Measurement and Interpretation of Connectivity of Chinese Cities in World City Network,2010

This is an empirical paper that measures and interprets the position of Chinese cities in the world city network in 2010. Building on a specification of the world city network as a′interlocking network′in which business services firms play the crucial role in city network formation, information is gathered about the presence of global service firms in cities. This information is converted into data to provide the′service value′of a city for a firm′s provision of corporate services in a 526(cities)×175(firms) matrix. These data are then used as the input to the interlocking network model in order to measure cities′connectivity and its predominant geographical orientation. Here we focus on the position of some key Chinese cities in this regard, and discuss and interpret results in the context of the urban dimensions of the′opening up′of the Chinese economy.

Could more innovation output bring better financial performance?The role of financial constraints

Innovation scholars highlight the economic benefits to firms,while research findings on the relationship between innovation output and economic returns remain mixed.In this study,we develop the profiting from innovation(PFI)framework and address the crucial role of financial constraints in the relationship between innovation output and financial performance.We argue that the liability of newness differentiates firms’financial performance during the commercialization of innovation,leading to a U-shaped relationship between firms’innovation output and financial performance.We further document the moderating impact of individual financial constraints(IFC)and market-based financial constraints(MFC)on this curvilinear relationship.Empirical tests based on the 142,972 firm-year observations of the multi-source dataset of Chinese manufacturing firms from 1999–2009 support our hypotheses.The additional analysis shows that non-state-owned enterprises and small and medium enterprises benefit more from the synergistic effect of reductions of IFC and MFC than state-owned enterprises and large firms.Our study enriches the literature of the PFI framework by uncovering the mechanism between innovation output and economic returns where financial constraints play an essential role.To the best of our knowledge,we are among the first to investigate the processes and mechanisms between innovation output and financial performance,generating novel insights for business practitioners and policymakers.

The impact of lockdown policy on depressive symptoms among pregnant women in China:mediating effects of internet use and family support

Background:Although more and more attention has been paid to the psychological consequences of the lockdown policy amongst pregnant women,the underlying mechanism linking the lockdown policy to maternal depression has not been studied in the context of China.This study aimed to explore the association between the lockdown policy and maternal depressive symptoms,and whether such association was mediated by internet use and/or family support.Methods:This cross-sectional study used multi-stage sampling techniques in central and western China.Data were collected from 1266 pregnant women using a structtured questionnaire that measured internet use,family support,and depressive symptoms.The Patient Health Questionnaire-9(PHQ-9)was used to measure depressive symptoms.Internet use was measured by length of usage and varierity of purpose for internet use.Family support was measureed by spousal support and parental support.The structural equation modelling was employed to conduct mediation analysis to test the specificity of the hypothetical paths.Results:Overall,527 respondents(41.63%)presented depressive symptoms.The lockdown policy was negatively associated with depressive symptoms in pregnant women(β=−0.925,95%CI=−1.510,−0.360).The impact of the lockdown policy on depressive symptoms was partially mediated by internet use(β=1.589,95%CI=0.730,2.807)and family support(β=−0.162,95%CI=−0.341,−0.017),accounting for 42.67%of the total effect.Conclusions:The lockdown policy was generally associated with fewer depressive symptoms in pregnant women.The lockdown policy increased maternal depressive symptoms through increased internet use,but decreased maternal depressive symptoms through enhanced family support.The findings suggest that the psychological consequence of the lockdown policy may vary across different populations,and warrant the need to take into consideration the features of subgroups.

Non-Value-Added Tax to improve market fairness and quality

The promotion of both market fairness and efficiency has long been a goal of securities market regulators worldwide.Accelerated digital disruption and abusive trading behaviors,such as the GameStop mania,prompt regulatory changes.It is unclear how this“democratization”of trading power affects market fairness as economies cope with pandemic-driven shifts in basic systems.Excessive speculation and market manipulation undermine the quality of financial markets in the sense that they cause volatil-ity and increase the pain of bubble and crash events.Thereby,they weaken public confidence in financial markets to fulfill their roles in proper capital allocation to irrigate the real economy and generate value for society.While previous studies have mostly focused on market efficiency,our study proposes a tool to improve market fairness,even under periods of stress.To encourage value generation and improve market quality,we advance a graduated Non-Value-Added Tax that we implement in an agent-based model that can realistically capture the properties of real-world financial markets.A profitable transaction is taxed at a higher rate if it does not enhance the efficiency measured by deviation from fundamentals.When an agent locks in profit not supported by fundamentals but driven by trend-following strategies,the generated profit is taxed at various rates under the Non-Value-Added Tax regime.Unlike existing financial transaction taxes,the non-value-added tax is levied on profit rather than on price or volume.We show that the proposed tax encourages profitable trades that add value to the market and discourages valueless profit-making.It significantly curtails volatility and prevents the occurrence of extreme market events,such as bubbles and crashes.