The impact of political connections on firm pollution: New evidence based on heterogeneous environmental regulation

Increasing attention has been focused on the extent to which corporate political connections influence the growing pollution due to the rapid growth in the popularity of firm pollution in developing countries.We adopt a static threshold regression model to investigate the effects of heterogeneous environmental regulation on political connections and firm pollution based on the panel data from China’s A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2019.The empirical results show a non-linear relationship between the degree of political connection of listed company executives and the level of firm pollution.And the relationship between the two roughly presents a U-shaped relationship under the action of the marketincentive environmental regulation threshold.However,it roughly presents an inverted N-shaped relationship under the action of the command-control environmental regulation threshold.Additionally,the group test results show that the existence of regional and ownership heterogeneity causes certain differences in the environmental behaviour of politically connected enterprises.These findings indicate that diverse environmental regulations are needed to promote sustainable green development and to further expand the theoretical and practical exploration of political connections on firm pollution.

Political Connection, the Nature of Property Rights, and Enterprise M＆A Performance——Empirical Study based on the Panel Data of Listed Companies

Mergers and acquisitions （M＆A） are the important methods to quickly acquire external resources, achieve the economies of scale and the economies of scope, improve market share, and expand the scale of enterprise, while M＆A performance is an important index to measure if enterprise M＆A is successful. In this paper, the influence of entrepreneurs＇ political connection on the M＆A driving factors and M＆A efficiency of the enterprises with different property rights are analyzed using 357 mergers and acquisitions of China＇ s 189 listed companies in 2005-2011 as samples based on the distinction between political connection and the nature of enterprise property rights. The results show that the political connection plays a very significant positive influence on the M＆A performances of the central state-owned enterprises and private enterprises, but exerts a very significant negative influence on the local state-owned enterprises; the intensity of entrepreneurs＇ political connection also plays a certain influence on enterprise merger and acquisition, and the central political connection and the local political connection are significantly different in the influence on the enterprise M＆A performance.

Study on the Connection Problems and Countermeasures of the Integration of Ideological and Political Courses in Colleges and Primary and Middle Schools

The integration of ideological and political curriculum which exists in colleges and compulsory education is a powerful guarantee for enhancing the effectiveness of the course.Putting theoretical content as well as teaching practice into effect contributes to every improvement and new idea about the curriculum.Facing the new circumstances,new tasks,and new challenges under the social background,it is necessary to reinforce the connection of the integration of the subject in universities and colleges and compulsory education,and take problems as the research direction for the sake of expanding the channels for courses ideological and political construction,and understand the integrated evolution of ideological and political theory courses of undergraduate and specialist education and compulsory education to a higher degree.Grasping the current situation and problems of the theory curriculum in colleges and compulsory education,and exploring the content of the theory in undergraduate and specialist education and compulsory education are of great significance,both in the integrated construction of ideological and political theory courses of undergraduate and specialist education and compulsory education and in making the best of the courses to implement the basic task of fostering people.

Disrupted functional connectivity of default mode network and executive control network in patients with vascular cognitive impairment, no dementia

Objective： To investigate functional connectivity within default mode network （DMN） and ex-ecutive control network （ECN） in vascular cognitive im-pairment, no dementia （VCIND）. Methods： Twenty-eight VCIND patients and sixteen healthy controls were recruit-ed. A seed-based connectivity analysis was performed us-ing data from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging （fMRI）. Based on previous fndings, posteriorcingulate cortex （PCC） and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex （DLPFC） were chosen as regions of interest to study these networks.One-sample t-test and two-sample t-test were used for statistical analysis. Results： Compared with thecontrols, the VCIND group exhibited increased functional activity in such DMN regions as the left inferior temporal gyrus, parahippocampal gyrus, and medial frontal gyrus. The VCIND group had decreased functional connectivity of DMN at right superior frontal gyrus, left mid-cingu-late area, the medial part of left superior frontal gyrus, and bilateral medial frontal gyrus. The VCIND group also showed decreased functional connectivity of ECN pri-marilyat left inferior parietal gyrus, right angular gyrus, right middle occipital gyrus, and right middle frontal cor-tex. Conclusions： Increased functional connectivity with-in DMN and decreased functional connectivity within ECN suggested dysfunction of these two networks, which mightbe associated with the cognitive defcitsin patients with VCIND. These fndingsmay help usunderstandthe pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of VCIND.

