The convergence of PM2.5 concentration in Chinese cities: a distribution dynamic approach

To fill the gap in the research on the convergence trend of air pollutants since 2013 in China and overcome the Galton fallacy caused by the parametric regression method, this study examines the convergence trend of the annual average concentration of fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in China’s prefecture-level cities after 2013 using a distribution dynamic approach. The winter PM2.5 pollution in Chinese cities is severe. Hence, the convergence of the average winter PM2.5 concentration of prefecturelevel cities is also explored in this study. The results show that during 2015–2019, the annual average PM2.5 concentration level improved significantly. However, the average PM2.5 winter concentration level in 2015–2018 did not significantly decrease, with some cities showing severe pollution levels. The annual average PM2.5 of China’s prefecture-level cities exhibit club convergence, while the PM2.5 concentration in winter exhibits ‘unikurtosis’. In the long run, the annual average PM2.5 clusters around two levels, at approximately 35 lg/m3 and 60 lg/m3 , while the average PM2.5 in winter is concentrated at 100 lg/m3 . In the long run, in the central region, PM2.5 pollution is more severe than in northern and southern areas, regardless of the annual or winter average PM2.5 concentration

The Influence of Potential Infection on the Relationship between Temperature and Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in China

Considering the impact of the number of potential new coronavirus infections in each city, this paper explores the relationship between temperature and cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in mainland China through the non-parametric method. In this paper, the floating population of each city in Wuhan is taken as a proxy variable for the number of potential new coronavirus infections. Firstly, to use the non-parametric method correctly, the symmetric Gauss kernel and asymmetric Gamma kernel are applied to estimate the density of cumulative confirmed cases of COVID-19 in China. The result confirms that the Gamma kernel provides a more reasonable density estimation of bounded data than the Gauss kernel. Then, through the non-parametric method based on the Gamma kernel estimation, this paper finds a positive relationship between Wuhan’s mobile population and cumulative confirmed cases, while the relationship between temperature and cumulative confirmed cases is inconclusive in China when the impact of the number of potential new coronavirus infections in each city is considered. Compared with the weather, the potentially infected population plays a more critical role in spreading the virus. Therefore, the role of prevention and control measures is more important than weather factors. Even in summer, we should also pay attention to the prevention and control of the epidemic

Cash holdings, the internal capital market, and capital allocation efficiency in listed companies

AbstractThe rise in firm-level cash asset ratios has become a prominent trend in countries around the world which may further influence the capital allocation efficiency. This study analysed the inefficient effect of cash holdings on the capital allocation by combining the internal capital market theory with principal–agent theory and asymmetric information theory. The theoretical hypotheses were tested using linear panel regression models based on financial data from Chinese listed enterprises. We found that corporations holding more cash assets had lower capital allocation efficiency than those with fewer cash assets, which is consistent with agency theory and asymmetric information theory. Internal capital markets exacerbated this adverse effect. Additional testing was conducted to examine the heterogeneity of this effect between different types of ownership and strategy; the findings showed that an increase in cash holdings had a greater marginal impact on overinvestment among privately owned enterprises and underinvestment among state-owned enterprises. Internal capital market operation alleviated the problem of overinvestment but exacerbated the problem of underinvestment in privately owned enterprises, whereas it increased overinvestment in state-owned enterprises. The results suggested that different types of enterprises should deal with the inefficient effect of cash assets based on the causes of inefficient investment

Can family CEOs promote enterprises' digital transformation? An analysis based on ability-willingness paradox

[EN] It is crucial to investigate the characteristics of digital transformation strategy decision-making in family businesses. In this paper, the Chinese A-share listed family enterprises on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2008 to 2020 are used as a sample to analyze at how the CEO source affects the enterprises¿ digital transformation and how the CEO ability and family willingness affect the boundary conditions of the decision-making. According to the findings of the study, family CEOs are more capable of promoting the digital transformation of family businesses. Whether it is general human capital obtained through formal education or firm-specific human capital obtained through work experience, they all positively moderate the relationship between family CEOs and enterprises¿ digital transformation decisions. Surprisingly, family control and influence have no moderating effect, which may be due to the superimposition of the willingness to pursue growth, whereas the willingness to pursue transgenerational sustainability is a negative moderator, indicating that family businesses in China are still in the early stages of succession. This study not only uncovers the disparities in the impacts of different types of CEOs on the digital transformation of family businesses, but also provides empirical evidence and managerial implications for fostering the family businesses¿ digital transformation.This research was supported by Zhejiang Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project under Grant No. 24NDQN009YB & No. 23LLXC036YB, Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No. LQ23G020004, Hangzhou Municipal Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project under Grant No. 2023QNRC13.He, Q.; Lassala, C.; Currás Móstoles, MR. (2024). Can family CEOs promote enterprises' digital transformation? An analysis based on ability-willingness paradox. International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11365-023-00941-

Amine-Mediated Transimination and Aromatization-Triggered Domino Reaction in the Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized 4‑Aminoquinolines

Dearomatization provides numerous possibilities for the development of new transformative modes of aromatic compounds. A conceptually novel metal-free multicomponent domino reaction of the dearomatized products of 2-alkynylanilines is developed. The reaction involves the secondary amine-mediated transimination with α-amino nitriles and subsequent aromatization-triggered cascade rearrangement, nucleophilic cyclization, and retro-Strecker reaction. This process provided a new practical method for the rapid synthesis of polyfunctionalized 4-aminoquinolines from readily available starting materials

Dearomatization-Induced Cycloaddition and Aromatization-Triggered Rearrangement: Synthesis of Vertically Expanded Five-Ring Fused Benzofurans

A dearomatization strategy has been developed for the efficient construction of vertically expanded five-ring fused benzofurans from <i>ortho</i>-alkynylphenols and <i>ortho</i>-alkynylarylaldimines. The stepwise procedure comprises a dearomatization-induced silver-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition followed by an aromatization-triggered ytterbium-catalyzed rearrangement

Anchoring Triazole-Gold(I) Complex into Porous Organic Polymer To Boost the Stability and Reactivity of Gold(I) Catalyst

Stability and reactivity have been recognized as some critical issues for gold­(I) catalysts. Such issues can be well-circumvented by anchoring the gold­(I) complex onto the backbones of porous organic polymer (POP) followed by coordination with a triazole ligand as illustrated in the present work via a series of gold­(I)-catalyzed reactions. In this strategy, 1,2,3-triazole was used as the special “X-factor” to avoid the formation of solid AgCl involved in typical gold-activation processes. The catalyst could be readily recycled without loss of reactivity. Moreover, compared with the PPh₃-modified polystyrene beads, the POP support was advantageous by providing high surface area, hierarchical porosity, and better stabilization of cations. In some cases, significantly improved reactivity was observed, even more so than using the homogeneous system, which further highlighted the great potential of this heterogeneous gold catalyst

Asymmetric Synthesis of the HMG-CoA Reductase Inhibitor Atorvastatin Calcium: An Organocatalytic Anhydride Desymmetrization and Cyanide-Free Side Chain Elongation Approach

An efficient asymmetric synthesis of atorvastatin calcium has been achieved from commercially available diethyl 3-hydroxyglutarate through a novel approach that involves an organocatalytic enantioselective cyclic anhydride desymmetrization to establish C(3) stereogenicity and cyanide-free assembly of C₇ amino type side chain via C₅+C₂ strategy as the key transformations