American Journal of Economics and Sociology最新文献

Regional imbalances in economic development and the urban–rural income gap are major challenges to the sustainable development of developing countries. Using the place-based policies of revitalization planning in China's old revolutionary base areas as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examined the role of place-based policies in income distribution between urban and rural areas in the typical less developed regions. Specifically, this study found that policy interventions significantly reduced the income gap between urban and rural residents. These findings implied that place-based policies aimed at reducing regional imbalances also had unintended benefits in promoting equitable income distribution between urban and rural areas. Place-based policies improved urban–rural income distribution through intermediary mechanisms such as improving public services, supporting agricultural development, and promoting the innovative development of the digital economy. The heterogeneity effect of regional characteristics was also found. In cities in western China, cities with large income inequality, and cities with slow urbanization, place-based policies played a stronger role in reducing income inequality between urban and rural areas. Our findings help to optimize public policies in areas such as balanced regional economic development and income distribution, and have important implications for sustainable development in less developed regions.

This paper explores the complex relationship between economic development, human development, income inequality, and happiness. It reveals that while GDP per capita correlates positively with the human development index (HDI) and income equality (low GINI), it does not guarantee higher life satisfaction in highly developed countries. The findings suggest that nonmaterial factors such as social cohesion, mental health, and work–life balance are more significant determinants of well-being once a certain level of economic prosperity is reached. Countries like Norway and Switzerland, despite their high GDP and HDI, demonstrate diminishing returns in terms of happiness. The research highlights the importance of limiting continuous economic growth for both environmental and human well-being. It advocates for a holistic approach to well-being, incorporating social factors alongside material wealth. Additionally, the study shows that while income inequality negatively impacts HDI, other factors like governance and health care also play a role. In Europe, the paradox of high GDP countries not reporting increased life satisfaction emphasizes the need for social policies that prioritize quality of life.

This paper investigates how environmental policies—emission tax and emission standard—affect the optimal environmental R&D (ER&D) risk choices of firms in a mixed market. The results show that for the private firm, ER&D risk is lower (higher) under the emission tax than under the emission standard when consumer environmental awareness is low (high). For the public firm, ER&D risk is always higher under the emission tax than under the emission standard. We also show that a privatization policy always decreases the ER&D risk of the public firm but is likely to increase the ER&D risk of the private firm. Finally, we find that the private firm faces considerable welfare risk when consumer environmental awareness is high under the emission tax. However, the private firm's incentive for ER&D risk is always lower than the social incentive under the emission standard.

Clan culture, a central element of China's traditional heritage, profoundly influences the corporate social responsibility practices of family businesses, shaping their behavior through deeply ingrained values and philosophical principles. We empirically examine the impact of clan culture on the corporate social responsibility of family businesses listed on China's Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2020. The findings show that clan culture encourages family businesses to engage in corporate social responsibility. However, family business operational difficulties weaken the positive impact of clan culture on corporate social responsibility, while the negative public image strengthens this impact. Mechanism testing reveals that socioemotional wealth plays a mediating role in the relationship between clan culture and corporate social responsibility. Specifically, clan culture improves family businesses' focus on restricted, maintained and extended socioemotional wealth, thereby promoting their proactive engagement in corporate social responsibility. Further analysis shows that clan culture has a greater impact on internal corporate social responsibility than on external corporate social responsibility. Additionally, different dimensions of socioemotional wealth affect internal and external corporate social responsibility in distinct ways. Specifically, under the influence of clan culture, family businesses' focus on restricted and extended socioemotional wealth promotes a proactive approach to internal corporate social responsibility. In contrast, an emphasis on restricted and maintained socioemotional wealth drives external corporate social responsibility. Our study enhances understanding of the internal mechanisms driving corporate social responsibility in family businesses from the perspective of clan culture and offers empirical evidence and managerial insights on how to leverage and sustain the spiritual value of clan culture.

We investigate the heterogeneous effects of institutional quality on structural change across 88 developing countries from 2000 to 2018. For our empirical analysis, we employ ordinary least squares, two-stage least squares, quantile regressions, and the generalized method of moments. Our findings reveal that higher institutional quality promotes structural change, with a particularly pronounced effect in countries at the lower end of the structural transformation spectrum. While all dimensions of institutions quality contribute to structural change, their impacts vary: economic institutions (government effectiveness and regulatory quality) exert the most substantial influence, followed by institutional governance-related dimensions (control of corruption, rule of law) and, to a lesser extent, political institutions (political stability, voice, and accountability). Furthermore, institutional quality has a stronger positive effect on structural change in low-income countries compared to middle-income countries. These findings suggest that policymakers should prioritize enhancing institutional quality to drive structural transformation.

In this paper, we study the impact of strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on the optimal licensing strategy for cost-reducing technology in a vertically differentiated duopoly. We compare three types of licensing strategies—fixed fee, royalty, and two-part tariff—under three CSR strategy structures: ST model (only firm 1 adopts a CSR strategy), TS model (only firm 2 adopts a CSR strategy), and SS model (both firms adopt CSR strategies). The results show that the licensor prefers fixed-fee licensing when it adopts a CSR strategy (i.e., ST and SS) but opts for two-part tariff licensing when it does not (i.e., TS). We also find that the optimal licensing contract leads to higher social welfare under the CSR compliance strategy than under the mixed CSR strategy. Finally, we show that firms endogenously choose the CSR compliance strategy.

Despite considerable inflows from worker remittances, foreign direct investment (FDI), and foreign grants, many top remittance-receiving countries continue to grapple with a growing external debt burden, posing a critical issue for policymakers and researchers. This study seeks to explore strategies to reduce external debt by investigating factors that either contribute to or mitigate foreign borrowing. Using panel data from 1991 to 2022, drawn from the World Development Indicators (WDI), the study applies Westerlund, Pedroni, and Kao co-integration tests alongside Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) and Dynamic OLS (DOLS) to address econometric challenges like serial correlation, autocorrelation, endogeneity, and unit roots. To ensure robustness, the study validates findings through Canonical Correlation Analysis and quantile regression, reinforcing the FMOLS and DOLS results. The analysis indicates that worker remittances, FDI, and economic growth significantly alleviate the external debt burden, while factors like debt servicing, gross capital formation, and imports exacerbate it, leading to increased borrowing. Based on these findings, the study recommends that governments enhance economic growth by channeling remittances through formal means and investing them in high-return, productive sectors. Additionally, controlling debt servicing and imports is suggested to better manage external debt.

This study examines the relationship between operating efficiency and firm value in the hotel industry during the most recent economic crises: the 2008–2009 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Both were Black Swan events that were difficult or impossible to predict in advance. Using a sample of 161,031 hotel firms from 1991 to 2023, we employ OLS and GLS regression models and seemingly unrelated regression analyses to perform the quantitative analysis. Our findings reveal that operating efficiency generally positively impacts firm value, but this relationship varies significantly depending on the nature of the crisis. During the financial crisis, the positive impact of efficiency on firm value was amplified, particularly for financially more robust hotels. Conversely, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the efficiency-value relationship remained stable, with financially more robust hotels experiencing a more pronounced negative impact. These results highlight the need for context-specific approaches to hotel financial management and valuation during Black Swan events, contributing to the literature on hospitality crisis management and financial performance.