Economic Policy Uncertainty,Heterogeneity of Executives and Enterprise Innovation

This study analyzes how economic policy uncertainty affects corporate innovation,and the moderating effects of executive heterogeneity.A threephase dynamic investment and financing model is first built to analyze the mechanism.Empirical analysis confirms that the increase in the degree of economic policy uncertainty promotes enterprise innovation.Further results show that this promotion effect is more significant in enterprises with male executives,low educational level,no financial experience and political background.Moreover,the positive impact is only found in enterprises with moderate executive ability,and the overconfidence of senior executives plays a positive regulating role in it.

Do Political Connections Promote Innovation in Environmentally Polluting Enterprises?

We use an unbalanced panel data analysis to examine the effect of political connections(PCs)in state-owned enterprises(SOE)and non-SOEs on the innovation of Chinese environmentally polluting enterprises listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2007 to 2016.Our sample consists of 792 firms and 4587 firm-year observations.There are several interesting findings.First,SOEs that are politically linked to the central government promote more innovation in general and more environmental innovation than SOEs without these links.Second,privately-owned enterprises(non-SOEs)with PCs promote less environmental innovation than non-SOEs without PCs.Third,environmental regulation does not affect the environmental innovation of SOEs but it drives non-SOEs with PCs to become more environmentally innovative.Our results enable us to better understand how PCs and regulations affect environmental innovation.

The costs of socializing with government officials:A new measure of corporate political connections

We construct a new measure to capture corporate political connections, which is based on the amount a corporation spends on socializing with government officials. We examine the validity of this measure using the exogenous turnover of top local officials and find that firms increase their political networking expenditures when top local officials are replaced. Compared to state-owned enterprises(SOEs), non-state-owned enterprises(non-SOEs) react more aggressively to changes in local officials, which implies that non-SOEs have stronger incentives to build political connections with officials through social intercourse. We also find that firms located in regions with low levels of marketization react more aggressively to the turnover of local politicians. In addition, we find a positive effect of corporate political socializing expenditures on corporate performance and valuation, which suggests that political connections built through social intercourse benefit corporations.

Political connections, media monitoring and long-term loans

We analyze data on Chinese non-state-listed firms and find that it is easier for firms with political connections to obtain long-term loans with extended debt maturities than it is for firms without political connections. Our investigation indicates that this phenomenon is significantly less common with increased media monitoring. Houston et al.(2011) find strong evidence that the state ownership of media is associated with higher levels of bank corruption in China, but our study shows that, to a certain extent, media monitoring can curb corruption.

Human Mirror Neuron System (hMNS) Specific Differences in Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Self-Reported Democrats and Republicans: A Pilot Study

In light of ever-present partisan division in the US political system, it is critical that researchers gain a better under-standing of potential biological differences that exist between self-professed Democrats and Republicans. In the current pilot experiment, we examined differences within the human mirror neuron system (hMNS), a network linked to a host of social and emotional abilities, in a small group of self-identified Republicans and Democrats. We found clear differences between these two groups with respect to resting-state brain connectivity within the hMNS. These neural differences were not systematically related to differences in empathy. Our findings are consistent with the idea that other factors, such as one’s preferential type of social connectivity (broad vs. tight), may have driven the reported findings. These data provide novel insights regarding our knowledge of the biological basis of party identification, and suggest specific directions for future research.

Are transactional political connections more valuable to firms than relational political connections?

