Search Results (348)

China’s economy is shifting from an era of rapid expansion to one focused on high-quality development, making it imperative to tackle environmental degradation linked to energy use. Understanding how New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF) interact with energy efficiency, along with the mechanisms driving this relationship, is essential for economic transformation and long-term sustainability. This study establishes an evaluation framework for NQPF, integrating technological, green, and digital dimensions. We apply fixed-effects models, the spatial Durbin model (SDM), a moderation model, and a threshold model to analyze the influence of NQPF on Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency (GTFEE) and its spatial implications. This underscores the necessity of distinguishing it from traditional productivity frameworks and adopting a new analytical perspective. Furthermore, by considering dimensions such as input, application, innovation capability, and market efficiency, we reveal the moderating role and heterogeneous effects of artificial intelligence (AI). The findings are as follows: The development of NQPF significantly enhances GTFEE, and the conclusion remains robust after tail reduction and endogeneity tests. NQPF has a positive spatial spillover effect on GTFEE; that is, while improving the local GTFEE, it also improves neighboring regions GTFEE. The advancement of AI significantly strengthens the positive impact of NQPF on GTFEE. AI exhibits a significant U-shaped threshold effect: as AI levels increase, its moderating effect transitions from suppression to facilitation, with marginal benefits gradually increasing over time. Full article

The review summarizes the historical and current research on perennial grain breeding in Russia within the context of growing global interest in perennial crops. N.V. Tsitsin’s pioneering work in the 1930s produced the first wheat–wheatgrass amphiploids, which demonstrated the capacity to regrow after harvest and survive for 2–3 years. Subsequent research at the Main Botanical Garden in Moscow focused on characterizing Tsitsin’s material, selecting superior germplasm, and expanding genetic diversity through new cycles of hybridization and selection. This work led to the development of a new crop species, Trititrigia, and the release of cultivar ‘Pamyati Lyubimovoy’ in 2020, designed for dual-purpose production of high-quality grain and green biomass. Intermediate wheatgrass (Thinopyrum intermedium) is native to Russia, where several forage cultivars have been released and cultivated. Two large-grain cultivars (Sova and Filin) were developed from populations provided by the Land Institute and are now grown by farmers. Perennial rye was developed through interspecific crosses between Secale cereale and S. montanum, demonstrating persistence for 2–3 years with high biomass production and grain yields of 1.5–2.0 t/ha. Hybridization between Sorghum bicolor and S. halepense resulted in two released cultivars of perennial sorghum used primarily for forage production under arid conditions. Russia’s agroclimatic diversity in agricultural production systems provides significant opportunities for perennial crop development. The broader scientific and practical implications of perennial crops in Russia extend to climate-resilient, sustainable agriculture and international cooperation in this emerging field. Full article

China’s national strategies emphasize both achieving carbon peaking and neutrality (“dual carbon” objectives) and fostering high-quality economic development. This dual focus highlights the critical importance of the Green and Low-Carbon Transition (GLCT) of the economy and the development of New Quality Productive Forces (NQPF). Firms are central actors in this transformation, prompting the core research question: How does corporate engagement in GLCT contribute to the formation of NQPF? We investigate this relationship using panel data comprising 33,768 firm-year observations for A-share listed companies across diverse industries in China from 2012 to 2022. Corporate GLCT is measured via textual analysis of annual reports, while an NQPF index, incorporating both tangible and intangible dimensions, is constructed using the entropy method. Our empirical analysis relies primarily on fixed-effects regressions, supplemented by various robustness checks and alternative econometric specifications. The results demonstrate a significantly positive relationship: corporate GLCT robustly promotes the development of NQPF, with dynamic lag structures suggesting delayed productivity realization. Mechanism analysis reveals that this effect operates through three primary channels: improved access to financing, stimulated collaborative innovation and enhanced resource-allocation efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive impact of GLCT on NQPF is more pronounced for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), firms operating in high-emission sectors, those in energy-efficient or environmentally friendly industries, technology-intensive sectors, non-heavily polluting industries and companies situated in China’s eastern regions. Overall, our findings suggest that corporate GLCT enhances NQPF by improving resource-utilization efficiency and fostering innovation, with these effects amplified by specific regional advantages and firm characteristics. This study offers implications for corporate strategy, highlighting how aligning GLCT initiatives with core business objectives can drive NQPF, and provides evidence relevant for policymakers aiming to optimize environmental governance and foster sustainable economic pathways. Full article

