Table of Content

15 November 2023, Volume 0 Issue 11

Previous Issue    Next Issue

Theoretical Economics

The Impact of Enterprise Digital Transformation on Total-Factor Energy Efficiency: From the Perspective of Specialized Division of Labor

LU Fu-cai, QIN Yue, XU Yuan-bin

2023, 0(11):  3-15. 

Asbtract ( 371 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Based on the firm-level data of Chinese listed companies from 2001-2021, this paper brings the specialized division of labor into the enterprise digital transformation and the total factor energy efficiency to conduct an empirical study. The findings show that, firstly, enterprise digital transformation can improve the total factor energy efficiency of enterprises, and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests; secondly, digital transformation has a more significant promotion effect on the total factor energy efficiency of state-owned enterprises compared with private enterprises; thirdly, compared with the enterprises with lower level of internal control, digital transformation has much more significant promotion effect on the total-factor energy efficiency of the enterprises with the internal control level at the top 25%. In addition, the mechanism analysis reveals that enterprise digital transformation can further promote the improvement of the energy efficiency of enterprises by improving the level of specialized division of labor. The above conclusions suggest that in order to promote the realization of the“double carbon”goal, the government should actively implement various policies, vigorously promote the digital transformation of enterprises, and give full play to the guiding function of financial funds. At the same time, it should encourage enterprises to strengthen the applications of digital technology in the links of production, operation and so on, and encourage the enterprises to enhance the synergy and innovation with the leading enterprises in the industry, so as to improve the specialized capacity and the specialized level of their own.

Is There a Yield-Volatility Dual Long-Term Memory in the Carbon Emission Trading Market?

WANG Yi-fan, WU Zong-fa, WANG Zhi-qiang

2023, 0(11):  16-27. 

Asbtract ( 125 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The price operation law in China’s carbon trading market is one of the hot research issues at present. Based on the carbon trading price series of Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Hubei carbon trading pilot markets since their establishment, this paper conducts an empirical study with a number of long-term memory measurement models, such as R/S analysis, modified R/S analysis, V/S analysis, LW estimation, ARFIMA-FIGARCH and so on. The results show that, firstly, there exists a yield-volatility dual memory in Shenzhen carbon trading series, while there exists only long-term memory of volatility in Hubei carbon trading series; secondly, the long-term trend of carbon trading prices in Shenzhen and Guangzhou may be reversed, from an upward trend to a downward trend, the carbon trading prices in the three pilot markets may fluctuate sharply in the future; thirdly, there is a certain deviation between the estimation method based on different long-term memory parameters and the estimation value of the long-term memory parameters obtained from different parameter selection. The above conclusion suggests that the market participants should guard themselves against the price risks in the carbon trading markets and be alert to the possible sharp fluctuations of carbon tradingprices. The policy makers should improve the carbon trading system in terms of industry coverage, access threshold, number of included enterprises, number of individual and institutional investors, carbon financial products, trading methods, transaction costs, price rise and fall, quota calculation methods, quota allocation methods, and other aspects, so as to improve the efficiency of the carbon trading markets.

Public Economics & Administration

Spatial Carbon Reduction Effects of China’s Local Government Green Special Bonds under the“Dual Carbon”Goals

ZHANG Ping, GUO Qing-hua

2023, 0(11):  28-40. 

Asbtract ( 150 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The local governments in China are facing huge financial pressure under the“dual carbon”goals, and the local government special greenbonds are an important source of financial resources to reduce financial pressure and improve the ecological environment. Based on the provincial panel data from 2018-2021, this paper empirically analyzes the spatial carbon emission reduction effect of the local government greenspecial bonds. The results show that the issuance of local government green special bonds has significantly reduced the carbon emission levels and has a spatial spillover effect, that in the local government green bond system, the larger the issuance scale and the more local government fund revenue, the more beneficial it is to reduce carbon emission levels, and that the higher the average interest rate and project yield, the less beneficial it is to reduce carbon emission levels. Further analysis reveals that the local governmentgreen bonds can reduce carbon emission levels by optimizing the energy consumption structure. Therefore, it is necessary to implement a governance model that combines territorial and regional linkages to clarify the proportion of the local governmentgreen bonds, issue different types of local government green bonds based on spatial differences in geography, economy and carbon emissions, optimize the issuance and reimbursement system of the local government green special bonds in light of the carbon emission reduction targets and the current situation, and introduce a third-party institution to strengthen the professional auditing, monitoring and disclosure of the local governmentgreen bonds in all aspects.

