Search Results (33)

This paper selects 50 listed commercial banks in China from 2012 to 2023 as research samples, and employs the fixed effects model and Hansen’s threshold regression method to systematically examine the impact mechanism and non-linear characteristics of FinTech development on the profitability of commercial banks. The key findings are summarized as follows: (1) FinTech significantly undermines the overall profitability of commercial banks by reshaping the competitive landscape of the industry and intensifying the technology substitution effect. This is primarily reflected in the reduction in traditional interest income and the erosion of market share in intermediary business. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that large state-owned banks and joint-stock banks experience more pronounced negative impacts compared to small and medium-sized banks. (3) Additional research findings reveal a significant single-threshold effect between FinTech and bank profitability, with a critical value of 4.169. When the development level of FinTech surpasses this threshold, its inhibitory effect diminishes substantially, suggesting that after achieving a certain degree of technological integration, commercial banks may partially alleviate external competitive pressures through synergistic effects. This study offers crucial empirical evidence and theoretical support for commercial banks to develop differentiated technology strategies and for regulatory authorities to design dynamically adaptable policy frameworks. Full article

Using the China CFPS database, this paper measures the degree of intra-occupational inequality in China with the Pareto coefficient and uses the generalized entropy index to decompose the top income gap by region as well as by industry. The empirical results show that, firstly, the degree of income inequality between occupations in China has increased significantly in recent years. The provinces with a higher degree of income inequality between occupations are mostly located in the more economically developed regions in the central and eastern parts of the country, while the degree of inequality between occupations in the western part is lower. Secondly, the highest-income occupations are mainly in the manufacturing industry, with relatively high levels in the construction industry, the education sector, the wholesale and retail trade, and public administration and social organizations, while the levels in other occupations are relatively low. Lastly, the top income gap primarily originates from within industries. However, the contribution rate of the top income gap between industries is gradually increasing, while the contribution rate of the top income gap within industries is gradually decreasing. Full article

Domestic and international risk shocks have greatly increased the demand for systemic risk management in China. This paper estimates China’s multi-layer financial network based on multiple financial relationships among banks, assets, and firms, using China’s banking system data in 2021. An improved PageRank algorithm is proposed to identify systemically important banks and other economic sectors, and a stress test is conducted. This study finds that China’s multi-layer financial network is sparse, and the distribution of transactions across financial markets is uneven. Regulatory authorities should support economic recovery and adjust the money supply, while banks should differentiate competition and manage risks better. Based on the PageRank index, this paper assesses the systemic importance of large commercial banks from the perspective of network structure, emphasizing the role of banks’ transaction behavior and market participation. Different industries and asset classes are also assessed, suggesting that increased attention should be paid to industry risks and regulatory oversight of bank investments. Finally, stress tests confirm that the improved PageRank algorithm is applicable within the multi-layer financial network, reinforcing the need for prudential supervision of the banking system and revealing that the degree of transaction concentration will affect the systemic importance of financial institutions. Full article

In recent decades, more and more consumers are becoming concerned about the environment and increasingly tend to buy remanufactured products. However, despite the emergence of green consumerism, many original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are unlikely to engage in remanufacturing themselves and instead prefer to contract it to third-party remanufacturers (TPRs). Although the literature has recently highlighted the difference between outsourcing and authorizing remanufacturing, it does not explore how green consumerism impacts the choice between these two remanufacturing modes. To fill this gap, in this study, we develop two theoretical models according to which the OEM can outsource or authorize its remanufacturing operations to a TPR to satisfy green consumers who prefer remanufactured products. By comparing optimal outcomes, such as quantities, profit, and environmental factors, our analysis shows that a substantial proportion of environmentally conscious consumers prefer the strategy of remanufacturing outsourcing, which provides a win–win–win strategy for the OEM, the TPR, and the environment; otherwise, the OEM chooses to authorize remanufacturing, which negatively affects the TPR and the environment. As such, we suggest that governments try to increase the proportion of the population that favors green consumerism or implement measures that encourage OEMs to adopt remanufacturing outsourcing. Full article

