The development of digital economy is becoming an important path to promote the kinetic energy of China's tax revenue development. Based on the panel data from 2011 to 2018, this paper uses Gini coefficient to analyze the regional differences of China's digital economy, and uses fixed effect model, spatial Durbin model, multi-period double difference model and other empirical methods to examine the tax effects of digital economy development. The results show that the regional disparity is the main reason for the regional disparity of digital economy development in China. The development of digital economy directly increases the tax amount of local digital industry, and at the same time it also radiates and drives the increase of local total tax revenue; The tax effect of digital economy has a negative spatial spillover, showing a "siphon effect" to neighboring areas; Mechanism analysis shows that the development of digital economy mainly promotes the increase of local tax revenue through growth effect.

Carbon emissions trading is essential for reducing carbon emissions, and its role in regional carbon unlocking needs further clarification. This study uses the difference-in-differences (DID) model and synthetic control model (SCM) to evaluate the carbon unlocking effect of China’s six pilot carbon trading provinces. This study found that (1) carbon lock-in effects in China are mainly influenced by technology lock-in and fixed input lock-in; (2) each province’s overall carbon lock-in level presents a decreasing trend yearly, and the regional distribution presents characteristics of “low in the east and high in the west”; (3) carbon emissions trading pilot policies effectively promote the carbon unlocking effect in pilot regions overall, with Guangdong having the most significant unlocking effect. Conversely, Beijing, Hubei, Chongqing, and Shanghai also had different degrees of carbon unlocking. Finally, (4) an assessment of impact mechanisms indicates that technology and institutions have a significant mediating role in effectively promoting carbon unlocking under the carbon trading policy. Conversely, social behavior has an inverse effect, and fixed assets are not affected by the policy. This study demonstrates the carbon unlocking effect of carbon emissions trading and provides a quantitative reference for implementing carbon emissions trading policies and determining carbon unlocking paths.

The primary goal of this research is to examine how different types of energy are used in South Asian countries and how they affect the environment and economic growth. From 1990 through 2021, this research employed Panel Data from multiple sources covering the South Asian countries of Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, and Afghanistan. The results are determined by using the Fixed Effect Regression (FEM) technique in both models. Several significant findings are supported by the data. First, while using renewable energy flattens carbon dioxide effusion, using non-renewable energy sources increases it. CO2 emissions are affected negatively by gross domestic product but positively by gross domestic product square. These results provide credence to the idea that South Asian countries do experience an Environment Kuznets Curve. Furthermore, foreign direct investment has a beneficial effect on CO2 emissions, lending credence to the Pollution Haven Hypothesis. Model 2 instead finds that both renewable and non-renewable energy consumption contributes to economic expansion. Gross Fixed Capital Formation and foreign direct investment also contribute to economic growth in this area. Finally, Inflation retards economic expansion.

The vigorous development of the digital economy provides a new research perspective for alleviating local financial pressure. Based on the provincial panel data from 2013 to 2020, the mediating effect model and threshold regression model were used to explore the effect and mechanism of the digital economy on local fiscal pressure. The research shows that the digital economy has a significant alleviating effect on local financial pressure by increasing fiscal revenue, and this alleviating effect has a threshold effect on entrepreneurial activity. From the perspective of dimension, the alleviating effect of the digital economy development environment on local financial pressure is better than that of digital industrialization and industrial digitization. From a regional perspective, the digital economy has the most apparent impact on the western region. In addition, the quantile regression results show that with the increase in financial pressure, the easing effect of the digital economy shows an inverted U-shaped change. Therefore, in order to effectively alleviate the financial pressure on local governments, China should continue to promote the development of the digital economy, take multiple measures to increase entrepreneurial activity, and encourage various regions to implement differentiated digital economy development strategies according to local conditions.

This study empirically examines the effect of corporate governance on the relation between CEO power and firm leverage. Results from OLS and industry fixed effects regressions show that CEO power is positively associated with firm leverage. However, this association is driven by the strength of corporate governance as powerful CEOs tend to choose higher levels of debt only when corporate governance is strong. When corporate governance is weak, CEO power does not seem to have any effect on firm leverage. Overall, results indicate that strong corporate governance mitigates the severity of manager-shareholder conflicts and induces powerful CEOs to choose higher leverage.