As the mainstream financial modality in the digital economy era, digital finance drives industrial digitization and green transformation through capital and technological support, enabling governments to advance environmental governance with greater precision, efficiency, and sustainability. Utilizing 2012–2023 panel data from 31 Chinese provinces, this study innovatively constructs a multidimensional panel data model for the quantitative analysis of the overall impact, heterogeneous effects, and spatial spillover effects of digital finance on government environmental governance. It further examines the mediating effect and the threshold effects of new quality productive forces, and the moderated mediation effects of green technological innovation and industrial collaborative agglomeration. In this study, (1) digital finance significantly drives government environmental governance, and this finding exhibits robustness; (2) digital finance exerts heterogeneous impact on government environmental governance, with more pronounced effects in eastern and sub-developed regions; (3) digital finance generates positive spatial spillover effects on government environmental governance; (4) new quality productive forces positively mediate the relationship between digital finance and government environmental governance; (5) green technological innovation exhibits dual moderation characteristics, moderating both “digital finance → new quality productive forces” and “new quality productive forces → government environmental governance,” while industrial collaborative agglomeration shows single moderation, specifically moderating “new quality productive forces → government environmental governance”; (6) the impact of digital finance on government environmental governance presents a nonlinear feature of “increasing marginal returns.” On these accounts, this study proposes targeted recommendations from six dimensions. Full article

Amidst the dual challenges of escalating ecological environmental pressures and economic transformation globally, green innovation emerges as a pivotal pathway toward achieving high-quality sustainable development. To elucidate how digitalization and novel productive forces synergistically drive the green transition, the research utilizes panel data from 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China spanning 2009 to 2022, constructing a green innovation efficiency measurement frame-work grounded in the Super Slack-Based Measure (Super-SBM)model, alongside a novel productive forces evaluation system based on the triad of laborers, labor objects, and means of production. Employing spatial difference-in-differences and double machine learning methodologies within a quasi-natural experimental design, the research investigates the causal mechanisms through which digital empowerment and novel productive forces influence regional green innovation efficiency. The findings reveal that both digital empowerment and novel productive forces significantly enhance regional green innovation efficiency, exhibiting pronounced positive spatial spillover effects on neighboring regions. Heterogeneity analyses demonstrate that the promotive impacts are more pronounced in eastern provinces compared to central and western counterparts, in provinces participating in carbon trading relative to those that do not, and in innovation-driven provinces versus non-innovative ones. Mediation analysis indicates that digital empowerment operates by fostering the aggregation of innovative talent and elevating governmental ecological attentiveness, whereas new-type productivity exerts its influence primarily through intellectual property protection and the clustering of high-technology industries. The results offer empirical foundations for policymakers to devise coordinated regional green development strategies, refine digital transformation policies, and promote industrial structural optimization. Furthermore, this research provides valuable data-driven insights and theoretical guidance for local governments and enterprises in cultivating green innovation and new-type productivity. Full article

Reducing carbon dioxide emissions within carbon-intensive industries is a critical strategy to effectively combat global warming. The accelerated cultivation and enhancement of new quality productivity has created new momentum directed towards industrial low-carbon transformation. Using data from a sample of Chinese provinces and enterprises between 2011 and 2022, this study quantifies, evaluates, and explores the influence and mechanisms of new quality productivity on the low-carbon transformation of carbon-intensive industries. The research findings show that: (1) Fostering new quality productivity effectively promotes the low-carbon transformation of carbon-intensive industries and plays a positive, empowering role. Industrial innovation, digital stimulation, technological innovation, and green empowerment all support the low-carbon transformation of carbon-intensive industries, with their respective impacts gradually decreasing in turn. (2) Mechanism analysis confirms a chain transmission mechanism of “new quality productivity—environmental protection investment—green innovation—the transformation of carbon-intensive industries” at the macro-provincial level. In micro-level carbon-intensive enterprises, a positive U-shaped relationship between new quality productivity and low-carbon transformation of carbon-intensive industries is evident, and the main pathways include increasing low-carbon, energy-saving investment and improving the ESG performance of high-carbon emission enterprises. (3) Advancing transformation is more pronounced in central and western areas, high-carbon areas, non-carbon trading pilot areas, and non-energy-rich ecologically fragile areas. The government and enterprises should take advantage of the development opportunities of new quality productivity and adopt low-carbon behaviors to promote transformational development. Full article

Metal injection molding (MIM) is a current technology used to produce products with complex shapes. Despite the accumulated worldwide experience in using this technology, manufacturers sometimes fail to launch new products of proper quality. Often, this is because defects can occur at the casting stage, the prevention of which is impossible through the use of standard design and technological solutions of molds design and the experimental selection of technological modes. This study aimed to analyze the causes of such defects in the green part and optimize the mold design to ensure defect-free casting, which was impossible for the manufacturer using standard solutions. The core method used in this study was simulation modeling of the casting process. A hypotheses were selected, and an analysis of the causes of defect occurrence in casting was conducted. Simulation modeling proved that defect occurrence was due to the formation of a free melt jet and subsequent air capture by this jet. Based on modeling, different gating and feeding system designs were analyzed, which made it possible to choose a variant that provided the uniform filling of gating cavities without forming jet flows and defects. The novelty of this study lies in its optimization of the mold design to prevent free melt jetting and similar defects in other MIM products by modeling feedstock molding processes. The presented results can help enrich the knowledge base of the mold design for MIM and ensure defect-free production. Full article

