Repositioning fertilizer manufacturing subsidies for improving food security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions in China

China removed fertilizer manufacturing subsidies from 2015 to 2018 to bolster market-oriented reforms and foster environmentally sustainable practices.However,the impact of this policy reform on food security and the environment remains inadequately evaluated.Moreover,although green and low-carbon technologies offer environmental advantages,their widespread adoption is hindered by prohibitively high costs.This study analyzes the impact of removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies and explores the potential feasibility of redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in the diffusion of these technologies.Utilizing the China Agricultural University Agri-food Systems model,we analyzed the potential for achieving mutually beneficial outcomes regarding food security and environmental sustainability.The findings indicate that removing fertilizer manufacturing subsidies has reduced greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions from agricultural activities by 3.88 million metric tons,with minimal impact on food production.Redirecting fertilizer manufacturing subsidies to invest in green and low-carbon technologies,including slow and controlled-release fertilizer,organic-inorganic compound fertilizers,and machine deep placement of fertilizer,emerges as a strategy to concurrently curtail GHG emissions,ensure food security,and secure robust economic returns.Finally,we propose a comprehensive set of government interventions,including subsidies,field guidance,and improved extension systems,to promote the widespread adoption of these technologies.

Government subsidies, dual-credit policy, and enterprise performance: Empirical evidence from Chinese listed new energy vehicle companies

The development of the new energy vehicle industry has become a key force driving the goals of carbon peak and carbon neutralization.To better guide future strategies,this study investigates the dual impact of subsidy and dual-integral policies on the performance of new energy vehicle enterprises.This study first theorizes the influential mechanism according to the institutional-based approach and technical innovation theory,and then collects data from listed companies in the new energy vehicle industry from 2016 to 2020.The hypotheses are examined using a two-way fixed-effects model.The findings show that:(1)subsidy policies are can still improve enterprise performance,but not through green technology innovation;(2)the dual-credit policy can improve enterprise performance through green technology innovation;and(3)under current policy conditions,with subsidies declining annually,the interaction effects between the subsidy and dual-integral policies will also decrease.Thus,this study suggests that non-monetary industrial policy,represented by the dual credit policy is a more effective alternative to government subsidies.

The twisted path from farm subsidies to health care expenditures

Overweight and obese individuals are at increased risk for many diseases and health conditions, including but not limited to the following: hypertension;osteoarthritis;dyslipidemia;type 2 diabetes;coronary heart disease and stroke. Consequently, individuals who are obese are more likely to use health services and are more likely to use costly health services than non-obese individuals. Between 1987 and 2001, growth in obesity related health expenditures accounted for 27 percent of the growth in inflation-adjusted per capita health care spending. Researchers, popular press and the television news media have paid considerable attention to the effect that farm subsidies have on dietary habits and obesity. Prominent researchers in the field have concluded that US farm subsidies have had a negligible impact on obesity. However, even small increases in obesity rates are associated with higher health care expenditures. The primary intent of this study is to break down the linkages from farm subsidy to health expenditure and shed light on the unintended implications of the farm subsidy program. We find that agricultural subsidies have the potential to influence health care expenditures.

AModeling Analysis of Local Governments Competing in Offering Subsidies to Attract Investment：the Cause of Industrial Overcapacity]

Although championed by academia and policy-makers, the theory of ＂wave phenomenon＂ is a questionable explanation for overcapacity. First, enterprises do not necessarily share the same expectation for future demand of a promising industry. Second, in its model, overcapacity is explained as a deviation from equilibrium under the incomplete information hypothesis, which is in fact nothing but normal in a market economy. The prime reason for overcapacity resides in the fact that local governments are engaged in a subsidy competition to attract investment. We endeavor to illustrate the following via modeling： the subsidy effect produced by local government＇s offering of cheaper land and matching loans results in less investment from companies. Under this circumstance, enterprises channel a disproportionate amount of funding to building production capacity, which overloads the entire industry. To address the problem, reforms are needed in land property, environmental protection policies, and financial and fiscal systems.

The Impacts of Agricultural Machinery Purchase Subsidies on Mechanized Crop Residue Recycling

Crop residue recycling can improve the quality of the cropland,and it has multiple economic and ecological benefits.However,such practice is with low adoption due to different constraints.In this paper,we use the survey data from Baoding,Hebei province,and use the probit model to explore how the agricultural machinery purchase subsidies affect the mechanized crop residue recycling.The results showed that several factors that affect farmers in adopting the practice of mechanized crop residue crop recycling.Among these factors,the cost of adopting such practice is significant.The agricultural machinery purchase subsidies can effectively reduce the cost of such practice,as well as promote mechanized crop residue recycling.The paper also proposed several actions in the future.They include increasing the subsidies on agricultural machinery purchase and increasing farmers' awareness on crop residue recycling.