Based on the panel data of western central-cities from 2002 to 2021, this paper uses the intermediary effect model to analyze the relationship between urban internationalization, innovation ability and urban competitiveness. It is found that: (1) The internationalization of western central-cities has a positive and direct impact on the promotion of urban competitiveness, which has a significant impact on economic strength and infrastructure, and a weak impact on government efficiency and market efficiency The marginal growth effect of internationalization on urban scale will gradually decrease with the improvement of urban development level. (2) The continuous promotion of city internationalization can promote the innovation ability to enhance the competitiveness of the city. Compared with the internationalization of cities, the influence of innovation ability on the competitiveness of cities is small, and the innovation ability of western central-cities and each city is weak. The scale effect has become the main motivation to promote the competitiveness of cities. (3) In the process of internationalization of western central-cities, innovation ability has a part of intermediary effect on the improvement of urban competitiveness, and the effect on urban “hard environment” is significantly greater than that on urban “Soft-environment”. The results of direct and indirect impact tests show that the impact of the process of internationalization of western central-cities on urban competitiveness is exogenous.

According to economic theory and common sense, the issuance of consumption coupons on one hand stimulated the increasing of residents' consumption, but on the other pushed up the price level. In this paper, using the theory of mechanism design, the game model was built to analyze the relationship between the effect of consumer coupons during the epidemic and the number of merchants participated. The results show that the smaller the merchants’ number, the weaker the coupons’ effect, vice versa. Then, using KNN regression method, combined with the monthly year-on-year data of CPI from 1998 to 2020, this paper analyzes the changes of CPI forecast value and actual value in the first 10 months of 2020, finding that the actual value of CPI is higher than the predicted one during the first two months of 2020, but lower from March 2020 on, which further verifies the conclusion of game analysis.

Financial development and industrial structure optimization are two-wheeled engines for promoting high-quality development, but the causal identification of the two is still poorly understood. This paper addresses this research gap by comprehensively analyzing the relationship between them. Regional economic growth is a necessary condition for achieving high-quality development. Taking China as an example, this study empirically examines the role of financial development and industrial structure optimization in high-quality development using the entropy method, fixed effects, mediation effects and instrumental variable regression. The study results show that (i) financial development has actively promoted regional economic growth. (ii) The driving effect on the central and western regions is greater than that on the eastern region. (iii) There are differences in the mediating effect of industrial structure optimization and rationalization between different levels of financial development and economic growth. (iv) In addition, the mediating effect of industrial structure optimization is larger in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. (v) The mediating effect of industrial structure rationalization is not obvious in the eastern region, but has a masking effect in the central and western regions. Our findings provide new strategies for financial development and industrial structure optimization in developing countries.

The vigorous development of the digital economy has brought new opportunities and challenges to the construction of local fiscal revenue efficiency. Based on the panel data from 2011 to 2020, this paper uses the fixed effect model, instrumental variable method and other empirical studies to investigate the impact of the development of the digital economy on the efficiency of local fiscal revenue. The research results show that the development of the digital economy has directly improved the efficiency of local fiscal revenue, and the regression results of instrumental variables are still significant. The mechanism analysis shows that the development of digital economy mainly promotes local fiscal revenue such as efficiency improvement by cultivating tax sources.

Public diplomacy is a significant factor in promoting policy communication, people-to-people bonds, and the protection of foreign assets between two nations, but there is little research on the economic worth of public diplomacy. Python was used to crawl the daily search frequency of "China", "African countries", and related terms to construct the heat index of China-Africa public diplomacy during 2011-2019, and a two-way fixed effect model was developed to examine the impact of public diplomacy on China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in Africa. The empirical results show that public diplomacy has a considerable favorable effect on China’s OFDI in Africa, and after a series of robustness tests, the basic conclusion still holds. Heterogeneity tests show the investment promotion effect of public diplomacy is more pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa and that the promotion mechanism exhibits the characteristics of poverty alleviation and risk aversion. In addition, the promotion effect of public diplomacy on China’s OFDI becomes greater as time goes on. In terms of impact mechanisms, public diplomacy may promote OFDI by enhancing financing capacity and improving national governance. The research conclusion has policy implications for promoting China-Africa public diplomacy and investment cooperation in the new era.

