Environment, Development and Sustainability最新文献

This paper aims at exploring whether and how environment, social responsibility, and corporate governance (ESG) affects firm operating efficiency (FOE). The potential moderating role of cash flow has also been studied in an effort to disentangle its relationships in this context. By using data on A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2020 in China, we find that a good ESG performance has a significantly positive impact on FOE. After changing the measurement of FOE, using Huazheng ESG performance and a series of stability tests such as endogenous tests, the results are still robust. Meanwhile, we find that the primary driver of the positive impact of ESG on FOE lies in its capacity to enhance economies of scale. In addition, we also find that ESG has a more pronounced effect on FOE for non-manufacturing enterprises and privately-owned enterprises. These results suggest that ESG has become an effective way to improve FOE. Exploring the impact of ESG performance on corporate operational efficiency is of significant practical significance for getting rid of corporate development difficulties, promoting good business operation, advancing the upgrading of the industrial structure of the industry, and ultimately realizing the efficient and steady growth of the industry as a whole.

In the context of green development, exploring the impact of the green digital economy on the carbon emission efficiency of the financial industry has significant practical significance and theoretical value. Guided by the principles of green development, this paper constructs an indicator system for evaluating the green digital economy, uses an improved entropy method to compute the weight of the indicators and measure its development level, and utilizes the non-desirable output super-efficiency SBM model to assess the carbon emission efficiency of the financial industry. Based on data from 284 prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2021, the empirical research is conducted by using a bidirectional fixed effects model, a mediation effect model, and a spatial Durbin model. The results indicate: (1) Overall, the green digital economy exhibits a positive U-shaped effect on the carbon emission efficiency of the financial industry, initially inhibiting and subsequently promoting it, with this effect intensifying as industrial structures are optimized and upgraded. (2) Regionally, there are significant heterogeneities in the impact effects, with the most pronounced effects observed in regions of the eastern and southern areas experiencing rapid development in the green digital economy. (3) Spatially, both the green digital economy and the carbon emission efficiency of the financial industry demonstrate spatial correlation, generating initial inhibiting and subsequent promoting spillover effects on local and neighboring regions. Therefore, some new ideas for promoting the urban green digital economy and enhancing the carbon emission efficiency of the urban financial industry, which can through increasing the support for the green digital economy, establishing a financial industry carbon emission database, promoting the optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure, and improving the spatial layout by strengthening regional collaboration, are provided to promote the sustainable development of the city.

The digital economy has become a pivotal force driving green and sustainable economic development, while the tourism industry, as a double-edged sword for ecological protection, plays an equally indispensable role. Therefore, integrating the digital economy, tourism economy, and ecological environment (DTE) into a synergistic and open system is crucial for promoting green sustainable development in the South China coastal region. This study establishes a comprehensive evaluation index system for the DTE across Hainan, Guangdong, and Guangxi (HGG) using the entropy weight method. Additionally, an obstacle degree model analyzes the key factors affecting the development of different systems. Finally, a coupling coordination model evaluates the status of green sustainable development in these provinces, quantifying the degree of synergy through coupling coordination degree (CCD). The findings reveal the following: (1) Digital economy not only effectively fosters the development of the tourism economy but also contributes to improvement of the ecological environment. (2) The levels of development in the DTE in the HGG region generally show an upward trend. (3) In terms of coordinated development of the three-dimensional system, Hainan is currently in a state of disharmony, while Guangxi has transitioned from dissonance to coordination, and Guangdong maintains a high level of coordination. (4) The key factors hindering the coordinated development of the three-dimensional system display significant regional differences. Based on these findings, this paper recommends that policymakers seize the opportunities presented by digital economy development, strengthen ecological protection, tailor development strategies to specific regional conditions, and promote system collaborative development to ultimately achieve green and sustainable growth.

Accelerating the planning and construction of a new energy financial system is of great significance for ensuring national energy financial security, promoting high-quality energy development, and facilitating the green transition across various regions. This paper constructs an evaluation index of the energy financial system resilience from four dimensions: resistance, adaptability, recovery, and learnability. Using relevant panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, the resilience of regional energy financial systems is measured through the entropy weight-TOPSIS model. The spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the resilience are revealed through spatial autocorrelation, empirical orthogonal functions, and kernel density estimation. The Theil index is employed to analyze resilience disparities among four major economic zones and among provinces within these zones. The paper indicates that the China’s energy financial system resilience is generally unbalanced and exhibits positive spatial correlation. Overall resilience is on a declining trend, although some provinces show relatively rapid resilience growth. Regional disparities are the primary cause of the overall differences. These results have significant theoretical and practical value for guiding regions to implement differentiated development strategies based on their actual conditions and for enhancing the resilience of energy financial systems.