Impact of Removal of City Gas Subsidies on Chinese Urban Residents

The current cost-plus natural gas pricing mechanism makes the gas price too low,resulting in a lot of consumer-side subsidies and over-consumed natural gas.This paper applies the price-gap approach and input-output analysis technology to quantitatively analyze both the direct and indirect effects on urban residents under the condition that natural gas subsidies are cancelled in China in 2007.It is shown that the gas price will increase by 33.3%-41.6%,and the residential consumption expenditure by 0.26%-0.33%.The low-income groups are mostly affected,so different subsidies should be implemented to make subsidies more efficient.

Role of government subsidies in the new energy vehicle charging infrastructure industry:a three-party game perspective

With the new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation,China has posited the direction of“new infrastructure”in 2020.As one of the seven major industries of the“new infrastructure”,the charging infrastructure(CI)industry not only supports the upgrade of the new energy vehicle industry but also provides developing platforms for emerging industries,such as wireless charging,energy storage,smart microgrid,and new energy consumption.Therefore,the government’s supporting role is crucial for the CI industry.To effectively explore the effectiveness of government’s subsidy policy in the CI industry and promote its healthy development,we employed a game model and discussed the government's evolution process of different game strategies between CI and battery-swapping station(BSS)operators in this study.First,China's government subsidies for the electric vehicle(EV)industry were classified into CIs and BSSs.The subsidies obtained by the CI operators were operating subsidies,whereas those obtained by BSSs were investment subsidies.Second,a game model was constructed,involving the government,operators,and users.The model used backward induction to seek the refined Nash equilibrium solution for CIs and BSS operators.The Nash equilibrium solution indicated that the optimal investment amount and BSS quantity of the operator were positively correlated with the government subsidy intensity.When the profitability of the operators increased and the amount of the subsidies increased,consumers’willingness to use EVs increased and the policy effects were closely related to the benefits of government management.The decisions made by either the users or the operators were inversely related to the operators’management efficiency.Besides,the subsidy policy was affected by the government management.Therefore,in the implementation stage of the government’s future subsidy policies,the government needs to innovate and improve management effectiveness.The government could use subsidy policies as a driving force for developing the CI industry to build a comprehensive ecosystem of the industry,which is also the next key point for the government to promote the development of the CI industry in the future.

Assessment of natural resources and the policy of subsidies in grain production

Based on the analysis on the status quo of natural resources input in Brain production and on the policy of Brain subsidies, this paper puts forward a new idea - establishing grain subsidies through assessing the value of the natural resources in Brain production. The assessment of the natural resources in Brain production provides rationale and reference standard for the policy of Brain subsidies, which will promote the sustainable use of natural resources accordingly. This paper concludes： （1） it is necessary for the grain subsidies to assess the full value of natural resources, including economic value, ecological value and social value： （2） the government should give farmers direct subsidies or environment subsidies according to the economic and ecological value of natural resources in grain production, （3） the social value of natural resources can be realized by establishing the country social security system, taking the social value as the criterion for the payment for part of farmers＇ insurance.

The General and Structural Effect of " Four Agricultural Subsidies " on Grain Yield: Empirical Analysis of Chongqing City

On the basis of empirical data concerning " four agricultural subsidies" in Chongqing City,we establish panel data model to analyze the general effect of " four agricultural subsidies" on grain yield,and the structural effect of " four agricultural subsidies" on grain yield. Based on the F-test and Hausman test,we estimate the model using GLS or FGLS method. The results show that " four agricultural subsidies" have significant positive effect on grain yield; the structural effect of " four agricultural subsidies" on grain yield is different (comprehensive subsidies for means of agricultural production has the strongest effect on grain yield,followed by subsidies for promotion of improved variety of seed; the effect of subsidies for purchase of agricultural machinery on grain yield is not significant) . Therefore,governments at all levels should continue to strengthen the support efforts in " four agricultural subsidies" ,and continually optimize the structure to increase grain yield.

Factors Influencing Farmers' Willingness to Participate in Plant Protection Machinery Subsidies

In order to have an overview of implementation of the subsidy policy for purchase of plant protection machinery in Fujian Province, based on the questionnaire data on Fujian Province, we use Logit model to conduct empirical analysis of factors influencing farmers' willingness to participate in the subsidy policy for purchase of plant protection machinery. Research results show that there are 69.4% of farmers willing to participate in the subsidy policy for purchase of plant protection machinery; farmers' growing area has a significant impact on the willingness to participate in the subsidy policy for purchase of plant protection machinery, and there is negative correlation; educational level, experience in planting, family farming pure income all have a significant positive impact on the willingness to participate in the subsidy policy.