Both fertility policy and the healthy development of financial markets are important topics for sustainable economic and social development. By using the difference-in-difference (DID) model, this paper investigates how the universal two-child policy (UTCP) in China aiming to improve fertility affects household financial asset allocation, based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2010 to 2018. The results show that the implementation of UTCP has a significant negative impact on household risk asset holdings. Specifically, the policy decreases the probability of households participating in the financial market by 3.1 percentage points, reduces the total value of risk assets held by 50.2%, and lowers the proportion of risk asset investment by 1.76 percentage points. Mechanism analysis suggests that the implementation of the policy has a significantly negative impact on labor market outcomes for women, which decreases household income and increases the time and effort spent on caring for children. As a result, the financial resources available for household financial asset investment are diminished, and the time for activities such as information gathering and financial asset transactions is squeezed out, ultimately leading to a decrease in household risk asset investment. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that households with self-employed wives (higher income instability), households without a co-resident status with grandparents (more time spent on childcare), and high-income households (stronger willingness to have more children) are more affected by the policy. This study provides new supplements on how fertility policies affect the allocation of household financial assets and proposes constructive suggestions on how to establish a comprehensive system of childcare welfare and alleviate the economic pressure of family childcare in developing countries. Full article

In this paper, we propose an extended credit migration model with asymmetric fixed boundaries and multiple ratings, for a more precise depiction of credit changes in the real world. A model with three ratings is established and analyzed as an example, and then the results are generalized to a general multirating form model. We prepare the model meaningfully by arranging the asymmetric boundaries in a suitable order. A PDE system problem is deduced, and the existence and uniqueness of the solution for the problem are obtained using PDE techniques, which further ensure the rationality of the model. Due to the flexible configuration of asymmetric boundaries, the multirating model has various types of structures in the buffer zones where the credit rating keeps its original state. For instance, the two buffers in the three-rating model may be separated, connected, or intersected, as presented in the numerical results for different boundary parameters. Full article

Using annual panel data of 46 listed commercial banks in China from 2012 to 2021 and constructing a two-way fixed-effects model, this study empirically analyzed the competition and technology spillover effects of fintech on the profitability of commercial banks. The results showed the following: (1) In the early stages of fintech development, the competition effect was larger than the technology spillover effect; thus, it was negatively correlated with commercial banks’ profitability. However, with the spread of innovative fintech, technology spillover effects and commercial bank profitability will gradually improve. (2) The influence of fintech on the profitability of commercial banks differed. Compared with large commercial banks, fintech had more significant negative effects on small- and medium-sized commercial banks in the short run. However, the role of fintech for such banks will also grow in the future. The results of this study provide practical guidance for how commercial banks can respond to the fintech wave. To realize the sustainable development of the banking industry, commercial banks should change their business philosophy and revenue model, vigorously improve their fintech innovation capability, differentiate their choice of fintech development routes, develop personalized customization with a focus on users, and ultimately realize digital transformation and upgrading. Full article

To solve the problem of credit rationing for farmers that shackles the transformation and upgrading of the agricultural industry and to improve the effect of agricultural industry chains in helping farmers, this paper empirically examines the effect of joining agricultural industry chains on supply-based and demand-based credit rationing for farmers, using the probit and tobit models based on the microscopic research data of 991 farmers in Shaanxi Province, China, and explores its specific effect mechanism. The study finds that agricultural industry chains can increase farmers’ credit by reducing the information asymmetry between farmers and banks, reducing agricultural business risks, and forming effective collateral and guarantee mechanisms, and that they have significant mitigating effects on farmers’ supply-based quantity rationing and demand-based price rationing, risk rationing and transaction cost rationing. Credit enhancement mechanisms such as information systems, commercial credit, orders, guarantees, production services and government support in agricultural industry chains have significant effects on alleviating farmers’ credit rationing, while insurance has limited effects on alleviating farmers’ credit rationing. There are differences in the effects of agricultural industry chains on alleviating various types of credit rationing of heterogeneous farmers in terms of scale, and the effects of joining agricultural industry chains on alleviating supply-based and demand-based credit rationing of large-scale farmers are more obvious than those of small farmers. Compared with the existing studies, this paper incorporates the credit rationing produced from farmers’ own reasons into the analysis framework, and introduces credit-enhancing variables of agricultural industry chains to test their specific mechanisms on farmers’ credit rationing. The findings of this study can provide a theoretical basis for promoting the innovation of financial models of agricultural industry chains, which is of great practical significance for improving the system of agricultural industry chains in developing countries, strengthening the role of industrial chains in absorbing small farmers, and promoting the modernization of agricultural industries with financial assistance. Full article

