Search Results (628)

This study examines the relationship between income and municipal waste generation within the Waste Kuznets Curve (WKC) framework, with a focus on selected disaggregated household waste fractions (paper and cardboard, glass, bulky waste, and biowaste). The aim is to assess whether increases in earnings per capita are associated with non-linear waste dynamics once spatial interactions and local socio-demographic characteristics are taken into account. The study employs a spatial panel dataset for 378 Polish counties over the period 2017–2024. Fixed-effects panel models, supplemented with random-effects panel models with Mundlak’s approach, are estimated alongside spatial panel specifications. Control variables include population ageing, urbanisation, and tourism, while spatial effects are decomposed into direct and indirect impacts. The results indicate that, in non-spatial models, an inverted U-shaped relationship between earnings and waste generation is observed for most waste fractions. However, once spatial dependence is explicitly incorporated, income effects weaken. In contrast, demographic structure—the share of retirement-age population—emerges as a robust and spatially persistent determinant of waste generation. Urbanisation and tourism exert only a limited influence across waste fractions. The paper advances WKC research by using spatial econometric methods and disaggregated waste fractions at the county level. The evidence suggests that conclusions about income-driven waste decoupling are sensitive to spatial dependence, emphasising the need for locally tailored waste management strategies. Full article

Digital rural construction (DRC), as a crucial intersection of the rural revitalization strategy and the construction of Digital China, is a key path to addressing the imbalance and inadequacy in the urban–rural income gap (URIG). Based on provincial panel data from 2011 to 2023, this paper systematically examines the relationship and mechanism of action between the two using an econometric model. This study finds that DRC significantly reduces the URIG overall, and this effect is achieved through increasing urbanization levels, accelerating employment, and promoting social consumption. Spatial effect tests indicate that DRC has a spatial spillover effect; construction in one province reduces the URIG in neighboring provinces. Further research shows that, against the backdrop of human capital level acting as a threshold variable, the effect of DRC on the URIG exhibits an inverted “U”-shaped characteristic, first increasing and then decreasing. Therefore, this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions, including constructing a digital-enabled urban–rural integration mechanism, promoting cross-regional coordinated development of DRC, and implementing a tiered and categorized digital literacy improvement project. Full article

Developing high-quality regional integration requires a good-quality water environment. In this study, the impact of formal and informal environmental regulation (FIER) on water environment governance performance (WEP) is examined using a fixed-effects model and spatial Durbin model with a panel data sample of 281 cities from 2011 to 2022. It is found that (i) there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between FIER and WEP, which is first promoted and then inhibited and remains significant after endogeneity exploration and multiple robustness tests; (ii) the pressure of economic growth has weakened this elationship, while the digital economy has strengthened it; and (iii) further analysis reveals that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the local and spillover effects of FIER on WEP. Therefore, WEP can be improved by dynamically adjusting the intensity of FIER, optimizing the appraisal orientation of local governments, and accelerating the integration of digital economy and environmental governance Full article

Against the backdrop of accelerating urbanisation in China, the urban-rural divide continues to widen, while cave dwellings along the Yellow River have been largely abandoned, facing the challenge of cultural erosion. This study breaks from conventional conservation approaches by empirically exploring the viability of living heritage in promoting sustainable rural revitalisation and integrated urban-rural development. Employing participatory action research, it engaged multiple stakeholders—including villagers, returning migrants, and urban designers—across 60 villages in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. This collaboration catalysed a “collective-centred” adaptive reuse model, generating multifaceted solutions. The case of Fangshan County’s transformation into a cultural ecosystem demonstrates how this model simultaneously fosters endogenous social cohesion, attracts tourism resources and investment, while disseminating traditional culture. Quantitative analysis using the Yao Dong Living Heritage Sensitivity Index (Y-LHSI) and Living Heritage Transmission Index (Y-LHI) indicates that the efficacy of collective action is a decisive factor, revealing an inverted U-shaped relationship between economic development and cultural preservation. The findings further propose that living heritage regeneration should be reconceptualised from a purely technical restoration task into a viable social design pathway fostering mutually beneficial urban-rural symbiosis. It presents a replicable “Yao Dong Solution” integrating cultural sustainability, community resilience, and inclusive economic development, offering insights for achieving sustainable development goals in similar contexts across China and globally. Full article