A Review of Different Types of Subsidies and How They Work in Theory

This paper gives a brief review on types of subsidies and how they work in theory.The paper identified three types of subsidies:subsidies that increase revenue,subsidies that lower the cost of production,and subsidies that are not linked to production or input.With the use of graphic examples to describe the partial effects of subsidies on supply and demand,the following findings were obtained:one,for producers to sell more,they will need to produce more,and in order to produce more,a higher input level is required,which depends on the marginal productivity of the inputs;two,the larger the elasticity for supply and demand of input(the more responsive supply and demand are to changes in the price of the input),the larger quantity of input used for a given level of support,and thereby increasing the associated environmental damage from the use of that particular input;three,for a given demand curve,a shallow supply curve(reflecting a large price elasticity of supply)will yield larger volume effects in response to a certain change in price compared to a steep supply curve and vise a verse.Finally,the study found input subsidy as an example of subsidies that lower the cost of production,and direct income support or unconditional lump sum support to an industry as an example of subsidies that are not linked to production or input.

Analysis of Theoretical Basis of Direct Subsidies for Grain Production

Financial distribution to compensate grain production reflects governmental macro-control on grain production and supply. With the reference of agricultural basic theory,agricultural multi-function theory,economic externality theory,public finance and other theories,this article points out that direct subsidies for grain production is reasonable and necessary with six main theoretical basis,namely fundamentality,multi-function,positive externality of grain production,particularity of grain supply and demand,grain safety being closely linked with national security and basic function of service-oriented government.

Quantitative Assessment of the Impact of China's Direct Grain Subsidies on Grain Yield--Based on the Empirical Analysis of Panel Data Pertaining to 29 Provinces in the Period 2004-2007

We build the influence function empirical model of China's grain production at the present stage in view of the factors influencing direct grain subsidies,using Cobb-Douglas production function model.And we estimate the elasticity coefficient of impact of China's direct grain subsidies on grain yield,using the panel data pertaining to 29 provinces in the period 2004-2007;comparatively analyze the validity and limitation of policy factors of direct grain subsidies on China's grain yield.The results show that at the present stage,the elasticity coefficient of impact of China's direct grain subsidies on grain yield is 0.002 3,and under the existing subsidy system and level,direct grain subsidies play a positive role in increasing grain yield,but the role is limited;the elasticity coefficient of impact of the food price on grain yield is much larger than that of impact of direct grain subsidies on grain yield.Therefore,the government should strengthen and improve direct grain subsidy policies;in the mean time,pay full attention to the use of market mechanism to consolidate the basic role of the food price in promoting food security to a great extent.

The Relationship between Government Subsidies and Research & Development Investment of Chinese Agricultural Listed Companies

Based on the background of China's emerging and transitional market,government subsidies to enterprises are regarded as a " helping hand" of promoting economic structural adjustment. In this paper,using China's A-share agricultural listed companies from 2010 to 2015 as research samples,we discuss the influence of government subsidies on research and development( hereinafter referred to as R & D) investment,and the difference in the relationships between the two from the perspective of different nature of property rights. The results show that,on the whole,the increase in government subsidies does not promote the intensity of R & D investment of agricultural listed companies. And after distinguishing the nature of property rights,the results show that state-owned enterprises can get more government subsidies than private enterprises,and the increase in government subsidies boosts the increase in R & D investment in private enterprises,but there is a negative correlation between government subsidies and R & D investment of state-owned enterprises. This conclusion can broaden the research perspective of the influence factors of corporate R & D investment,and it is of practical significance to further clarify the role of government subsidies in R & D investment decisions of enterprises with different nature of property rights.

The Issue of Precision Agriculture in International Trade： An Analysis in Terms of Subsidies

At the present time, world agriculture is influenced by a set of new technologies grouped under the generic name of precision agriculture （PA）. Based on a study of the cotton sector, this article examines the effects of adopting PA with regard to international trade. We examine whether PA can contribute to the further destabilization of the terms of trade between countries in Central and West Africa （CWA） and Northern countries. We show that PA can be used by Northern countries at the expense of CWA, since it is used to implement strategic commercial policies based on subsidies. These policies are made more credible by the fact that international authorities cannot easily condemn them.

