The impact of regional financial development on economic growth in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region:a spatial econometric analysis

The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) integration project in China is ambitious which offers great potential with its promotion of sustainable and inclusive development. This study investigates the impact of regional financial development on economic growth in the BTH region, with panel data collected from 2007 to 2016. Two indicators namely, CREDIT (denoted as regional financial development depth) and BRANCH (denoted as regional financial intermediaries accessibility) are used to construct an integrated regional financial development indicator through the spatial econometrics approach. The spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of regional financial development and economic growth are analyzed. Afterward, the global Moran’s I and local Getis–Ord Gi* statistics are applied to detect the presence of spatial autocorrelation. Finally, a spatial Durbin model (SDM) is utilized to examine spatial distribution and spatial association. The research findings of this study suggest that the CREDIT has a positive effect on regional economic growth, while the BRANCH has no impact on regional economic growth. Moreover, it is found that the spatial autocorrelation of CREDIT and BRANCH are statistically significant. The CREDIT of the neighboring areas has a negative spatial spillover effect on economic growth of one area, while the BRANCH in the neighboring areas has a positive effect on the one area. The results and research findings reported in this article highlight the role of regional financial development in improving the economic growth not only for Chinese policy makers but also for other countries’ researchers and practitioners in this field

Rapid Invasion of Spartina Alterniflora in the Coastal Zone of Mainland China: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Human Prevention

Given the extensive spread and ecological consequences of exotic Spartina alterniflora (S. alterniflora) over the coast of mainland China, monitoring its spatiotemporal invasion patterns is important for the sake of coastal ecosystem management and ecological security. In this study, Landsat series images from 1990 to 2015 were used to establish multi-temporal datasets for documenting the temporal dynamics of S. alterniflora invasion. Our observations revealed that S. alterniflora had a continuous expansion with the area increasing by 50,204 ha during the considered 25 years. The largest expansion was identified in Jiangsu Province during the period of 1990-2000, and in Zhejiang Province during the periods 2000-2010 and 2010-2015. Three noticeable hotspots for S. alterniflora invasion were Yancheng of Jiangsu, Chongming of Shanghai, and Ningbo of Zhejiang, and each had a net area increase larger than 5000 ha. Moreover, an obvious shrinkage of S. alterniflora was identified in three coastal cities including the city of Cangzhou of Hebei, Dongguan, and Jiangmen of Guangdong. S. alterniflora invaded mostly into mudflats (>93%) and shrank primarily due to aquaculture (55.5%). This study sheds light on the historical spatial patterns in S. alterniflora distribution and thus is helpful for understanding its invasion mechanism and invasive species management

Policies drain the North China Plain: Agricultural policy and groundwater depletion in Luancheng County, 1949-2000

Agricultural production / Groundwater / Aquifers / Water shortage / Irigation efficiency / Agricultural policy / Crop production / Wastewaters / Water management / Hydrology / Economic development / Crop yield / Cotton / Wheat / Sprinkler irrigation / Water conservation / Water use efficiency / Pumping / Water balance / Vegetables / Rural economy / Irrigated framing

Blue Sky Olympics: Satellite Observations of Air Quality During the 2008 Beijing Olympics

China has imposed short-term emission control regulations on industry and transportation to quickly improve air quality during certain events, including the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. Previous research noted reductions in NO2 vertical column density, CO emissions, CO2 emissions, and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD). NO2 and SO2 decreased in neighboring provinces, during this time period. Using MODIS level-2 atmospheric aerosol product (MYD04_L2) data, processed by the dark target algorithm, this study observes trends in regional AOD and temporal change in AOD during the Olympic emissions reduction program. 2008 observations are referenced against AOD observations from 2003 to 2013, within 9-day intervals from June 23rd to October 24th and 40 km bands extending up to 240 km from the Beijing municipal limits. During the Olympics, median AOD values were below median AOD values from the reference period. AOD levels returned to above reference period levels in the September 12th to September 20th period, before the end of the Special Olympics in Beijing. During the Olympic period, reductions in AOD values, compared to the reference period were observed in regions within 80 km of Beijing, while an increase in AOD values was present in regions 120 km to 240 km from Beijing

A Fresh Scrutiny on Openness and Per Capita Income Spillovers in Chinese Cities: A Spatial Econometric Perspective

This paper investigates openness and per capita income spillovers over 367 Chinese cities in the year 2004. Per capita income is modelled as dependent on investment, physical and social infrastructure, human capital, governmental policies and openness to the world. Our empirical analysis improves substantially the previous research in several respects: Firstly, by extending the data set to prefecture-level, it tackles the aggregation bias. Secondly, the introduction of recently developed explanatory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and spatial regression techniques allows to address misspecification issues due to spatial dependence. Thirdly, the endogeneity problem in the regression is taken into consideration through the use of generalised method of moments (GMM) estimator. Our major findings are in Chinese cities, physical and social infrastructure development, human capital and investment could be recognised as major driving sources of per capita income (i), whereas, the government expenditure ratio exerts a negative impact on per capita GDP level (ii). Our empirical findings also yield evidence on the existence of FDI and foreign trade spillovers in China (iii). These findings are robust to a number of alternative spatial weighting matrix specifications.