In the context of global climate governance and China’s ‘Dual Carbon’ strategy, enhancing carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is a critical pathway toward high-quality development. Urban–rural integration (URI), reshaping urban–rural structures and resource allocation, has significant environmental implications. However, the mechanisms through which URI influences city-level CEE remain underexplored. Using panel data from 283 Chinese prefecture-level cities (2005–2022), we employ a Spatial Durbin Model to investigate URI’s direct and spatial spillover effects. First, spatiotemporally, URI demonstrates an imbalanced pattern, with higher levels in eastern coastal regions and lower levels in central and western areas. Conversely, CEE exhibits a north–south divide, with higher efficiency in the south. URI advancement has been sluggish with persisting imbalances, whereas CEE has demonstrated a consistent upward trend. Second, the relationship between URI and CEE is characterized by nonlinearity and spatial dependence. The direct effect follows a U-shaped curve, initially inhibiting but later promoting local CEE once a threshold is surpassed (URI = 0.103). The spatial spillover effect follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory (threshold URI = 0.179), suggesting that inter-regional dynamics evolve from synergistic promotion to potential competition. These findings underscore the necessity of phased, adaptive policies to unlock the potential between URI and CEE, providing a scientific basis for coordinating urban–rural development with carbon neutrality objectives. Full article

Against the backdrop of accelerating servitization transformation in the global manufacturing sector, how digital platform capability effectively drives improvements in innovation performance has become a critical issue. Existing research mainly focuses on the instrumental attributes of digital technologies, while relatively few studies examine their strategic role in servitization transformation, particularly the systematic explanation of the “capability–behavior–context–performance” transmission mechanism. To address this gap, this study integrates dynamic capability theory and the opportunity window theory to construct a moderated mediation model that uncovers the internal mechanisms and boundary conditions through which digital platform capability influences servitization innovation performance. Based on survey data from 237 manufacturing firms in Guangdong Province, the empirical results indicate that: (1) digital platform capability and value co-creation both exert significant positive effects on servitization innovation performance; (2) value co-creation mediates the relationship between digital platform capability and servitization innovation performance; and (3) although organizational distance was theoretically expected to function as an important contextual variable, this study does not find evidence supporting its inverted U-shaped moderating effect, suggesting that its role in digital contexts may be more complex. This study not only extends the application of dynamic capability theory and opportunity window theory in servitization innovation settings but also provides managerial insights for manufacturing firms to optimize digital platform strategies and build more resilient and sustainable innovation systems. Full article

The disjunction effect in the prisoner’s dilemma game shows that humans tend to cooperate more under uncertain condition (U) than under the two complementary known conditions—one being competitive (D) and the other being cooperative (C)—a well-known violation of the classical decision principle. Our study explores the potential role of prosociality in the disjunction effect. We measured prosocial trait via the SVO Slider Measure, and prosocial bias via the drift diffusion model (DDM). By using the SVO Slider Measure (for prosocial trait) and the DDM starting-point bias parameter (for prosocial bias), we found that the variation in prosocial bias between uncertain and certain conditions substantially contributes to the disjunction effect. At the aggregate level, prosocial bias significantly decreased from U to D (competitive) but did not differ between U and C (cooperative). At the individual level, participants showed heterogeneous bias changes across prosocial-trait groups: intermediate participants had the largest bias shifts. This heterogeneity underlies the observed inverted U-shaped relationship between prosocial trait and effect size of the disjunction effect. Our study fills a critical gap by clarifying how prosocial inclination influences the disjunction effect. Full article

Promoting social participation is a core objective of digital inclusive development. Drawing on rural household survey data from five provinces in China and the Digital Governance Index developed by Peking University, this study systematically examines the impact of digital governance on rural households’ social participation deprivation. The benchmark regression results show that the effect of digital governance on rural households’ social participation deprivation follows an inverted U-shape, characterized by an initial increase followed by a subsequent decline. A series of robustness and endogeneity tests confirms the stability of these findings. Further heterogeneity analyses reveal pronounced regional differences. In the western region, the impact of digital governance on farmers’ social participation deprivation follows a U-shaped pattern, with deprivation initially decreasing and then increasing as digital governance deepens. By contrast, in the central and eastern regions, the inflection point of the inverted U-shaped relationship shifts further to the right relative to the full sample. Furthermore, digital governance exerts a significantly stronger mitigating effect on social participation deprivation among households experiencing higher levels of deprivation. Mechanism analysis shows that digital governance reduces farmers’ social participation deprivation by enhancing their perceived access to public services and improving their psychological well-being. However, moderation analysis shows that household-level digital exclusion and relative poverty significantly weaken these beneficial effects. Full article

