Structural Change and Economic Dynamics最新文献

In Spain, 85.5 % of energy industry workers have a salary that is more than the Spanish average salary. We apply a binomial logit model based on the maximum likelihood estimation method to analyze the factors that determine the probability of obtaining these higher wages. The sample used was taken from the Wage Structure Survey (2018) prepared by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics. Firstly, the results show that this sector has a consolidated workforce and that the workers' educational levels are appropriate for their jobs. Secondly, there are no gender-based wage differences in this industry. Finally, working conditions and wages are established through collective bargaining agreements at the company level, which stands in contrast to other types of agreements established in the rest of the Spanish economy.

This paper delves into the dynamics of wealth distribution across various countries, utilizing innovative methodologies to uncover patterns of wealth polarization and its determinants. Wealth, distinct from income, reflects long-term economic resources and serves as a crucial indicator of economic well-being. Employing the "relative distribution" method and Recentered Influence Function (RIF) regression, this study examines changes in wealth distribution and the factors driving wealth polarization across eight European countries, Australia, and the United States.

The analysis reveals significant heterogeneity in wealth distribution trends among countries, with disparities observed over time. Wealth polarization, akin to income polarization, emerges as a phenomenon distinct from traditional measures of inequality, shedding light on the concentration of wealth within societies. Household composition, demographic factors, and socioeconomic characteristics significantly influence wealth polarization, echoing patterns observed in income polarization studies.

The findings underscore the multifaceted nature of wealth distribution dynamics and highlight the need for comprehensive policy interventions to address wealth inequality and polarization. Policy measures such as progressive taxation, regulatory reforms, and asset-building programs for marginalized communities are crucial in fostering equitable wealth distribution and creating inclusive societies.

Enterprises, including multinational ones, play a crucial role in harmonizing economic growth with environmental conservation through green transition efforts. Based on a panel dataset of 1,916 publicly listed Chinese companies, this study investigates how overseas investment activities conducted by multinational enterprises (MNEs) influence their green transition performance. We find that the increase in overseas investment significantly contributes to MNEs’ transition toward greener practices, with this positive effect being particularly pronounced in greenfield investments. Mechanism analysis suggests that overseas investment benefits the green transition performance of MNEs through competitive effects, economies of scale, and profit feedback from overseas subsidiaries. Moreover, reverse technology spillovers derived from overseas investments are effective in promoting MNEs’ greening, an effect amplified when MNEs possess a higher technology absorptive capacity or operate in flexible intellectual property protection.

It is highly necessary to conduct a more detailed assessment of the economic impacts caused by the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), especially for numerous developing countries. This study utilizes the input-output (IO) model to evaluate the inequality consequence of CBAM. Results indicate that 1) the overall impact of output decline and production cost increase on non-OECD countries is greater than that on OECD countries; 2) regionally, African countries experience a more severe output decline, while Asian countries see a higher increase in production costs. Apart from BRICS, other developing countries demonstrate low reduction efficiency; 3) a refund mechanism based on historical emission responsibility results in larger benefits for the LDCs. Conversely, green innovation contribution and emission reduction efforts primarily benefit developed economies and large developing countries. We recommend 1) prioritizing assessments for developing countries before designing cross-border climate policy; 2) considering both fairness and efficiency when designing a refund mechanism.

This study analyzed changes in the carbon emissions of China's top five trading partners using a structural decomposition model based on inter-country input-output analysis. The main influencing factors were analyzed using constant price input-output tables for 2007, 2012, 2017, and 2021. Changes in the carbon emissions of the trading partner economies during 2007–2021 were decomposed into 15 essential factors to investigate the impacts of intermediate and final demands, and then isolate the influence of intermediate and final demands of China. The results revealed the following: (i) Carbon emissions in the developed economies experienced decline followed by increase after the Covid-19 pandemic, whereas ASEAN economies experienced steady increase in carbon emissions. (ii) Carbon intensity was one of the most important factors affecting carbon emissions. (iii) The size of China's expanding final demand contributed to an increase in carbon emissions in the primary and natural resources industry, capital-intensive manufacturing industry, and knowledge-intensive manufacturing industry.

Existing studies on the employment effects of a low-carbon economy predominantly focus on sectoral dynamics instead of regions, providing limited references for prefectural policymaking. We address this gap by employing a fixed effects model and a dataset of Chinese cities from 2006 to 2020. Our findings highlight the significant contribution of a low-carbon economy to regional employment through the industry agglomeration effect and innovation effect. Heterogeneities are evident in the employment-promoting influence of a low-carbon economy, as cities with lenient environment enforcement, ample education investment, and non-resource-dependent structures benefit more significantly. Notably, a low-carbon economy exhibits a disproportionately higher employment promotion effect in cities with mid-range employment populations. In addition, we identify co-benefits of a low-carbon economy, including higher average salaries and mitigation of aging trends. These insights foster a better understanding of the low-carbon economy and offer valuable guidance for prefectural governments seeking to develop targeted low-carbon economy strategies.

Identifying the driving forces of structural transformation is crucial for understanding economic development. In the early 21st century, China experienced a rapid labor shift from agricultural to non-agricultural sectors. This shift is often attributed to the industrial sector’s “pull” force, while the agricultural sector’s “push” force remains less understood. This paper investigates the role of the Agricultural Tax Exemption (ATE) reform in promoting inter-sectoral labor reallocation in China, which ended over two millennia of agricultural taxation on farmers. Our results show that the introduction of the ATE reform contributed to a significant increase in the share of non-agricultural workers. Mechanism analysis reveals that this reform encouraged capital investment among farmers and improved agricultural productivity, consequently displacing surplus agricultural workers. Further analysis shows that the labor reallocation induced by the reform had significantly increased employment and output within the secondary sector, although its effect on the tertiary sector was relatively minimal.

This paper estimates the multipliers of two types of government spending in the 20 Italian administrative regions throughout 1960–2017, distinguishing between phases of expansion and recession. We derive regime- and region-specific multipliers through a nonlinear Bayesian heterogeneous panel threshold VAR model and provide a wide-ranging sensitivity analysis. We find that both government consumption and government investment multipliers are higher in recession than in expansion. In almost every region, government investment multipliers exceed unity in recession phases and are generally higher than their government consumption counterparts regardless of the business cycle. An exploratory analysis of the region-specific multipliers suggests that the difference between the region-specific multipliers in recession and expansion is positively associated with structural labour slack and negatively associated with trade openness. Factors related to the quality of local institutions, such as corruption and the relative size of the informal economy, also have a negative impact.

Resource-based cities (RBCs) encompass the east, middle, and west of China, covering an important economic hinterland. The improvement of RBC resilience can significantly impact the overall resilience of cities in China. This study analyzes the spatial characteristics and overall evolution trend of four types of RBCs based on regional differences and convergence theory. The results vivid showed sustainable development positively influenced growing-type RBCs also showed that the overall RBC resilience coupling coordination degree improved throughout the study period (2009–2019), and that the evolution of RBC resilience demonstrated good convergence characteristics. Furthermore, a distinct gap is evident between high resilience-level growing RBCs and relatively low-level regenerative RBCs. All RBCs will eventually converge to the third level with a higher level of coupling coordination. However, compared with the traditional Markov chain, the transition probability of the spatial Markov chain is reduced due to the influence of surrounding cities. Thus, policies are given.