Factor input structure,environmental policies,and the export quality upgrade:a perspective of heterogeneity

In the analysis of how environmental regulation affects the comparative advantage of trade,existing literature ignores industry's inherent heterogeneity, which draws remarkably different conclusions. In view of this, the paper analyzed the mechanism of environmental regulation on the export quality of different industries from the perspective of factor input structure heterogeneity. Based on the panel data of China's manufacturing industry, the paper used the system generalized method of moments method to examine the heterogeneity influence of environmental regulation on manufacturing export quality. The study found that, first, environmental regulation affected the export quality upgrade of the manufacturing sector through offset effect and compensation effect, and the direction of the impact would mainly depend on the industry's factor input structure. Second, for industries with larger fixed-asset investment(FAI) ratio in the factor input structure, the current environmental regulation policy was not conducive to the export quality upgrading of the industries. However, there was a significant U-shaped dynamic relationship between them. As environmental regulations became stricter, when regulatory stringency went beyond the inflection point, the policy would promote the upgrading of export quality. But for industries with smaller proportion of FAI, environmental regulation exerted a favorable impact on the export quality upgrade, following a J-shaped marginal growth curve.Third, for industries with different factor input structure, their export quality had been effectively upgraded as expected by factors like human capital investment, independent R&D, technology introduction, and foreign direct investment; but raising per capita capital stock and expanding enterprise size did not produce significant direct impact on export quality upgrade. These conclusions remained robust after using different measurement methods and replacing with other variables. Therefore, this paper suggests that governments should take industry heterogeneity into consideration and formulate differentiated hierarchical environmental policies.Besides, they should strengthen the enforcement of the current environmental regulation policies. By doing so, enterprises are forced to improve their technology and product quality so that they can better cope with rising compliance costs, eliminate backward industries, and resolve excess capacity. In this way, the economic structure would be transformed and upgraded from the supply side.

Determining the Optimal Parameters of an Advanced Linter Machine

In this article, research was conducted to improve Linter machines that remove short fibers remaining in ginned cotton seeds at cotton ginneries. The study examined the effect of changing the dimensions of the brush drum, guide and mesh surface in the cleaning device proposed for the linting machine on the movement of the peg and the cleaning efficiency, and the highest level of efficiency in separating impurities from the peg was determined. During the study, the main factors influencing the effective operation of the improved linting machine were identified, the limits of their values were determined, and studies were carried out using the mathematical modeling method. As a result, at the values of the given coefficients, efficient operation of the improved linting machine was observed, that is, the lint cleaning efficiency reached 55.1%.

Productivity Growth in China's Agriculture During 1985-2010

This paper made an empirical analysis of China＇s agricultural growth path and influential factors using the province-level panel data of agricultural inputs and outputs during 1985-2010.The findings indicate that the increase in agricultural inputs and TFP contributed 40.6 and 55.2% to the agricultural output growth,respectively;China＇s agriculture had jumped out of the pattern which output growth was mainly driven by increasing input.Of the total inputs,chemical fertilizer had the most important contribution to the output growth,followed by mechanical inputs.The contribution of land and labor was negative.China＇s agricultural output growth belonged to the type of induced technology innovation.China＇s agricultural TFP growth had characteristics of fluctuations over time and unbalanced between regions,but the gap between the eastern,the middle,and the western regions has been narrowed.

Why Do Chinese Private Enterprises Seek Outward Foreign Direct Investment?

China is currently in a period of economic transformation and the reform of the factor market still lags behind that of the product market.This study explores the reasons causing China's private enterprise to expand abroad from the perspective of domestic factor market imperfection.Using data for Chinese listed firms between 2002 and 2020,it examines whether outward foreign direct investment(OFDI)has been undertaken by private enterprises as a response to domestic factor market imperfection.It finds that private enterprises located in regions with greater factor market imperfection have had a greater tendency to engage in OFDI.This effect has been more pronounced among firms with high productivity or high innovation capability,and among medium and small private enterprises.