Based on a sample of A-share companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2022, this paper measures and analyzes the degree of enterprises’ digital–green synergy and further tests the influence mechanism of fintech on enterprises’ digital–green synergistic development. It is found that fintech has a significant positive effect on enterprises’ digitization, enterprises’ greening, and their digital–green synergistic development, and the conclusion still holds after robustness and endogeneity tests. A heterogeneity analysis shows that the heterogeneity of enterprises’ size and the degree of industry emissions affects the promotional effect of fintech on the synergy. Fintech effectively promotes enterprises’ digital–green synergistic development through the three channels of green innovation, efficiency enhancement, and environmental information disclosure, and the heterogeneity of the executive team’s ages and the heterogeneity of their occupational backgrounds have a positive moderating effect on the promotional effect of fintech. The findings provide a conceptual framework and policy formulation guidelines for fintech to support the promotion of enterprises’ digital–green synergy and the improvement of new-quality productivity. Full article

Recently, a new solarization method gained a great deal of attention thanks to various advantages in comparison with both the traditional one and soil fumigation (alternative soil treatment based on the use of chemical agents). This method implements traditional solarization by spraying a biodegradable black liquid over the soil surface before the application of a thermic film. This creates a thin black film that acts like a “black body”, significantly increasing soil temperatures at various depths. Thanks to higher temperatures, it is possible to eliminate most of the pathogens in shorter times compared to traditional solarization. In the present paper, the results of different trials carried out on green beans, Romanesco broccoli, and lettuce were reported. The aims of this work were to demonstrate the efficacy on soil borne pathogens, its lower impact on living soil fungal biodiversity and the agronomical performance of the new solarization method. All crops tested showed a significant yield increase when grown in soil treated with the innovative solarization method. Romanesco broccoli also exhibited improved inflorescence quality. Solarization had a positive impact on overall crop productivity: green beans showed a maximum yield increase of 165.3%, lettuce yields rose by 47.5%, and Romanesco broccoli yields were 111.5% higher compared to the non-solarized control. These results confirm that the new solarization method is more effective, as well as environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable compared to traditional methods. Full article

New-quality productivity and industrial structure upgrading has become a primary area of concern with respect to regional economic transformation and sustainable development. Based on static panel data of 108 prefecture-level-and-above cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2013 to 2022, the projection pursuit model, coupling coordination degree model, and obstacle degree model were used to study the spatiotemporal patterns and key obstacle factors in the coupling of new-quality productivity and levels of industrial upgrading. Results show the following: (1) The average coupling coordination degree increased from 0.42 in 2013 to 0.53 in 2022, exhibiting a three-stage trend of “initial advancement, rapid growth, and high-level fluctuation”. (2) Regionally, a gradient pattern of “downstream leading, midstream following, and upstream catching up” persists, but regional gaps have narrowed significantly. (3) Spatially, the coupling coordination level shows a pattern of “high in the east, low in the west, led by the core, and breakthrough in the local area”, with significant positive aggregation characteristics. (4) The main obstacle factors across the entire area include digital patents (7.03%), green patents (7.03%), and the number of high-tech enterprises (6.96%), but the weights of the obstacle factors vary greatly across different areas. These findings provide scientific support for green transformation, regional integration, and sustainability-oriented industrial policy design in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Full article

Under China’s “dual-carbon” goal, it is necessary to coordinate the relationship between economic growth and emission reduction. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2021, this paper explores the coordination level among carbon cutting (CC), pollution reduction (PR), and economic growth (EG) by using the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model, a cold and hot spot analysis, and the Dagum Gini coefficient. Furthermore, we analyze the influencing factors of CCD from a spatial perspective using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results show that the coordination level of CC, PR, and EG in China has continued to improve and entered a moderately coordinated stage. Meanwhile, regional differences are also evident. The eastern region is a high-CCD concentration area, while the northwest and northeast regions are low-CCD concentration areas. However, inter-regional differences in CCD are decreasing. Urbanization, foreign direct investment, and new quality productive forces contribute significantly to achieving synergies among CC, PR, and EG. However, the effect of industry digitization on CCD fails the significance test in most provinces. The effects of the factors on CCD exhibit obvious spatial heterogeneity characteristics. These findings can provide an important basis for the formulation of regionally differentiated green and low-carbon development policies. Full article

