although some mechanisms remain to be improved. Accordingly, this paper recommends differentiated regional policies and enhanced targeted support, thereby providing theoretical and practical policy guidance for optimizing big data policy design, promoting high-quality agricultural development, and advancing rural revitalization. For policymakers, these findings clarify the priorities for differentiated interventions and offer empirical evidence for optimizing the spatial allocation of big data policy pilots and strengthening open and shared development mechanisms. This, in turn, can improve the precision of agricultural policy and accelerate the green transformation and revitalization of rural areas. Compared to existing literature, the distinct contribution of this study lies in its pioneering use of big data policy pilots as a quasi-natural experiment. The research systematically constructs a multidimensional indicator system to measure high-quality agricultural development, elucidates the heterogeneous effects and specific pathways of policy intervention, and addresses gaps in the empirical assessment and mechanism analysis of agricultural big data policies. Full article

Improving the agricultural carbon emission efficiency (ACEE) has important practical significance for the green development of agriculture (GDA). However, few studies have analyzed the impact of the national agricultural green development pilot zone (NAGDPZ) policy on the ACEE. This study is based on panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) from 2013 to 2023. Through the creation of the NAGDPZ, a quasi-natural experiment was designed. By using the difference-in-differences (DID) method, a systematic analysis was conducted on the impact of the NAGDPZ policy on the ACEE. The research findings are as follows: (1) The overall ACEE in the YRD region has improved, and the spatial distribution is higher in the southeast and lower in the northwest. (2) The NAGDPZ policy can significantly enhance the ACEE, with a coefficient of 0.049. This positive effect is still observed even after many robustness tests. (3) The NAGDPZ policy has expanded the agricultural operation scale (AOS) and enhanced agricultural labor productivity (ALP), improving the ACEE. Therefore, it is suggested that the pilot scope of the NAGDPZ should be expanded. Full article

Against the background of global climate change and increasing ecological vulnerability, enhancing ecosystem resilience has become a core task for coping with environmental shocks and achieving sustainable development. The urban energy structure plays a critical role in influencing the green development of the economy and the enhancement of environmental resilience. Existing studies have revealed the role of energy structure transformation in the identification of macroeconomic performance and environmental outcomes, but have neglected its impact on ecosystem resilience. This paper exploits the implementation of the New Energy Demonstration City pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Using panel data of Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022, it constructs a multidimensional evaluation system of urban ecosystem resilience and employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically examine the impact of energy structure transformation on urban ecosystem resilience. It is found that energy structure transition significantly enhances urban ecosystem resilience, and this conclusion is verified through a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis shows that energy structure transformation comprehensively enhances urban ecosystem resilience through strengthening institutional regulation, optimizing resource allocation, promoting energy substitution, and enhancing public awareness. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the strengthening effect of energy structure transition on urban ecosystem resilience is inclusive, and that this positive effect is greater in cities characterized by lower resource endowment and weaker governance capacity. This paper reveals the intrinsic mechanism of urban energy transition for ecological resilience enhancement, and provides an energy transition path for building more resilient urban ecosystems. Full article

Green finance policy represents a critical market-oriented instrument that channels financial resources toward environmentally sustainable development. This study employs the difference-in-differences (DID) model to empirically analyze the panel data of 276 cities in China spanning 2011 to 2020, using China’s 2017 green finance policy as a quasi-natural experiment. The results demonstrate that after passing a series of robustness tests, green finance policy can effectively alleviate air pollution. In addition, the mechanism test shows that green finance policy can significantly reduce air pollution through the resource allocation effect and green innovation effect. According to heterogeneity analysis, the effects of policy are more noticeable in Western cities, resource-based cities, and cities with higher levels of financial development. These findings provide scientific support for the policy pathways through which green finance facilitates coordinated pollution reduction and high-quality development, offering valuable insights for developing countries in advancing sustainable urban governance. Full article

Urban sustainability has become the most important urban development issue globally. Facing the problem of spatial structure optimization during urbanization, how to effectively use public data access to promote urban polycentric development has become a new area of concern for urban planners and policy makers. To quantify how government open-data platforms shape polycentric urban spatial structure across Chinese cities, this study takes the launch of government data platforms as a quasi-natural experiment, constructs the multi-period differences-in-differences model, uses data of 271 Chinese prefectural-level cities from 2010 to 2021, and examines the impact and mechanism of public data access on urban spatial structure. We find that public data access promotes urban polycentric development, especially in large cities, those in urban agglomerations, and resource-abundant cities. The effect follows an inverted ‘N’ trend, which reflects the evolving role of PDA across different urban development stages, highlighting the need for adaptive policies to optimize its benefits. Mechanisms include information process radicalization and industrial structure upgrading, moderated positively by government intervention and regional competition. These insights can inform policies for optimizing urban spatial patterns and advancing sustainable urban development. Full article

Global water scarcity has emerged as a critical barrier to sustainable socio-economic development, stimulating water rights trading to serve as a policy instrument designed to enhance water use efficiency. This study systematically evaluates the impact of water rights trading (WRT) on agricultural water use efficiency (AWE) using panel data from 30 provinces (2011–2022) and a difference-in-difference (DID) model, while thoroughly investigating the underlying mechanisms and spatial spillover effects. The following are primary conclusions: (1) WRT significantly improves efficiency, reducing water consumption per unit of agricultural output by 4.5% in pilot regions, with robustness checks confirming reliability; (2) the policy’s effects on agricultural water use efficiency vary across regions; (3) mechanism analysis suggests that efficiency improvements are primarily driven by optimized crop planting patterns, adoption of water-saving irrigation technologies, advancements in agricultural mechanization, and strengthened environmental regulations; and (4) the policy exhibits notable spatial spillover effects. These findings contribute to the evaluation of WRT policy and offer practical insights for market-based water allocation reforms, suggesting further expansion of WRT with an emphasis on regional coordination and cross-regional cooperation mechanisms. Full article

Improving agricultural eco-efficiency (AEE) plays a critical role in fulfilling agriculture sustainable development goals (SDGs). China’s agriculture-led Rural Industrial Integration (RII) seeks to synergize rural industrialization with agricultural sustainability, yet its impact on AEE remains underexplored. Using a 2008–2022 panel of 285 prefecture-level cities in China, this study uses a series of econometric methods to empirically verify the impact of RII on AEE. The coefficient of RII under the fixed effect model is 0.366, indicating that it has a significant positive impact on AEE, which remains valid after robustness tests such as the instrumental variable method and the use of the “Rural Industrial Integration Development Demonstration County” pilot as a quasi-natural experiment. Mechanism tests show that rural labor transfer, agricultural technology innovation, and agricultural carbon emissions play an important role in mediating the impact of RII on AEE. RII has a negative spatial spillover effect on AEE, with a coefficient of −2.280. In addition, the impact of RII on AEE also varies under the heterogeneity of regions and development models. This study provides new evidence that China’s RII practices can promote sustainable agricultural development, deepens theoretical understanding of the impact of RII on AEE, and provides a reference for future policy implementation. Full article