In the context of China’s dual-carbon agenda and the Digital China initiative, elucidating the role of digital literacy in shaping consumption-based household carbon emissions (HCE) is essential for advancing low-carbon urban living and supporting a broader green transition. Existing research has rarely examined, at the individual level, how digital capability shapes household consumption decisions and the structure of carbon emissions. Accordingly, this study draws on matched household-individual microdata from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). We employ a two-way fixed effects model, kernel density analysis, and qualitative comparative analysis. We test the nonlinear effect of digital literacy on household consumption-related carbon emissions and examine its heterogeneity. We also examined the mediating role of perceived environmental pressure, social trust and income level. The research results show that: (1) The net impact of digital literacy on carbon emissions related to household consumption shows an inverted U-shaped curve, rising first and then falling. When digital literacy is low, it mainly increases emissions by expanding consumption channels, reducing transaction costs and improving convenience. Once digital literacy exceeds a certain threshold, the mechanism will gradually turn to optimize the consumption structure, so as to support the low-carbon transformation of individuals. (2) The impact of digital literacy on HCE is structurally different in different types of consumption. In terms of transportation and communication expenditure, the emission reduction effect is the most significant, and with the improvement in digital literacy, this effect will become more and more obvious. For housing-related consumption, the turning point appeared the earliest. With the improvement in digital literacy, its effect will enter the emission reduction stage faster. (3) Digital literacy can reduce carbon emissions related to household consumption by enhancing residents’ perception of environmental pressure and strengthening social trust. However, it may also increase emissions by increasing residents’ incomes, because it will expand the scale of consumption, which will lead to an increase in carbon emissions related to household consumption. (4) The heterogeneity analysis shows that as digital literacy improves, carbon emissions increase more strongly among rural residents, people with low human capital, low-income households, and women. However, the turning-point threshold for emission reduction is relatively lower for women and rural residents. (5) Low-carbon transitions in household consumption are shaped by dynamic interactions among multiple factors, and multiple pathways can coexist. Digital literacy can work with environmental responsibility to endogenously promote low-carbon consumption behavior. It can also, under well-developed infrastructure, empower households and amplify the emission-reduction effects of technology. Full article

This study examines the relationship between lung and bronchus cancer mortality, vertical urban density, and smoking prevalence across 48 U.S. states from 1999 to 2022. Using 2034 state-year observations, skyscraper counts are employed as a proxy for vertical urban density, together with sex-specific, age-adjusted mortality and smoking data. A fully interacted empirical model identifies a non-linear, inverted U-shaped relationship between vertical density and lung cancer mortality for both men and women: mortality initially increases with greater vertical density but declines at higher levels, consistent with offsetting effects of environmental exposure and improved access to healthcare in highly dense urban environments. Importantly, the shape and magnitude of this relationship differ by gender. While smoking prevalence is strongly associated with lung cancer mortality for both sexes, mortality rates are consistently higher among males, and the marginal effect of smoking on mortality is more pronounced for men than for women. These findings highlight the importance of accounting for both non-linearity and gender heterogeneity when assessing the public health implications of urban form. Full article

As a crucial endogenous resource of firms, history has increasingly been recognized for its role in shaping strategies. However, little is known about how historical competitive experience affects digital orientation (DO), a vital strategic foundation that enables firms to capture value from digital transformation. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of competitive experience on firms’ DO and the factors shaping this relationship. Using a panel dataset of 4281 Chinese A-share listed firms from 2012 to 2023, we measure DO through MD&A-based text analysis and test our hypotheses with a two-way fixed-effects model. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship between competitive experience and DO. This indicates that moderate competitive experience stimulates DO, while excessive competitive experience can induce rigidity and constrain DO. Interestingly, market turbulence decreases the positive and increases the negative effect of competitive experience on DO, whereas market competition exerts the opposite moderating effect. Further analysis shows that this positive effect is enhanced within a higher-quality innovation environment. Our findings highlight the importance of history in shaping firms’ digital strategic posture in an emerging market. By treating competitive experience as a strategic resource, managers can transform their competitive legacy into a powerful engine for DO, especially under favorable environments. Full article