In the era of the digital economy, traditional industries have begun to realize digital transformations. For commercial banks, digital transformation is a trend and a requirement and is the only way to achieve sustainable development. At the same time, at the helm of the enterprise, executives play an essential role in the development of commercial banks. This study explored the relationship between digital bank transformation and bank efficiency, environment, society, and corporate governance (ESG) through empirical analysis, and how executives’ innovation awareness and executive technical background affect the relationships between digital bank transformation, bank efficiency, and ESG. This study used the regression method of fixed effects to conduct empirical research on the data of China’s A-share listed banks from 2011 to 2021. The research results show that the digital transformation of banks has improved efficiency and promoted the ESG performance of commercial banks. At the same time, executives’ innovation consciousness and technical background have played a positive regulatory role in banks’ digital transformation to promote bank efficiency and ESG. The main research object of this study was Chinese commercial banks. The bank’s digital transformation results were examined and the research was expanded to digital transformation and ESG. At the same time, this study has particular significance for investors who have a financial interest in banks. Full article

This study investigates the effect of economic policy uncertainty on financing efficiency in China’s high-tech manufacturing industry from static and dynamic perspectives. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist index, we measure financing efficiency and its changes over time. The results show that China’s high-tech manufacturing firms exhibit low static financing efficiency, yet they exhibit relatively high dynamic efficiency. A significant positive relationship is found between economic policy uncertainty and both static and dynamic financing efficiency. The uncertainty motivates firms to improve their financing efficiency, mainly by enhancing technical and scale efficiency and by increasing comprehensive efficiency. Moreover, different financing channels, such as commercial credit, equity financing, bank credit, and internal financing, have varied effects on the relationship between economic policy uncertainty and static financing efficiency. This study demonstrates that high-tech manufacturing enterprises can respond to economic policy uncertainty by improving their financing efficiency. Full article

Modeling the effects and paths of systemic financial risk contagion is significant for financial stability. This paper focuses on China’s systemic financial risk from the perspective of dynamic networks. First, we construct a high-dimensional dynamic financial network model to capture risk contagion effects. Second, considering the ripple effect of financial risk contagion, we introduce and improve the basic model of the ripple-spreading network. Finally, small- and medium-sized banks and economic policy uncertainty are selected as the internal and external contagion source, respectively, to simulate the risk of ripple-spreading paths. The results show that financial contagion is more likely to occur within the same industry. The contagion triggered by internal shock first spreads within the same industry, and then to other industries. The contagion triggered by external shock first spreads to banks, then to diversified financial institutions, securities and insurance institutions, successively. Moreover, some small- and medium-sized commercial banks show strong abilities to spread risk ripples. The securities industry is the intermediary layer of the ripple network and plays a leading role in the ripple-spreading process. Therefore, systemic financial risk regulation should focus not only on large financial institutions but also on financial institutions with strong ripple effects. During major risk events, isolating risk intermediary nodes can cut off the paths of risk contagion and mitigate the impact on the whole financial system effectively. Full article

