Abstract:The country is built on the people, and the people regard food as their heaven. Food security is the foundation for the healthy and stable development of human society. Natural disasters, local wars, climate change, and other events have affected China’s food security and social life. Food security is one of the cornerstones of global economic and social development. The structural robustness of the international rice trade network plays an important role in the global economy. The graph neural network algorithm and utility function theory are integrated for learning a trade decision-making model which contains the benefit endowments and cost endowment of economies in international trades. How to address changes in the international rice environment and the impact of international emergencies is a question of important research value. By integrating graph neural networks, utility theory, and other methods, heterogeneous individual characteristic representations are learned from international rice trade network data, and the network formation and evolution mechanism are revealed in complex systems. Then, the evolution of complex networks is simulated at the macro and micro levels to study the international rice trade networks in depth. Precise and controllable trade strategies, considering the impact of the trade war and COVID-19, are proposed. In the international rice trade network, Asia and Europe, North America and South America, and Africa and Oceania are three groups with similar vulnerabilities. As trade relations increase, India and Pakistan are less affected. The rice trade of the mainland in China is more affected. The model framework in this paper is highly scalable and transferable. The main innovation of the model framework is to connect the two research paradigms of data-driven and mechanism modelling. It is a general model framework that can be applied to different complex systems and complex networks across different fields.

Abstract:The EU’s legislative proposal for the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) was passed in 2021, signaling the imminent carbon tariff dispute between emerging economies and developed countries such as those in Europe and the United States. The decomposition of global input-output data reveals that China stands as the largest emitter of carbon emissions embodied in exports, accounting for 25.94% of total global trade-embodied carbon emissions. Such substantial carbon emissions make China vulnerable to the impact of carbon tariffs by Europe and the United States. This paper employs a multi-regional input-output model and a multi-country, multi-sector general equilibrium model to simulate the counterfactual effects of carbon tariffs imposed by Europe and the United States on China’s industrial development. The results indicate that with a carbon price of $60 per ton, imports from China to the European Union and the United States would incur an additional average tax of 1.77% to 1.78%. At this juncture, the simultaneous imposition of carbon tariffs by Europe and the United States would lead to a 0.14% reduction in China’s social welfare, a 0.40% decrease in total output, and a 2.03% decline in total exports, with exports to the EU and the US dropping by 8.04% and 7.98%, respectively. At the industry level, exports of the chemical and chemical products, basic metals, computers, electronic, and optical equipment, electrical equipment, and machinery equipment would decrease by 5.03%, 6.13%, 5.46%, 12.31%, and 2.79%, respectively. China should proactively advance the green and low-carbon transformation of relevant industries, such as computer, electronic products, and equipment manufacturing, to prepare for future global carbon tariff competition.

Abstract:This study investigates the mechanisms influencing China’s real estate market in the context of a diminishing demographic dividend and an aging population. Utilizing the life cycle hypothesis, we develop an overlapping generations model incorporating housing demand and analyze provincial panel data from 2000 to 2021. Employing the panel data instrumental variable approach, our analysis reveals that labor mobility driven by urbanization significantly elevates housing prices. Additionally, after using raising costs as an instrumental variable to control for the endogeneity of demographic structure, population aging negatively impacts housing prices, while urbanization positively impacts housing prices. Robustness tests indicate that these effects are more pronounced in the eastern region compared to other areas. Furthermore, our spatial panel data model shows significant cross-regional spillover effects on housing prices.