Vertical Fiscal Imbalance, Transfer Payments and Supply of Livelihood-Orientated Public Services

HU Yu-jie, GAO Yan-lei, WANG Xiu-dong

2023, 0(11):  41-53. 

Asbtract ( 141 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

To construct a central-local fiscal and administrative power relationship with clear powers and responsibilities as well as coordinated financial resources, and to improve the transfer payment system are the inevitable requirements for alleviating the contradiction of vertical fiscal imbalance and improving the level of livelihood-orientated public service provision in the new era. To this end, based on the typical facts of Chinese fiscal decentralization, this paper conducts an empirical test of the impact of vertical fiscal imbalance and transfer payments on the supply of public services related to people’s livelihood by using the provincial panel data from 2008 to 2020. The findings show that vertical fiscal imbalance has a significant inhibitory effect on improving the level of livelihood-orientated public service supply, that local government fiscal expenditure bias is its main path of action, and that the influencing effect is heterogeneous in different types of livelihood-orientated public services. While transfer payment has a positive incentive effect on livelihood-orientated public service supply, transfer payment can also strengthen the negative impact of vertical fiscal imbalance on the level of livelihood-orientated public service provision by reducing the tax efforts of local governments. In view of this, it is necessary to optimize the relationship of financial power and office power between the central government and local governments, improve the transfer payment system, improve the performance appraisal system of officials and other measures, so as to alleviate the contradiction of vertical fiscal imbalance, give full play to the positive incentive effect of transfer payment, and effectively improve the level of livelihood-orientated public service provision.

Modern Finance

Value Justification for Equity Pledge: From the Perspective of Business Reputation

ZHAO Yi-yi, ZHENG Deng-jin, SONG Zi-wei

2023, 0(11):  54-66. 

Asbtract ( 91 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Referring to the hypothesis of“compensation justifying”, this paper believes that the controlling shareholders have the motive to conduct“value justifying”when they are trying to make equity pledge, i.e., in order to obtain higher financing, the controlling shareholder is motivated to assure the pledgee of the promising value of the pledged shares. The premium M&A is an effective way to increase market value, the measurement attribute of M&A goodwill represents the expected future value of the acquired assets. Does the controlling shareholder take advantage of the goodwill asset as a defense for equity pledge? The findings show that controlling shareholders are more likely to pledge their equity when the firm has good business reputation, business reputationis a justification for equity pledge. Especially in companies with poorer information environments, more powerful controlling shareholders and experiencing M&A of tunneling motivation, it is more common for controlling shareholders to use goodwill for equity pledge, and goodwill is more likely to be impaired in the future, indicating that controlling shareholders use goodwill as a false defense rather than a legitimate defense for equity pledge. The tests of internal demand, external environment, and pledged fund flow based on value defense also unanimously prove the above-mentioned pseudo defense behavior. In addition, compared to the bank pledgee, the securities firm pledgee has a lower level of risk prevention against the above-mentioned false defense behavior. The above conclusion indicates that the“double high”risks of“high goodwill”and“high pledge”are related to the arbitrage behavior of controlling shareholders, as well as the currentincomplete goodwill standards and equity pledge regulatory regulations. Therefore, while standardizing the principle of goodwillconfirming in mergers and acquisitions, it is particularly important to strengthen the prior supervision of equity pledge behaviors.

How Does Trading Mechanism Reform in Interbank Market Affect Interbank Financing Structure?

ZHU Bo, XIA Cong, SUN Kai-si

2023, 0(11):  67-79. 

Asbtract ( 73 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The structure of interbank financing affects the financing cost and liquidity conversion of commercial banks and is an important factor for the stable operation of commercial banks. In 2015, the National Interbank Funding Center launched the anonymous order instruction book trading mechanism in parallel in the pledge repo market, which changed the single inquiry trading mechanism that has long been used in the interbank market. Then, what impact will the reform of the trading mechanism have on the interbank financing structure of commercial banks? The theoretical model including the guaranteed and non-guaranteed funding markets and search frictions and the double difference empirical testshow that the reform of the interbank market trading mechanism can reduce the cost of guaranteed financing and increase the proportion of guaranteed financing in interbank financing. Further analysis reveals that in the banks with a high proportion of initial interbank financing, fast initial asset growth, and a large scale of initial shadow banking business, as well as the banks with lower reserve adequacy, the non listed banks, and the small and medium-sized banks, their interbank financing structures are more significantly affected by the reform of trading mechanisms. The reform of the interbank market transaction mechanism can promote the liquidity creation of commercial banks. Therefore, we should continue to expand the coverage of anonymous click trading mechanisms, actively pay attention to the spillover effects of the changes in trading mechanisms, and further improve the reform of trading mechanisms in interbank financing markets.