This research investigates the role of fossil fuel energy, renewable energy, and education in terms of years of schooling and mean years of schooling on the economic growth of 19 selected Sub-Saharan African countries. The primary objective is to assess whether renewable energy and educational attainment serve as viable long-term drivers of economic development in a region still heavily reliant on fossil fuels. We employed the newly developed and robust econometric estimators, including “Residual Augmented Least Squares (RALS) co-integration”, to estimate long-term links among the facets of study. Moreover, “Pooled Mean Group–Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (PMG-ARDL) and Quantile Autoregressive Distributed Lag (QARDL)” econometric estimator was employed to estimate the long and short coefficients of the antecedents of study. The estimations obtained from the PMG-ARDL and QARDL estimators provide evidence that the coefficients of fossil fuel energy and renewable energy on economic growth are positive. But surprisingly, the magnitude of renewable energy is greater than fossil fuel energy in Sub-Saharan countries that still depend on fossil fuels. Moreover, human capital and capital stock boost economic growth in the countries studied. The outcomes reveal that not only quality but also quantity of education play a vital role in boosting economic development. To deepen the understanding of the observed effects, the study also explores the transmission channels through which renewable energy and education foster economic growth. Renewable energy contributes by lowering the marginal cost of electricity, encouraging green industrial transformation, and serving as a catalyst for technological innovation. Concurrently, improvements in education—measured by both expected and mean years of schooling—elevate labor productivity and facilitate the absorption and diffusion of new technologies across sectors, thereby stimulating sustained economic performance. The empirical results provide valuable insights for government officials and policymakers in specific Sub-Saharan African countries. Full article

In the context of China’s strategic push toward high-quality development, the concept of new quality productive forces (NQPF)—which emphasizes technological innovation, green transformation, and digital upgrading—has received a lot of attention. However, the increasing volatility and ambiguity in climate-related policymaking present a serious institutional challenge. This study addresses the underexplored question of how climate policy uncertainty (CPU) affects the regional development of NQPF in China. Unlike traditional productivity, NQPF relies on long-term innovation and sustainable investment, which are highly sensitive to external policy signals. Drawing on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2013 and 2021, this paper uses fixed-effects regressions to empirically assess the influence of CPU on NQPF. The findings reveal that CPU significantly suppresses the development of NQPF, but this effect is mitigated by financial inclusion, carbon market participation, and strong local government sustainability performance. This paper provides new insight into the risks posed by climate uncertainty to economic development and highlights institutional tools that can buffer its negative effects. Full article

The digital economy’s development has been significantly influenced by data, which have emerged as a new propelling force for the promotion of high-quality and environmentally friendly agricultural development. This paper employs panel data from 30 provinces in China, spanning from 2000 to 2022. We construct a multi-period difference-in-differences model to investigate the impact of data elements on agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) by utilizing the launch of public data open platforms as a quasi-natural experiment. AGTFP is substantially improved by public data openness, as indicated by the findings. Cross-sectoral labor transfer and green technological innovation are critical pathways through which public data openness enhances AGTFP, according to the mechanism analysis. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis indicates that the beneficial impact of public data openness on AGTFP is more pronounced in regions with high levels of environmental regulation and non-major grain-producing regions. The results of this study have significant policy implications for the evaluation of the economic impacts of data elements and the promotion of sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural development. Full article

With the increasing awareness of human environmental protection, eco-products, a green and sustainability resource, are increasingly valued; however, the dynamics that drive the realization of the environmental benefits of the products are poorly understood. Therefore, this study investigates the role of new quality productivity in influencing the realization of eco-product value in China as an example. This study applies the fixed effects model to verify the hypotheses presented in the article through robustness and endogeneity tests, and explores the impact of neoplastic productivity in more depth through heterogeneity and threshold effects tests. This study finds that new productivity has a significant effect on the realization of eco-product value, and there is a non-linear threshold feature, which is still valid after the robustness test; the mechanism analysis shows that the advanced industrial structure and the green technology innovation constitute the main transmission path, while the population urbanization rate plays a positive moderating role; and the test of heterogeneity reveals that the effect of the eastern region and the region with high development of the digital economy is more significant. The results show that the new quality of productive forces provides the core energy to break the dichotomy between ecological protection and economic development, and realize sustainable development in which human beings and nature coexist harmoniously. The conclusions additions are as follows. China should adopt a strategy that differentiates between regions and levels of digital economic development, while paying attention to the threshold effect of environmental protection expenditure and total mechanical power per hectare of crop sown area, in order to promote the efficient development of new quality productivity and provide impetus for the realization of the value of ecological products. Full article