•We investigate the effect of income on residents’ WTP for environmental protection.•We use ordered Logit model and micro data from the Chinese General Social Survey.•We find that the WTP does not ...always rise with the increase in residents’ income.•The marginal WTP for environmental protection declines with the increase in income.•The residents in more polluted cities have higher WTP for environmental protection.
The majority of existing studies argue that rich people and the residents in high-income countries and regions have stronger willingness to pay (WTP) for environmental protection. Does such a rule hold true for China at the present stage? Previous studies pay little attention to this issue due to the lack of related data. Merging the micro data from the Chinese General Social Survey in 2010 (CGSS2010) with the macro data at the corresponding urban level of China, as well as two types of satellite monitoring data, this paper investigates the effect of income on residents’ WTP for environmental protection at both macro and micro perspectives based on the ordered Logit model. The results show that the rich do have stronger WTP for environmental protection. However, with the increase in residents’ income, the marginal WTP for environmental protection will decline, and a reversal occurs at the top income level. Therefore, the WTP does not always rise with the increase in income, and the middle-income class has the strongest WTP for environmental protection. Moreover, after controlling individual characteristics, residents’ WTP for environmental protection more depends on environmental pollution degree rather than urban average income level measured by both GDP per capita and the nighttime lights data from satellite monitoring. The residents in more polluted cities have stronger WTP for environmental protection. Therefore, it is not reasonable to improve people’s environmental preferences purely through economic development.
The electroreduction of CO2 to value‐added chemicals such as CO is a promising approach to realize carbon‐neutral energy cycle, but still remains big challenge including low current density. Covalent ...organic frameworks (COFs) with abundant accessible active single‐sites can offer a bridge between homogeneous and heterogeneous electrocatalysis, but the low electrical conductivity limits their application for CO2 electroreduction reaction (CO2RR). Here, a 2D conductive Ni‐phthalocyanine‐based COF, named NiPc‐COF, is synthesized by condensation of 2,3,9,10,16,17,23,24‐octa‐aminophthalocyaninato Ni(II) and tert‐butylpyrene‐tetraone for highly efficient CO2RR. Due to its highly intrinsic conductivity and accessible active sites, the robust conductive 2D NiPc‐COF nanosheets exhibit very high CO selectivity (>93%) in a wide range of the applied potentials of −0.6 to −1.1 V versus the reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) and large partial current density of 35 mA cm−2 at −1.1 V versus RHE in aqueous solution that surpasses all the conventional COF electrocatalysts. The robust NiPc‐COF that is bridged by covalent pyrazine linkage can maintain its CO2RR activity for 10 h. This work presents the implementation of the conductive COF nanosheets for CO2RR and provides a strategy to enhance energy conversion efficiency in electrocatalysis.
A conductive nickelophthalocyanine‐based 2D covalent organic framework is synthesized and employed as a robust and efficient electrocatalyst for CO2 electroreduction reaction, providing a new route to design highly efficient porous framework materials for the enhanced electrocatalysis via improving electrical conductivity.
As the most important emerging transportation technology, high-speed rail (HSR) can reshape regional economic development patterns and exert an important effect on the ecological environment. Using a ...panel data set of 275 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above from 2003 to 2014, this study is the first to adopt a continuous spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model to investigate the effect and its mechanism of HSR service intensity on CO2 emissions. A series of robustness tests are performed, including the placebo test and using the propensity score matching method combined with the SDID (PSM-SDID) model. We also conduct a heterogeneity analysis using a spatial difference-in-difference-in-differences (SDDD) model. The results show that an increase in HSR service intensity significantly reduces urban CO2 emissions, resulting from the effects of transportation substitution, market integration, industrial structure, and technological innovation. Meanwhile, such an increase inhibits CO2 emissions in neighboring cities with a spatial attenuation boundary of 1000 km. On average, for every addition of 100 HSR trains in a city, the total CO2 emissions can be reduced by 0.14%. Moreover, the CO2 emission reduction effect of HSR is more significant in eastern China, large cities, and resource-based cities. However, higher levels of HSR service intensity in large cities and resource-based cities are not conducive to reducing CO2 emissions in neighboring cities. These findings can help to accurately evaluate the social benefits of expanding HSR networks and provide an important decision-making reference for climate governance during the era of HSR.