Business Administration

Limited Partnership Agreement Structure and Financing Constraint: Evidences from China’s Private Listed Companies

LIU Yu-wei, MA Sheng

2023, 0(11):  80-92. 

Asbtract ( 84 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The new economic environment has given rise to new equity structures, which may also lead to more serious information asymmetry and financing difficulties. Based on the samples of private A-share listed companies in China from 2014 to 2021, this paper examines the impact of the limited partnership agreement architecture integrated into corporate enterprises on corporate financing constraintsand its mechanism. The results show that the limited partnership agreement architecture can alleviate the financing constraints faced by private enterprises. The test of the internal transmission mechanism indicates that the limited partnership agreement structure has reduced the company’s operational risk, improved the company’s performance, increased the company’s cash dividend ratio, and thus alleviated financing constraints. Further analysis reveals that during the growth and decline periods, due to more severe agency issues and stronger financing needs, the limited partnership agreement structure has a more significant mitigating effect on financing constraints. The enterprises listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board have high profitability uncertainty, high risks, and high degree of information asymmetry faced by investors. The limited partnership agreement structure can more effectively alleviate the financing constraints. In addition, if the actual controller concurrently serves as the chairman of the board or general manager, then the higher the degree of separation between the two powers, the more significant the role of the limited partnership agreement structure in alleviating financing constraints, which confirms that the limited partnership agreement structure can alleviate the agency problem of hollowing out by the actual controller.The above research results have expanded our understanding of the new equity structure in China’s capital market from a micro perspective, providing new ideas for further improvement of the financing capacity of private enterprises.

The Impact of Chain Shareholders on Corporate Digital Transformation

CHEN Ze-yi, HUANG Yu-qing

2023, 0(11):  93-105. 

Asbtract ( 125 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

In the context of accelerating the digital transformation of enterprises, exploring the influencing factors of digital transformation is crucial for optimizing the enterprise resource allocation and the high-quality development. The widespread network of chain shareholders has a profound impact on the major business decisions of enterprises, and it is worth paying attention to whether chain shareholders can empower the digital transformation of enterprises. Taking A-share listed companies from 2013 to 2020 as samples, this paper examines the impact of chain shareholders on digital transformation of enterprises. The findings show that the chain shareholders are playing a synergistic effect in the process of digital transformation, helping to accelerate digital transformation. The mechanism test results indicate that chain shareholders have played a synergistic effect in participating in business decision-making, raising funds, optimizing human capital structure, and enhancing technological innovation capabilities, which has enhanced digital transformation capabilities, and thus promoting the accelerated transformation of the enterprise. Furthermore, chain shareholders have a stronger role in promoting the digital transformation of state-owned and high-tech enterprises. In addition, digital transformation helps drive business growth and improve business performance. Based on the above conclusions, it is recommended to reasonably introduce chain shareholders and fully tap into the resources and information advantages of shareholder networks, so as to promote the digital transformation of enterprises and the high-quality economic development.

Industry & Trade

Research on the Impact of Digital Economy Development on the Quality of Export Products

YUAN Han-kun, HAN Min-chun

2023, 0(11):  106-120. 

Asbtract ( 121 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The digital economy is increasingly becoming an important driving force for the high-quality development of foreign trade. Based on the heterogeneous enterprise theory framework, this paper constructs an endogenous selection model for enterprise export product quality, which includes the factors of digital economy development. It then interprets the internal mechanism of the impact of digital economy development on product quality upgrading, and it also tests the impact of digital economy development on export product quality by making use of the enterprise-product data from the customs database from 2007 to 2016. The findings show that, firstly, the development of the digital economy has significantly improved the quality of export products of enterprises. Secondly, the development of the digital economy exhibits different characteristics in terms of the impact on the quality of exported products due to the differences in factor density, geographical location, and enterprise nature. Among them, the development of the digital economy has mainly improved the quality of the export products of the enterprises, which are capital intensive, technology intensive, located in eastern regions, non-state-owned, and non monopoly. Thirdly, the channels of enterprise costs and enterprise productivity are important ways for the digital economy to play a role. The development of the digital economy can promote the quality of imported and exported products by reducing enterprise production costs and improving enterprise productivity. Fourthly, the development of the digital economy not only affects the quality of enterpriseexport products, but also further affects the internaladjustment of enterprise export product quality. Specifically, the improvement effect of the digital economy development on the quality of non core export products within enterprises is higher than that of core export products, which optimizes the efficiency of internal resource allocation of the export enterprises. The research conclusion provides a new perspective for China to build a strong trading country.