Abstract:Innovation-driven development has become an important national strategy. New internet ventures, as typical examples of innovation-driven entrepreneurship, have received great attention from academia and industry. However, the rapid development of new internet ventures is facing more complex operating environment, such as a lack of institutional support and rapid technology iteration. How technology, institutions and business model innovation drive the growth of new Internet ventures is an important issue to discuss. In response to the above problems, this study, based on the theoretical perspective of innovation-driven entrepreneurship, explores how institutional environment innovation, business model innovation, and technological innovation create a configuration effect to drive the growth of new internet ventures. Based on data from 460 new internet ventures in the CPSED II, the ventures are divided into product-based and service-based categories, and the fsQCA method is used for configuration analysis. The following results are obtained. 1) A single element of innovation does not constitute a necessary condition for the high growth of new internet ventures; however, highly novel business model innovation plays a more universal role in promoting their growth. 2) There are four configurations that drive the growth of new internet ventures, with business model innovation present in all of them: the one directly driven by institutions and business models, the one indirectly driven by technology and directly driven by institution and business models, the one indirectly driven by technology and directly by business models, and the one directly driven by technology, institutions, and business models. 3) Through a configuration comparison, the paper concludes that the institutional environment, business model innovation, and technological innovation have different effects on the growth of the two types of ventures. 4) There is an asymmetric relationship between high-growth and non-high-growth innovation-driven mechanisms. The conclusions can help deepen the understanding of the causal complexity behind the innovation-driven internet entrepreneurship phenomenon and provide fruitful suggestions for the growth of new internet ventures.

Abstract:In recent years, amidst the emergence of numerous peer supervision incidents, companies within the same industry have gradually become significant external entities in corporate governance. Using the case of Gree exposing AUX’s fraudulent energy efficiency labeling, this article proposes a theoretical framework for the costs and benefits of the dual effects of competition and social capital under peer supervision in the Chinese context. Based on this framework, this paper specifically analyzes the motivations, influences, and mechanisms of peer supervision. The paper finds that, in this particular peer supervision incident, the social capital effect played a stronger role than the competitive effect, initially causing a decline in stock prices for both the supervising and supervised firms. Following the verification of the supervision results by the regulators, the supervising party gained market understanding and support, resulting in an increase in stock price, while the stock price of the supervised party declined further. In the long run, peer supervision played a governance role, prompting the supervised party to make positive changes and urging regulatory authorities to strengthen supervision of the entire industry, ultimately maintaining market order and promoting environmentally-friendly development. This article expands the research on external corporate governance, providing valuable insights for supervising parties, supervised parties, regulatory agencies, and investors in the context of peer supervision. Additionally, it offers a fundamental framework for subsequent studies on the governance effects of peer supervision in the Chinese context.

Abstract:The paper explores licensing and development strategies of platform licensors and licensees in a competitive high-tech market. A game-theoretic model is constructed to describe the competition and cooperation between the two firms, exploring the conditions for their different strategies and analyzing their optimal pricing decisions in different market configurations. The results show that it is more profitable for the licensor to adopt the license cancellation strategy if the product value of the licensor is sufficiently higher than that of the licensee. Under these conditions, the licensee should develop a new software platform in the first period to avoid being driven out of the current market. However, when the product value advantage of the licensor decreases to a moderate range, the license continuation strategy is optimal for the platform licensor if the licensee develops a new software platform in the first stage. Conversely, the license cancellation strategy is optimal if the licensee does not develop a new software platform. Under the above conditions, the licensee should develop a new platform. When the product value advantage of the licensor decreases to a small range, the licensor will adopt the license continuation strategy, regardless of whether the platform licensee develops a new platform. The licensee chooses not to develop a new platform and continues to adopt the licensing platform. Finally, when the licensor’s value advantage continues to decrease or even become negative, reflecting that the licensor is at a disadvantage in product value, the licensor should always adopt the license continuation strategy. Under such circumstances, it is more profitable for the licensee to develop and adopt its own software platform.

Abstract:Providing customers with flexible and uncertain due dates from the perspective of the supply chain system can improve the competitiveness of the supply chain and customer satisfaction. At the same time, it also brings challenges to the efficient operation of the supply chain system. To this end, this paper considers the characteristics of collaborative enterprises in the supply chain collaborative manufacturing model, such as different production startup costs, the need for advance preparation, and long procurement lead times. A two-stage supply chain collaborative robust scheduling optimization model is constructed based on the box uncertainty set of due dates. This model is designed to minimize the costs of the supply chain system by reducing decision conservatism. The column-and-constraint generation algorithm (C&CG) is used to solve this model exactly, and the subproblem is transformed based on the convexity of the objective function under uncertainty to construct a simplified dual problem. Numerical simulation examples analyze the impact of uncertain due date changes on the two-stage robust scheduling strategy and compare the robust optimal cost of single-stage, two-stage, and hindsight strategies under different real due date scenarios. Meanwhile, the real cost due to the deviation between the estimated and the actual due date intervals is compared and analyzed. The results show that the cost of the two-stage robust model is significantly lower than that of the single-stage robust model, and the gap is also not large compared to the hindsight optimal cost. In addition, the cost of the two-stage robust model shows relatively small variance, and the two-stage robust solution is much less sensitive to the estimation error of the due date intervals than the single-stage robust solution. Therefore, the two-stage robust optimization model can significantly improve the conservatism and inflexibility of the scheduling strategies and effectively respond to the needs of flexible, uncertain due dates.