Media Governance, state Subsidies and Impacts on Regional Press and Radio

Similarly to what happens in other European countries, Portugal has been feeling the need to rethink its public state subsidy scheme to media. In this context, this paper presents an analysis of the impacts arising from the provision of such subventions in local and regional media, questioning if the state support system is adequate to the business reality and contributing to improving it. Hence, this work reflects regional realities in the national context, being also, in a greater scale, a mirror of the models prevalent in Europe, a continent marked by significant state intervention. This study also establishes a diverse set of information, including an intensive collection of empirical data on the impact of direct incentives on the companies＇ performance, product quality, market competitiveness and pluralism of voices in the regional and local information market, based on a case study on the Portuguese state support system and the analysis of 21 local and regional media companies. In fact, the results of this research point out that, although these incentives are considered by the affected media companies as very important, having positive impacts regarding the improvement of journalistic products （such as online presence on the Intemet）, maintaining human resources and promoting the pluralism of voices; they do not seem to be adequately efficient to provide a sustainable growth in local and regional media.

Influence of government subsidies on western enterprise technology innovation

With the deepening of the western development,supports of the country for the western region of China continued to increase.It also includes the support for enterprise innovation activities,by reducing the tax,exemption,subsidies and other means.Due to the effect of government subsidies on enterprise innovation activities is different in different regions,industries and so on,there is a big controversy.Therefore,we use the panel data of listed companies in manufacturing industry of western region as samples for empirical research,to research the effect of government subsidies on enterprise innovation activities in the western of China,the study found that overall,the current government subsidies has a positive effect on Enterprise R&D investment,whereas the last year's government subsidy has a negative effect on R&D investment,but it's incentive effect is greater than the crowding out effect.The study also found there are different effects between the state-owned enterprises and private enterprises,the crowding out effect of private enterprises is very small and not significant.

Policy of giving rewards and subsidies for grassland ecological conservation in Tibetan Plateau

This paper aims to explore the impact of policy of giving rewards and subsidies(GRS) for grassland ecological conservation in Tibetan Plateau implemented by the Chinese government since 2009.Taking Gerze County in Ngari Prefecture in the Tibetan Autonomous Region(TAR) as an example,it discusses the objective,implementation and outcome of that policy with regard to the ecological reconstruction and problems that have ensured.Located in the northern part of the Qiangtang Plateau,Gerze is the largest county in Ngari Prefecture.It covers more than 7.8 million acres of pastureland,of which 6.2 million acres are usable for pastoralism; 3.4 million acres,however,lack water source.In recent decades,due to the increased population and other reasons,pastures of the area have shown signs of overgrazing,thus leading to serious degradation,desertification and salinization of the grassland.Since 2009,when neighboring Coqin County was chosen as a pilot site for the national ecological incentive and subsidy policy(or: ecological compensation policy),Gerze has also started to adopt this policy and brought ful implementation in 2010.Its purpose is to solve the problem of overgrazing.But like other policies carried out in Gerze,its implementation is faced with many challenges.First,it is difficult to define the types and scopes of the incentives and subsidies,which have become a major source of complaints of the local herdsmen.Second,the local herdsmen are also concerned with the fairness of assigning rewards and subsidies.Third,the high cost of the policy's implementation and supervision reduces its effects.Fourth,the fact that the herdsmen are not willing to reduce livestock population makes it difficult for the policy to achieve actual results.The author thinks it's necessary to revise and improve the current ecological incentive and subsidy policy.

Government Subsidies and Enterprise Innovation:Moderation Effect of Absorbed Slack

It is worth studying whether enterprises receiving government subsidies can transform them into innovative achievements under the constraints of enterprise resources.The data from the three industries of electronics,pharmaceuticals,and information technology during 2013-2016 were empirical tested to verify the moderating effect of the absorbed slack on the relationship between government subsidies and enterprise innovation.The results show that government subsidies can promote enterprise innovation;absorbed slack promotes enterprise innovation;the absorbed slack of enterprises plays a positive moderation role in the relationship between government subsidy and enterprise innovation.In other words,the enterprises with high absorbed slack can promote the innovation of enterprises by government subsidies.The conclusions provide theoretical guidance for government departments to select the most suitable enterprises which accept innovative subsidies.

Optimization of Structure of Agricultural Insurance Subsidies:A Multi-task Principal Agent Model

Optimizing the structure of agricultural insurance subsidies is of great significance to increasing the supply of agricultural insurance and strengthening the effects of agricultural insurance policies.This paper optimized the structure of agricultural insurance subsidies.It decomposed insurance activities into three parts:underwriting,claim settlement,and agricultural services.Next,it incorporated adverse selection risks,moral hazards,agricultural production and operation risks,insurance company's behavioral decisions and its risk attitudes into the multi-task principal agent analysis framework.Finally,it discussed how the government designs a subsidy mechanism and adjusts the subsidy structure to increase the insurance supply.