How Industrial Policy Affects the Industrial Land Transfer and the Economic Efficiency

LU Sheng-hua, WANG Hui

2023, 0(11):  121-132. 

Asbtract ( 80 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

As an important means for the government to promote industrial development and optimize industrial structure, exploring how industrial policies affect resource allocation and resource allocation efficiency is of great significance. On the basis of theoretical analysis, this article makes use of a database composed of the micro transaction data of industrial land, the key industry information in the five-year plan, the nighttime lighting data, and the industrial enterprise databases to explore the impact of industrial policies on local government industrial land transfer behavior. It also examines the impact of industrial policy oriented land transfer on the economic efficiency of industrial land. The estimation based on geographical spatial matching indicates that the land acquisition prices of enterprises in key industries are significantly lower than those in non key industries, and the land area is significantly larger. Compared to the central key industries, the local key industries are subject to a greater impact. The non market-oriented method of transfer is an important but not the only way for local governments to achieve land factor tilt in key industries. The analysis of allocation efficiency based on the nighttime lighting data and the total factor productivity shows that industrial policies can improve the economic output and resource allocation efficiency of industrial land to a certain extent, but they can not fundamentally solve the problem of industrial land resource mismatch in China. The above conclusions provide a practical basis for understanding the effectiveness and limitations of the industrial policies in the process of market-oriented allocation reform of factors.

Modern Accounting

Enterprise Digitalization and Layout of Cross-Regional Supply Chain: From the Perspective of the Construction of a Unified Market

WANG Chao, YU Dian-fan

2023, 0(11):  133-144. 

Asbtract ( 110 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

Accelerating the construction of a national unified market not only helps enterprises to improve the quality of intermediate products, but also plays a key role in dispersing supply chain risks and achieving the goal of enhancing and complementing the chain. This paper makes use of the data of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2008 to 2020 to study the impact of enterprise digitalization on the layout of cross-regional supply chain of enterprises. The results show that enterprise digitalization can promote enterprises to increase their supply chain layout outside the province. The mechanism analysis shows that enterprise digitalization has reduced the supply chain management costs and communication costs of enterprises, thereby promote the enterprises to increase their supply chain layout outside the province. The analysis of regulatory effects reveals that the more concentrated a company’s supply chain and the greater its research and development intensity, the more it can enhance the promoting effect of enterprise digitalization on the cross-regional supply chain layout of the enterprise. Further research has found that compared to the traditional enterprises, the promotion effect of enterprise digitization on the cross regional supply chain layout of enterprises is more significant in high-tech enterprises. To this end, we need to leverage the positive role of digital technology in promoting the cross regional supply chain layout of enterprises, summarize and promote the typical cases of supply chain digitization, and cultivate and create personalized digital service providers.

Can Auditors’ Social Capital Improve Audit Quality?

JI Wei-li, YU Liang

2023, 0(11):  145-156. 

Asbtract ( 97 )  

References | Related Articles | Metrics

The mechanism affecting audit quality by suchsocial capital as information, knowledge, and reputation that are contained in the social network relationships of auditors has received widespread attention from the academic community. This paper conducts an empirical study based on the A-share private listed companies from 2010 to 2020. The findings show that the richer the social capital of auditors, the higher the audit quality. Further testing reveals that external regulation can significantly enhance the positive correlation between auditors’ social capital and audit quality, that the social capital of auditors can significantly reduce the probability of the occurrence of fraudulent financial restatements, but has no significant impact on the non fraudulent financial restatements, and thatcompared to political social capital, commercial social capital has a more significant impact on the improvement of audit quality. In addition, when the auditor’s social capital is more than the client’s social capital, the auditor’s social capital can better improve audit quality. Therefore, auditors should strengthen their accumulation of social capital; private listed companies should pay attention to the social capital of auditors when selecting accounting firms; the regulatory authorities should pay attention to the matching situation between auditors and clients to avoid damaging audit independence due to clients having a say in the audit business.