Political connections are an increasingly important part of firms’strategies to develop relationships with the government and poli-ticians.This study examines the impact of transactional and rela-tional political connections on firm value.The results show that transactionally connected firms are more likely to exhibit greater firm value than their relationally connected and non-connected counterparts.This study further finds evidence of a long-term value-enhancing effect of the transactional approach to political connections.A variety of robustness tests with alternative model specifications continue to show that transactional political con-nections lead to higher firm value.The findings indicate that firms with transactional political connections are provided with better networks with the political regime in power compared with those with relational political connections.These transactionally con-nected firms may enjoy preferential treatment from the govern-ment,in the form of lower taxes,and the access to government loans,subsidies,bailouts,and/or procurement contracts.

The Relation between Abnormal Main Fund Movements and Subsequent Earnings Management： Political Costs and Political Connections

Movement of major fund1 flows has great impact on capital markets, especially in China. This study investigates the relationship between abnormal main fund movements and firm＇s earnings management behavior, specifically, whether the abnormal main fund movements cause firms to keep a low profile for ＂self-protection＂ from being detected by the government. The empirical results of this study suggest that： （1） The mandatory disclosure of the ＂Top-ten circulating stockholders＂ requirement does not only reduce information asymmetry between investors and listed firms, but also strengthens and improves the efficiency of related government regulations in detecting disclosure of false information. This, in turn, increases the risk of being detected for firms with earnings management activities. （2） After abnormal main fund movements, relevant firms significantly reduce the level of earnings management to avoid attention from the public and regulatory agencies. （3） Using political connections as a proxy for the ＂shield effect＂ to mask political cost, we show that the negative relation between abnormal main fund movements and earnings management exists only for the subsample of firms without political connections. This paper provides a new angle for political cost study, and suggests that traditional political cost hypothesis should be further generalized.

The relationship between political connections and the mutual fund performance:Evidence from the US

This paper examines the effect of political connections between mutual fund managers and politicians on the fund performance.Using the publicly available data of individual political donations,we regard the mutual funds as politically connected when their managers make financial contributions to politicians.First,we show that aggregated stock holding changes of politically connected funds predict subsequent abnormal stock returns around the earnings announcement day,implying that the political connection promotes managers’stock picking abilities.Further evidence derived from the sample of entry buys and exit sells shows that politically connected funds outperform politically non-connected funds by 82 basis points annually.Second,we provide evidence that earnings forecast accuracy for the firms whose stocks are held by politically connected funds is improved significantly when time is approaching the announcement date,highlighting the importance of political channels through which information flows between firms and the market are facilitated.

POLITICS

China Unveils Plan to Connect Online and Offline Commerce Investment in broadband Internet in rural areas,support for development of virtual reality(VR)and encouragement of the sharing economy are highlights of an action plan drawn up by the State Council for integrating online and offline commerce.

车控操作系统实时性/安全性保障技术

电子控制技术为智能网联汽车的高速发展持续赋能,车控操作系统是保障汽车电子控制软件安全、高效、实时运行的基石。随着智能网联汽车向集中式、端云融合式电子电气架构发展,车载硬件演化为多核异构处理器、弹性计算平台,车控软件向面向服务的软件架构转变,车控操作系统的架构、关键技术等也随之发展。综述了智能网联汽车用车控操作系统的发展历程与现状,对任务调度、实时性/安全性保障、形式化表征与验等基础理论和关键技术进行深入分析,阐述现有车控操作系统的技术挑战与发展趋势,为智能网联汽车的车控操作系统发展提供参考。

2023年版《理工科类大学物理课程教学基本要求》内容细化修订解读

本文介绍了对2010年版《理工科类大学物理课程教学基本要求》修订的意义和过程,并对2023年版《理工科类大学物理课程教学基本要求》中修订内容进行了解读。

亲清政商关系与企业数字化转型

在数字经济时代,数字化转型是企业实现高质量发展的内生要求,而企业的数字化转型离不开政府的引导和支持。基于此,分析检验当前亲清政商关系构建会如何影响微观企业的数字化转型,有助于企业实现高质量发展。利用2016—2020年中国A股传统行业上市公司的年度观察数据研究发现,亲清政商关系对企业数字化转型具有显著的正向影响,即在政商关系越亲清的地区,企业的数字化水平越高,并且这种正向影响在非国有企业中表现得更强。进一步的机制检验表明,亲清政商关系主要通过“市场导向效应”和“资源供给效应”对企业数字化转型发挥积极的促进作用。更具有启发意义的是,主要是政商关系的“亲近化”而不是政商关系的“清白化”助力了企业的数字化转型,而且亲清政商关系能够降低传统政治关联的相关影响。