This paper empirically investigates the relation between firm performance in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the need and likelihood of external financing to test the predictions of agency and stakeholder theories. Empirical results from Logit, Linear Probability Model, OLS and Firm fixed effects regressions indicate that CSR is negatively related to the likelihood and level of external financing. Further analysis indicates that CSR has a negative and significant effect on both net equity issued (NEI) and net debt issued (NDI), the two components of external financing. Overall, the empirical results support the predictions of agency theory.

This study aims to examine the effects of student loan debt on the decisions of U.S. married households to invest in stocks located in non-retirement accounts. Using longitudinal datasets from the 2011 to 2017 U.S. Panel Study of Income Dynamics and a fixed effects logit model, the results show mixed findings. The presence of student debt decreases the probability that married households will own stocks, but the amount of student debt does not show a statistically significant effect. The findings suggest that the incidence of student debt raises the perception of liquidity constraints and debt burden among married households.

We analyze the annual microdata of China's 100 commercial banks from 2007 to 2018 using the mediating effect analysis method, analyze the negative impact of economic policy uncertainty on the credit scale of commercial banks, and then verify the intermediary effects of the operational risks and short-term capital liquidity of commercial banks in the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the scale of commercial bank credit, separately. Moreover, we find that non-state-owned commercial banks, large-scale commercial banks, low-leverage commercial banks, and commercial banks with low profitability are more susceptible to economic policy uncertainty affecting commercial bank credit growth through short-term capital liquidity, and vice versa.

This paper evaluates the treatment effect of high-speed rail (HSR) operation on city consumption using the dataset of Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019. Firstly, the applicability of observations is discussed; secondly, observations with no appropriate contrast samples are dropped for more precise empirical results. Then, propensity score matching (PSM) is implied to have the database much more balanced and suitable for the difference-in-difference (DID) framework, that is, the PSM-DID approach. The main results find a novel phenomenon of Simpson's paradox regarding the HSR-consumption nexus, which indicates that even though we can observe the positive effect on the whole, the results argue negative relationships between HSR and consumption within subclass cities. In addition, a dose-response assessment (DR) and some other checks have been proposed to demonstrate robust estimation results.

This study delves into the intricate interconnections among the financial sector, macroeconomic dynamics, and the advancement of sustainable energy production in South Asia. Utilizing data from 1987 to 2022 in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, the research employs the Structural Vector Autoregressive (SVAR) method to analyze financial market responses. The findings reveal nuanced insights into the complex relationship between economic and environmental factors, fostering a comprehensive understanding of the region's intricate nexus between financial markets and sustainable energy initiatives. In the Economic Growth model, the negative coefficient for CO2 emissions underscores environmental concerns, indicating an inverse relationship with economic growth. Conversely, positive coefficients for non-fossil energy production, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit emphasize their positive impact on economic growth. A positive GDP coefficient in the CO2 emission model signifies heightened carbon emissions with economic growth, while a negative coefficient for non-fossil energy production suggests potential environmental benefits. The nearly unitary positive coefficient for Gross Fixed Capital Formation highlights its significant role in driving carbon emissions. The Non-Fossil Energy Production model reveals an inverse relationship between GDP and clean energy, suggesting a potential reliance on fossil fuels during economic growth. Positive coefficients for CO2 emissions, Gross Fixed Capital Formation, stock exchange value, and domestic credit highlight factors influencing non-fossil energy production. Long-run stable coefficients affirm variable significance, while a negative error correction term suggests convergence in developing countries. These models offer nuanced insights into the intricate relationships among economic, environmental, and energy variables, guiding sustainable development policies in South Asia.

The purpose of this paper is to examine and elucidate the effect of the announcement of winning a US federal contract by pharmaceutical companies, traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange on the share prices. The analysis is based on a sample of 327 event days from 12 pharmaceutical companies listed on the NASDAQ market for a given period (2010 – 2021). The sample is analysed by using the event study methodology and Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) in order to examine the abnormal returns and cumulative abnormal returns during an event window of 10 days before the event and 10 days after the event. While prior researchers have identified significant positive abnormal returns following different types of contract announcements, this study aims to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the specific impact of the public contract in the pharmaceutical market on market shares. By investigating this unique aspect, the research fills a gap in previous studies and enhances our understanding of the relationship between public contract announcements and market performance. The data collection utilises secondary data from the official open data source of US federal spending information and daily stock prices. The collected data is analysed quantitatively using event study methodology, allowing for statistical examination of abnormal returns, such as ANOVA analysis, t-statistic, beta index, time series analysis and linear regression. The research findings indicate a significant impact of public contract-winning announcements on cumulative abnormal returns, suggesting a positive reaction from the market. However, average abnormal returns within the event window were positive but not statistically significant. These results imply that winning a government contract has a limited impact on the stock market. The implications of this research highlight the importance of public contract announcements in the pharmaceutical industry and their influence on share prices. The findings provide valuable insights for investors and stakeholders, aiding decision-making processes related to investment opportunities and market performance.