•We explore the effect and its mechanism of high-speed rail (HSR) on CO2 emissions.•We use a continuous spatial difference-in-differences model and China's urban data.•An increase in HSR service intensity significantly reduces urban CO2 emissions.•HSR curbs neighboring CO2 emissions with an attenuation boundary of 1000 km.•Every addition of 100 HSR trains in a city can reduce total CO2 emissions by 0.14%.
In the context of increasingly serious rural environmental pollution in China, this paper specifically examines the impact of China's rural labor transfer (RLT) on rural environmental pollution. ...Based on the micro data of rural communities from the Chinese Family Database and the China Community Governance Survey, we investigate the impacts of RLT on agricultural pollution (AP), rural industrial pollution (RIP), and rural domestic pollution (RDP). Furthermore, we identify the mechanisms of RLT affecting rural environmental pollution by applying the mediation effect model. The results show that, with more migrant labors flowing out of the village, the probabilities of AP and RIP decrease, while the probability of RDP increases. However, different transfer modes have heterogeneous effects on rural environmental pollution. When RLT includes the whole family, higher probabilities of AP, RIP, and RDP will present, while RLT with some (but not all) family members gives rise to higher probabilities of AP and RDP, and a lower probability of RIP. In addition, the effects of RLT on the above three types of pollution are different between communities with labor net inflow and labor net outflow. Labor net outflow significantly aggravates the probabilities of AP and RDP in the outflow communities, but reduces the probability of RIP. In contrast, labor net inflow significantly increases the probability of RIP in the inflow communities. The results of mechanism analysis reveal that RLT increases the probability of AP by increasing the proportion of left-behind elderly and children, but lessens the probability of AP by increasing the amount of idle cultivated land. Moreover, RLT renders communities less likely to suffer from RIP, because RLT lowers the probability of high-polluting enterprises moving into communities. However, by improving rural residents' per capita disposable income, RLT increases the likelihood of communities exposing to RDP.
•We examine China's rural labor transfer (RLT) impact on rural environmental pollution.•We use micro data of rural communities and the Probit and treatment effect models.•Different transfer modes have heterogeneous effects on rural environmental pollution.•RLT renders communities less likely to suffer from rural industrial pollution.•RLT increases the probability of communities exposing to rural domestic pollution.
In existing studies, no consensus has been reached on the relationship between natural resource dependence and human capital accumulation. To narrow the divergence, this paper carries out a normative ...research to explain the co-existence of the phenomena of the resource curse and the resource blessing based on an organic combination of conceptual and mathematical models. It first establishes a conceptual model to analyse the potential effects of the government׳s policy preference and natural resource development activities on human capital accumulation and economic growth. Furthermore, it develops an endogenous growth model to normatively illuminate the effects in the conceptual model and to explore the condition for the occurrence of the resource curse. The conceptual model analysis indicates that the rate of return on education investment and government behaviours play the crucial role in promoting the formation of the economic virtuous circle at the micro-level and macro-level, respectively, while resource development activities exert dual impacts on the circle. The main mechanisms in the conceptual model can be validated in the mathematical model. The rise in the subjective discount rate, the elasticity of intertemporal substitution, and resource goods price are adverse to the economic virtuous circle, while high-quality education and the institutional environment giving priority to manufacturing can become the necessary condition and sufficient condition for forming the circle, respectively. The allocation efficiency of production factors plays a decisive role in whether the blessing occurs, whereas sufficient human capital is an essential guarantee for evading the curse.
•We conduct normative research combining a conceptual model and a mathematical model.•We discuss the potential impact of resource dependence on human capital and growth.•We explain the co-existence of the resource blessing and resource curse phenomena.•Allocation efficiency of production factors is a critical factor to evade the curse.•Sufficient human capital is an essential guarantee to evade the curse.
This article elucidates Márkus’ new Marxist philosophy of language based on his critique of the paradigm of language represented by Popper, Wittgenstein, Lévi-Strauss, and Gadamer. His critique ...suggests that instrumental rationality, pure reason, alienated reason, and objective and idealistic rationality of the paradigm of language are elements that should be overcome. From his critical perspective, value rationality, practical reason, personal reason, and historical materialism are advocated instead. He not only critically develops the philosophy of language but also adds new levels of meaning to Marxism.
Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) play an increasingly important role in the process of urban environmental governance, especially in some developing countries such as China. ...However, existing studies pay little attention to such an issue in China. In this paper, we consider 113 cities in China from the pollution information transparency index (PITI) list released by ENGOs as the treatment group and some other cities as the control group, and use the difference-in-differences (DID) model and propensity score matching DID (PSM-DID) model to explore the role of ENGOs in China's urban environmental governance. The results show that ENGOs play a significantly positive and robust role in China's urban environmental governance. Furthermore, using regression analysis for eastern, central, and western China, we find that the influence of ENGOs exists in eastern and central China rather than in western China. In addition, the results of the Placebo test indicate that the effect of ENGOs shows an upward trend since 2008. We suggest that ENGOs' role should be strengthened in China, and governments at various levels should take into account environmental information released by ENGOs and consider appropriate measures to improve local environment quality using the obtained information.
•We use DID model to explore ENGOs' effect on China's urban environmental governance.•We consider 113 cities in the PITI list released by ENGOs as the treatment group.•ENGOs play a significantly positive role in China's urban environmental governance.•The effect of ENGOs exists in eastern and central China rather than in western China.•The effect of ENGOs shows an upward trend since 2008.
High speed rail (HSR) services shorten space-time distances between cities and induce the reallocation of production resources between regions (cities). Based on the data of 25 cities in China's ...Yangtze River Delta region during 1995–2014, this paper uses the (continuous) difference-in-differences model to investigate the influence of HSR on urban service industry agglomeration. The results show that HSR has a positive effect on the urban service industry agglomeration of the cities located along the rail lines. Compared with cities not located along the rail lines, HSR does not weaken the service industry agglomeration of the medium and small-sized cities that are also situated along the rail lines and around the core city. The service intensity of HSR, which is measured by train service frequency, also exhibits a significant effect on the service industry agglomeration of those cities located along the rail lines. Higher levels of HSR service intensity have a greater effect on urban service industry agglomeration. In addition, we further subdivide the category of service industry into producer service, consumer service, and public service industries. We find that HSR has a significant impact on producer service industry agglomeration, but HSR's influences on consumer service industry and public service industry are insignificant.
•We explore the effect of high speed rail (HSR) on service industry agglomeration.•We construct the traditional and continuous difference-in-differences (DID) models.•HSR promotes the service industry agglomeration of the cities with HSR services.•Higher HSR service intensity has a greater effect on service industry agglomeration.•HSR has a significant influence on producer service industry agglomeration.
We study the connection between the correlation decay property (more precisely, strong spatial mixing) and the zero-freeness of the partition function of 2-spin systems on graphs of bounded degree. ...We show that for 2-spin systems on an entire family of graphs of a given bounded degree, the
contraction
property that ensures correlation decay exists for certain real parameters implies the zero-freeness of the partition function and the existence of correlation decay for some corresponding complex neighborhoods. Based on this connection, we are able to extend any real parameter of which the 2-spin system on graphs of bounded degree exhibits correlation decay to its complex neighborhood where the partition function is zero-free and correlation decay still exists. We give new zero-free regions in which the edge interaction parameters and the uniform external field are all complex-valued, and we show the existence of correlation decay for such complex regions. As a consequence, we obtain approximation algorithms for computing the partition function of 2-spin systems on graphs of bounded degree for these complex parameter settings.
As part of the country’s efforts to achieve green development, China implemented a mandatory energy intensity reduction target in its 11th “Five-Year Plan (FYP)” in 2006, and then began to roll out a ...series of relevant measures. However, existing studies have paid little attention to the actual effects of China’s energy intensity constraint policy (EICP). In this paper, using panel data from China’s 36 industrial sub-sectors covering the years from 2001 to 2014, we adopt the difference-in-differences (DID) method to investigate for the first time the EICP’s (marginal) effect on total factor energy efficiency growth (TFEEG). We also estimate the super-position effect caused by the introduction of a carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP) on TFEEG, through the difference-in-difference-in-differences (DDD) strategy. Finally, using counterfactual, re-grouping and quasi-DID analyses, we conduct a series of robustness tests of the empirical results. The results show that the TFEEG in China’s industrial sector experienced an overall declining trend between 2001 and 2014. The implementation of the EICP has had a significantly negative effect on the improvement of the TFEEG of sub-sectors with higher levels of energy intensity. After the implementation of the EICP, the TFEEG rate of these sub-sectors declined by 4.31%, compared to the rate of the other sub-sectors. The results of a series of robustness tests indicate that such a negative effect is credible. The marginal effect in the first two years after the implementation of the EICP was significantly negative, while the superposition effect of the introduction of a CICP on industrial TFEEG remained negative. Thus, the Chinese government should reinforce the implementation of energy-saving policies by introducing additional market-oriented auxiliary policies to propel the green development transformation of China’s industrial sector.
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