We analyze the impact on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from Saudi Arabia's June 2018 relaxation of the driving ban for women. Based on time series data of the main pollution drivers in Saudi Arabia from 1970 until 2021, the study employs multiple econometric techniques, comprising the autoregressive distributed lag cointegration (ARDL), the canonical cointegrating regression (CCR), the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) techniques, to assess the effect of the lifting of the prohibition on women driving—besides other pollution determinants—on carbon dioxide emissions per person. Results were consistent in proving that the ban lift has not increased emissions in the short run. In the long run, emissions rose primarily from non-industrial and industrial activities. Long-term emissions were found to be unaffected by economic growth, even though short-term emissions increased. The paper hitherto absolves the new regulation from any negative environmental impact. Saudi Arabia should thus maintain the ban lift, and ignore calls for re-imposing the ban on sustainability grounds.

As economic growth increasingly conflicts with environmental protection, green technology innovation (GTI) has become essential for sustainable development. This study applies complex network theory and social network analysis to examine intra- and inter-cluster collaboration networks in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) based on green patent data. Results reveal distinct spatial disparities in green patent collaborations, following a pattern of "strong in the east and weak in the west". Enterprises play a leading role in both intra- and inter-cluster networks, although their level of participation shows opposite trends. Key technologies in both networks are dominated by power-related collaborations. However, over time, intra-cluster collaborations have increasingly focused on new energy vehicles. Additionally, Hefei's role in intra-cluster collaboration has steadily grown, while Beijing has emerged as the most influential city in inter-cluster collaboration. Both networks exhibit a significant core-periphery structure. Although YRD cities predominantly engage in inter-cluster collaboration, they are gradually shifting toward intra-cluster partnerships. Therefore, government efforts should prioritize GTI investment, collaborative platform development, and tailored policies for specific collaboration types.

The digital economy is seen as an emerging driving force for reducing income inequality and promoting the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. However, existing research presents both positive and negative conclusions, with most focusing on the application of technology while lacking consideration of innovative factors. In light of this, this study utilizes data from Chinese A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2022 to construct an enterprise digital technology innovation index based on digital patent identification, empirically exploring the impact of digital technology innovation on the internal common prosperity effect of enterprises. The research findings indicate that digital technology innovation significantly enhances the share of labor income, positively affecting internal common prosperity within enterprises. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Further analysis reveals that this the positive effect is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, capital- and technology-intensive enterprises, and those located in regions with a higher degree of marketization. The affecting mechanism is that digital technology innovation improves production efficiency, optimizes labor resource allocation, and weakens managerial power, enabling enterprises to achieve a more equitable distribution of income while realizing high-quality growth. The conclusions of this study not only provide strategic empirical support for enterprises to advance the goal of common prosperity in the digital economy era but also offer a new perspective on the pathways to achieve the SDGs in the context of the digital age.

Enhancing the protection of the ecological environment is a shared responsibility of all humanity. This paper utilizes the survey data (N = 4,516) from China in 2023, employing a mediation model to investigate the effects of rural households’ financial literacy (composed by insurance literacy, debt literacy, and investment literacy) on pro-environmental behavior and its underlying mechanisms. The results suggest: (1) Financial literacy can promote pro-environmental behaviors through perceived responsibility, time aversion, and self-efficacy. (2) Insurance literacy, debt literacy, and investment literacy significantly enhance pro-environmental behavior, with the hierarchy of influence being insurance literacy, followed by debt literacy, and then investment literacy. Both basic and advanced financial literacy contribute to pro-environmental behavior, with the latter having a more pronounced impact. (3) Financial literacy exhibits heterogeneous impacts across different household characteristics. This study introduces a novel perspective by highlighting the financial literacy as a strategic tool to promote environmentally sustainable behaviors among rural households.

Existing studies consider “regional pest control” services can to be safe, scientific and used rationally. However, the author’s field survey of rice-producing areas in China has found that the repeated use of pesticides after purchasing regional pest control services is common in rural China. Based on this finding, this paper empirically explores the effects of regional pest control and risk preference in relation to pesticide use. The results show that regional pest control can significantly increase pesticide use. In fact, regional pest control has increased the use of biological pesticides. However, the impact on the use of chemical pesticides is not significant. Risk preference increases the positive impact of regional pest control on pesticide use. When a farmer’s rice-planting scale is less than or equal to 25 mu (unit of measurement, 1 mu = 1/15 ha), the farmer will choose to increase the use of pesticide to avoid the production risk brought by regional pest control. Otherwise, risk preference will not increase the positive impact of regional pest control on pesticide use. Based on our results, the government should increase publicity to enhance farmers' familiarity with RPC. The service system and the quality of RPC should be improved.