Although docetaxel treatment yields a high survival rate for prostate cancer (PCa), resistance eventually develops in many patients. Understanding the underlying mechanisms of docetaxel resistance is essential for improving treatment strategies. Cytokines, which play a role in cell signaling and immune responses, have been implicated in drug resistance mechanisms. The study revealed that interleukin-8 (IL-8) was consistently overexpressed in both docetaxel-resistant PCa cell lines. Thus, the expression levels of cytokines released from docetaxel-sensitive (PC-3- and DU-145) and resistant (PC-3/R-DU-145/R) PCa cells were compared. IL-8 was found to be commonly expressed in resistant cell lines. This finding led to the hypothesis that IL-8 could play a key role in mediating PCa cell resistance to docetaxel. IL-8 siRNA treatment increased docetaxel sensitivity in both resistant cells. To demonstrate the mechanism of IL-8-related resistance, MDR1 expression was evaluated. After IL-8 siRNA treatment MDR1 expression was reduced in both resistant cells suggesting that IL-8 regulates the docetaxel resistance of PCa cells via modulation of multidrug resistance 1 (MDR1). By expanding the knowledge of the cytokines and their effect mechanisms, novel approaches can be developed for the treatment of docetaxel-resistant prostate cancer. Further investigations into the role of IL-8 in docetaxel resistance could offer valuable insights into the development of effective treatment strategies for PCa patients.

This study analyses the effects of piped water on household food consumption per capita by adopting inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment and endogenous treatment effects approaches with data from the Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey carried out in 2013 and 2017. A complementary analysis of the effects on primary household income per working-age member is also conducted to give insights into the potential consequences. The study also conducts a robustness check by estimating the fixed effects of piped water utilising village panel data. The results suggest that households using piped water are likely to enjoy higher food consumption per capita, with a complementary finding demonstrating that the use of piped water is likely to increase household income per working-age member.

The signing of RCEP has created new opportunities for the development of China's export trade, and international logistics capacity is an important factor affecting the conduct of international trade. This paper qualitatively describes and analyzes the LPI index and its sub-indicators of RCEP member countries, and empirically investigates the impact of logistics performance level on China's export trade through an extended gravity model. The study shows that there are large differences in logistics performance levels among RCEP member countries, especially in South Asia, where the quality of logistics infrastructure and customs efficiency are the most lagging behind, which are the key factors pulling down the logistics performance index; the signing of RCEP has effectively promoted China's foreign trade level, but there are great differences in export amounts to different countries, and the logistics performance levels of importing countries and China's export trade are significant positive correlation, the improvement of logistics performance is conducive to promoting China's export trade to RCEP member countries, and from the viewpoint of logistics links, the role of logistics infrastructure quality is the strongest, and the influence of cargo transportation timeliness is the weakest.

The rise of privately issued digital currencies, which primarily serve as alternative investment assets poses a challenge to the traditional financial instruments traded in the financial market. This study examines the dynamic relationship between the major privately issued digital currency (Bitcoin) and two financial market securities in Nigeria. The paper employed Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model and presents three relevant findings. First, the impulse response function indicates the absence of a significant response of the Nigerian financial market to shocks emanating from the Bitcoin market, implying lower connectedness between the two markets. Secondly, the outcome of the variance decomposition reveals a lower contribution of Bitcoin to changes in stock prices and treasury bills, however, stock prices and treasury bills contributed higher impact to each other compared to the contribution of Bitcoin. Thirdly, a weak bi-directional causality between the Bitcoin and treasury bills was observed and a uni-directional causality running from treasury bills and stocks, implying the existence of portfolio rebalancing from the fixed income to the equities market. Despite the weak connection between digital currency and the financial market, the paper recommends that the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Securities and Exchange Commission should maintain monitoring the development of crypto exchanges and continue reviewing the existing policy restricting cryptocurrency transactions through banks to avoid its unsavoury effects.