利益嵌入与制度效能:提升制度执行力的行动主义路向

制度执行力体现在制定、执行、监督和评估等制度建构行动中。利益是贯穿制度执行力的重要影响因素,也是检视制度执行力的重要视角。具体而言,政治利益是制度执行的合法性前提,协调多元利益关系是影响制度执行的基础环境,追求利益平衡是提升制度执行力的实现形式。在制度实践中,制度实现要充分关照以人民为中心的利益相关者群体,消解利益关系形成的多重制度困局,利用有效的激励手段消解多重利益主体之间形成的利益共谋现象。为提升制度执行力的制度效能,必须维护政治利益的公共性,实现制度公平公正;协调多方利益关系,营造制度执行的良好环境;实现多元利益的平衡,确保制度有效执行;建构激励相容的政策体系,优化制度执行的动力机制。

跨国公司东道国和母国制度距离对企业创新绩效的影响——基于上市公司数据的实证分析

基于制度理论和行为者能动性视角,研究跨国公司东道国和母国制度距离如何对企业创新绩效产生不对称的影响,并考察企业政治关联和海外进入模式的调节作用。研究发现,正向制度距离对企业创新绩效产生正向影响,而负向制度距离越大,越不利于企业创新绩效提高;与没有政治关联的企业相比,企业具有政治关联则使得正向制度距离与企业创新绩效之间的正相关关系降低,并削弱了负向制度距离对企业创新绩效的负向影响;此外,企业选择跨国并购或绿地新建的进入模式也会调节制度距离方向与企业创新绩效之间的关系。研究结论不仅丰富了制度距离视角下企业创新绩效的研究,而且为政府制定相关政策和企业国际化决策提供了有益的实践启示。

帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪刑罚适用的检视与反思——基于519个样本的实证分析

网络犯罪在犯罪空间、犯罪方式以及犯罪形态方面,都与传统刑事犯罪不同。这给刑罚的适用带来新的挑战和考验。帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪作为一种新兴的犯罪,在入罪标准、刑罚适用、此罪彼罪区分之上存在争议。对此,本文通过对帮助信息网络犯罪活动罪刑罚结果和量刑情节描述性分析,证实本罪在刑罚适用上,轻缓化程度显著上升;通过对六个主要量刑情节同刑罚结果做二元logistic回归和有序logistic回归,证实缓刑适用主要受认罪认罚影响,前科和行政违法记录,退赔退赃,犯罪所得具有补充影响力;刑期主要受犯罪流水与犯罪所得影响;罚金主要受认罪认罚影响,犯罪所得与流水具有补充影响力。实证研究说明了本罪部分量刑情节效果发挥不足,刑罚目的实现欠佳,司法压力仍重的现状。解决此困境,构建行刑双向衔接的模式或为良策。

大中小学思政课一体化教学衔接问题研究

大中小学思想政治理论课,是新时代贯彻落实立德树人根本任务、培养德智体美劳全面发展的社会主义事业建设者和接班人的关键课程。文章针对大中小学思政课一体化教学衔接的现实困境,从纵向衔接、加强学段目标与教材编写衔接,联动培养、加强教师队伍建设与跨学科融汇,协同建设、加强教学平台与资源信息化建设,环环相扣、加强思政课程实践活动的关联性等方面对大中小学思政课一体化教学衔接的纾困策略进行探讨,旨在推动思政课教学的改革与创新,提高学生的综合素质。