China’s banking system has a relatively high level of state control, while an important task in regulating the banking system is to manage the profitability of banks. Using the stochastic frontier approach to assess the profitability of commercial banks not only allows for the bank’s ability to generate profits relative to the leading banks in the industry to be assessed but also takes into account the specifics of the management technologies used and the influence of the market environment. This article analyzes the profitability of the Chinese banking system for the period 2012–2020 using the stochastic frontier approach from the position of the central bank. The specifics of the analysis from the bank’s perspective imply a focus on the position of most banks regarding the level of best practices and trends in changing the overall level of profitability. Analysis may be of interest to banking regulators and researchers. In general, the Chinese banking system demonstrates a high level of profit efficiency and cost efficiency, although the dynamics of these indicators are negative. The reason for the negative dynamics is a decrease in the economic growth rate of the economy, the instability of the financial market and ongoing reforms. State-owned commercial banks are becoming highly profitable, while national joint-stock commercial banks are facing increasing competition and reducing efficiency of profitability. City and rural commercial banks maintain a high level of profitability due to state support. Full article

The Environmental Kuznets Curve is a key indicator to measure the relationship between the environmental pollution level and economic development. Considering that China’s economic development is a superposing process of multiple industrial technologies, in order to restore the classical Environmental Kuznets Curve estimation as much as possible, this paper selects the data of six types of pollutants between provinces (except Tibet) in China during 2011–2017 to construct a comprehensive environmental pollution degree indicator, which is more objective than the single indicator in traditional research; estimates the Environmental Kuznets Curve with per capita disposable income; and then conducts a panel regression analysis based on the econometric model. Research shows that the relationship between comprehensive environmental pollution and economic development basically presents an inverted U-shape, which is consistent with the basic characteristics of the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve, and the inflection point of the curve is 34,243.2 in RMB. Finally, according to the results, effective suggestions are put forward to correctly handle the relationship between economic development and environmental governance and optimize the path of environmental governance in China. Full article

With the background of deepening uncertainty about global and Chinese economic policy, the stability of the banking industry is of great strategic significance for promoting the high-quality development of the real economy and maintaining the order of the financial market. This paper uses the panel data of 32 commercial banks in China during the period of 2007–2020 to test the impact of economic policy uncertainty on bank stability and the mediating role of opacity. The research results show that the economic policy uncertainty has a negative impact on bank stability. Opacity plays a partial intermediary role between economic policy uncertainty and bank stability: economic policy uncertainty indirectly affects bank stability by stimulating banks to reduce market exposure and improve earnings opacity. Full article

Whether Fintech enabled by big data technology can improve the efficiency of credit allocation and how it would do has always been the focus in the capital market, especially the intermediary mechanism, which has not yet been convincingly explained. This paper empirically tests the logical relationship and micro mechanism between Fintech and the corporate financing constraint dilemma by using the data of China’s A-share non-financial listed companies from 2011 to 2018. The research found that Fintech has a significant mitigation effect on corporate financing constraints, and the coverage capability of Fintech has a stronger mitigation effect compared to the depth of use. Mechanism research shows that the “technology enabling” role of Fintech can alleviate the financing constraints of enterprises by reducing the degree of information asymmetry between capital supply and demand sides and reducing financing costs. Heterogeneity research shows that the mitigation effect of Fintech on corporate financing constraints is more significant in enterprises with private property, non-main board listing, senior executives with high financial literacy, and enterprises with strong competitive positions in the industry. Further research shows that, in order to identify the impact of Fintech on corporate financing types under an environment without internal control defects, Fintech enables enterprises facing financing constraints to obtain more commercial credit and bank loans; at a time when it is difficult to obtain bank loans, commercial credit has become an alternative financing method of bank loans, promoting the transfer of credit resources from traditional mortgage guarantees to enterprise commercial credit. This study provides a perspective for the research on how Fintech alleviates corporate financing constraints, and it reveals the characteristics of digital empowerment in the development of China’s capital market, providing a theoretical basis and evidence supporting the formulation of relevant policies. Full article