Using Economics to Explain Spatial Diversity in a Wheat Crop: Examples from Australia and China

Spatial diversity indicators may serve an important function for policymakers as they seek to manage crop genetic diversity and potential externalities associated with diffusion of some types of genetically improved crops. This paper adapts spatial diversity indices employed by ecologists in the study of species diversity to area distributions of modern wheat varieties in contrasting production systems of Australia and China. The variation in three interrelated concepts of diversity "richness, abundance, and evenness" is explained by factors related to the demand and supply of varieties, agroecology, and policies using the econometric method of Zellner's seemingly unrelated regression (SUR). Results suggest that in addition to expected yield and profitability, other variety characteristics are important in explaining variation in the spatial distribution of modern wheat varieties. Environmental factors and policy variables related to the supply of varieties, international research spillins, and market liberalization are also determinants of the diversity in these systems. Explanatory factors affect richness, abundance and evenness in the distribution of modern wheat varieties in different ways. Comparing results between a small, commercial wheat-producing shire in Australia and a large, heterogeneous area in seven provinces of China illustrates the importance of scale and the nature of the farming system. Further research might include: (1) refinement of methods used to construct spatial diversity indices by incorporating geographically-referenced information; (2) more explicit treatment of the relationship between scale of measurement and diversity indices; (3) refinements in the specification of policy variables, and (4) application of similar methods in zones where traditional varieties are grown.Crop Production/Industries,

SMALL HOLDERS, TRANSGENIC VARIETIES, AND PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY: THE CASE OF COTTON FARMERS IN CHINA

The overall goal of this study is to measure the effect of the impact that genetically modified cotton varieties have had on the production efficiency of small holders in farming communities in China. We also find that the adoption of Bt cotton varieties leads to a significant decrease in the use of pesticides. Hence, we demonstrate that Bt cotton appears to be an agricultural technology that improves both production efficiency and the environment. In terms of policies, our findings suggest that the government should investigate whether or not they should make additional investments to spread Bt to other cotton regions and to other crops.Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

China’s Energy Situation and Its Implications in the New Millennium

Many are interested in China’s energy situation, however, numerous energy related issues in China still remain unanswered. For example, what are the potential forces driving energy demand and supply? Previous reviews focused only on fossil fuel based energy and ignored other important elements including renewable and ‘clean’ energy sources. The work presented here is intended to fill this gap by bringing the research on fossil-based and renewable energy economic studies together and identifying the potential drivers behind both energy demand and supply to provide a complete picture of China’s energy situation in the new millennium. This will be of interest to anyone concerned with the development of China’s economy in general, and in particular with its energy economy.China China; Energy; Fossil fuels; Renewable Energy

Present and Future of the Chinese Labour Market

The paper aims to provide a representation, as rich and complete as possible, of the Chinese labour market, both in terms of stock and flow, despite the fact that the statistical information is still rather poor and often inconsistent. It does then document the increasing differences in the level and trends of the main labour market variables at the provincial level. In order to reach a deeper comprehension of the dynamic of the Chinese labour market, the paper analyses two other extremely relevant phenomena: the so called “floating population” and the labour shortages that are more and more frequently affecting the coastal regions. After having provided a demographic background to the Lewis model of development with unlimited supply of labour, the paper shows in which periods China has been obliged to accumulate a large labour surplus, mainly in the agricultural sector, and in which periods and through which mechanisms, including ageing and internal migration, the process of deaccumulation has taken place. More specifically, the paper shows how up to now internal migrations have provided urban areas and coastal regions with an unlimited supply of labour, a factor that has played a major role in boosting the Chinese economic development and determining its typology. In order to reach this result, simple demographic tools have been utilized to estimate the net migration balance of each province and in each province of rural and urban areas, and therefore to define areas of departures and areas of arrival, information not provided by the literature on the floating population. Finally the paper provides a rough estimate of the disguised unemployment in agriculture and of its geographical distribution. After assessing which percentage can represent a possible supply of labour for the modern sector, it will be maintained that China not only is very close to the Lewis turning point (a situation that has already been reached in many coastal areas), but is going to become the world biggest importer of labour. In order to provide its population with living standards comparable to that of the western world, in a reasonable time interval, China needs to continue to grow at an extremely high rate. This will require the capacity to deal with a series of structural problems. Limiting our concerns to the labour market, that is characterized by increasing complexity and regional differentiation, high priority should be given to improve the collection, analysis and dissemination of labour market data; to abolish the one child policy that is totally obsolete in a situation that will be soon characterized by a structural lack of labour supply; to give to the Chinese citizens the right to freely move and change residence, while rapidly regularizing the existing floating population; to raise the legal age of retirement; to plan and implement a structure of t entries in vocational courses and higher educational paths coherent with the expected structure of the labour demand in terms of flows by occupation; to strengthen the Employment service system in order to improve skills matching at the local level, and facilitate the correct allocation of human resources over the national territory, in order to minimize the human and economic costs of future unavoidable internal migrations.China; labour market; stock and flow; demography; internal migration; Lewis turning point