Online review images shape consumer perceptions by offering visual cues of product quality and use. Existing studies focus on aesthetics or object presence but overlook the functional balance among image types. This study introduces the Holistic Image Proportion (HIP)—the ratio of holistic to detailed review images—as a key determinant of visual information completeness. Using deep learning (ResNet-101) to classify over 240,000 images from 4450 clothing products, we find an inverted U-shaped relationship between HIP and sales: a balanced mix (HIP ≈ 0.5) maximizes performance. A follow-up experiment confirms that balanced image composition enhances perceived completeness, which fully mediates its effect on purchase intention. Review sentiment further moderates this relationship, amplifying the effect under positive sentiment. This research extends information completeness theory to visual data, highlighting that completeness emerges from functional image composition rather than quantity or aesthetics, offering new insights for multimodal persuasion and e-commerce design. Full article

While domestic green finance is widely recognized for its role in fostering green innovation and supporting climate change mitigation, the impact of international green finance (IGF) remains critical, particularly for developing economies where external finance inflows can catalyse transitions toward low-carbon development. This study investigates the long-run and short-run effects of IGF on green innovation and further examines the influence of green innovation on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions across a panel of 76 developing countries from 2000 to 2019. Using second-generation panel cointegration and the vector error correction mechanism, our findings reveal a nonlinear long-run relationship between IGF and total innovation, indicating that IGF must exceed a threshold before significantly boosting total innovation in developing economies. We also identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between IGF and green innovation, in which the positive effects of IGF diminish beyond a certain point. Crucially, IGF emerges as a significant driver of CO₂ emissions reduction in both the short- and long-run. While total innovation is associated with increased emissions over the long term, green innovation contributes to a substantial and sustained decrease in CO₂ emissions. These results emphasize the need to design targeted policies that prioritize green innovation and scale up IGF to support sustainable growth in developing countries. Full article

Forest carbon sinks (FCS)—referring specifically to ecosystem-based carbon sequestration provided by forest ecosystems—are being increasingly recognized as a strategic form of natural capital under China’s “dual carbon” goals. While the ecological value of FCS is being translated into economic benefits through carbon markets, eco-compensation, and green finance, the extent to which ecosystem carbon sinks can continuously drive regional economic growth—and how such effects differ across regions—remains insufficiently understood. Using panel data for 294 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022, this study employs dynamic panel methods to examine the dynamic, nonlinear, and heterogeneous impacts of ecosystem-based FCS on economic growth. The results show that (1) FCS significantly promote economic growth but follow an inverted U-shaped pattern, indicating diminishing marginal returns; (2) notable regional heterogeneity exists, with the strongest effects in central and western regions, while eastern cities exhibit weaker responses due to structural and spatial constraints; and (3) clear threshold effects are present, suggesting that industrial upgrading, urbanization, and moderate government intervention can amplify the economic contribution of FCS. These findings clarify the mechanism through which FCS transitions from ecological assets to economic capital, providing theoretical and empirical support for sustainable forest management, ecological-industrial integration, and carbon market optimization in the pursuit of carbon neutrality. Full article

Both managers and researchers closely examine the factors that motivate firms to explore new domains and acquire new knowledge in pursuit of greater innovation. Considering the role of demand-side factors in innovation, in this study, we investigate how customer concentration influences exploratory innovation based on Chinese listed firms from 2009 to 2019. As the characteristics of the top management team (TMT) may affect the influential mechanism, we further investigated the moderating effects of board interlocks and the CEO’s research background. Our results demonstrate that with the increase in customer concentration, the exploratory innovation level shows an inverted U-shaped trend. The board interlocks strengthen the positive effects of customer concentration on exploratory innovation, while a CEO’s research background mitigates the negative effects. Our findings offer key insights and serve as a benchmark for companies that aim to achieve innovation in their approach to managing customer relationships and organizing their top management teams. Full article