Abstract:The full shift to a registration-based offering will have an encompassing impact on China’s capital market. However, the existing literature does not answer whether the deregulation of bond market issuance review and the shift to a registration system alleviate or exacerbate the information asymmetry problem in the bond market. This paper extends the classical model of Bolton, Freixas, and Shapiro (2012) to construct a signaling game model under monopolistic competition that fits the characteristics of the Chinese bond market and proves that the rating inflation separation equilibrium holds under the registration system. By exploiting the transformation of the offering institution to He-Zhun (examine and approve) in China corporate bond market, which is a segment of the overall China bond market, the paper tests the hypothesis that the market reform process will lead to rating inflation. Our empirical strategy is constructed by accurately matching the treated group of corporate bonds and the control group of medium-term notes with the same Industrial and Commercial Registration Number. Our findings support the theoretical result of the separation equilibrium in rating inflation under the registration system. Our evidence indicates that the monopoly rater inflates ratings to cater to AAA bonds, while other raters inflate ratings for lower-rated bonds. The issuer increases private information hiding. Based on the information asymmetry in the bond market, this paper test the policy effect of the registration-based offering of bond market and provides empirical evidence for improving the supporting system of the bond market registration-based system.

Abstract:Based on the regular adjustment of the CSI500 Index, this paper uses the fuzzy regression discontinuity design method to explore the impact of stock index adjustments on corporate external financing behavior, leverage ratios, and its transmission mechanisms, while also testing the heterogeneity of macroeconomic uncertainty and corporate characteristic factors. The study finds that becoming a member of a stock index increases corporate equity financing and debt financing, but the increase in debt financing is greater than in equity financing, which causes an increase in the corporate leverage ratio. Becoming a member of a stock index mainly influences external financing behavior and the corporate leverage ratio by improving internal governance and improving external financing environment. Becoming a member of a stock index will significantly increase corporate external financing and leverage ratios in high economic policy uncertainties, bull markets, high growth companies, non-state-owned companies, and those with less analyst coverage. This paper confirms that stock index adjustments have information transmission effects. They should improve corporate governance and information environment to ease corporate financing constraints, increase corporate external financing opportunities, and finally adjust corporate leverage ratio.

Abstract:This paper uses data from Chinese listed companies, urban development, and financial eco-environment index from 2005 to 2015 to empirically analyze the impact of financial eco-environment on corporate leverage and its dynamic adjustment. The results show that the financial ecological index and corporate leverage have a significantly positive relationship. That is, the deterioration of the financial ecological environment will cause the company’s leverage to decline. This effect is more significant in the samples of after 2008, in enterprises in the central and eastern regions, and in those with long-term liabilities. Furthermore, strengthening government intervention and the financing constraints faced by enterprises are found to be two important mechanisms driving the continuous decline in the leverage of enterprises due to the deterioration of the financial ecological environment. Finally, the impact of the financial ecological environment on the dynamic adjustment of leverage is examined. The results show that the deterioration of the financial ecological environment will reduce the speed of leverage adjustment. The conclusions of this paper have direct policy implications: when implementing relevant policies such as “de-leveraging” and supply-side structural reforms, special consideration should be given to the potential impact of the external financial environment. It is also necessary to encourage local governments to create a favorable financial ecological environment, provide necessary institutional guarantees for enterprises’ financing decisions, and further enhance the ability of financial services to support the real economy.