The policy mix of green finance in China: an evolutionary and multilevel perspective

Against the background of climate change, green finance has received worldwide attention in recent years, as policymakers bring the ‘green’ idea into financial sectors and encourage investments in green projects. From an evolutionary and multilevel perspective, this study conducts a comprehensive review of the policy mix of green finance in China. Our analysis emphasizes the dimensions of time and scale of a policy mix that are important elements to understanding the evolution process. We identify a transition process in green finance policies in China with changes in both policy objectives and policy instruments. China has gradually shifted its policy focus from direct public intervention and investment to the construction of a green finance market. From the multilevel perspective, the dynamic vertical interactions between different levels of government have played an important role in this transition. Key policy insightsTime and scale are important dimensions of a green finance policy mix, as policy strategies and instruments evolve over time; policies are also designed and implemented at different scales – with direction, learning and guidance from national to local (provincial) and eventually, with time, vice versa.China’s green finance policy mix is undergoing a transitional process, characterized by a shift from direct public intervention and investment to the construction of a green finance market. This involves placing greater emphasis on attracting private investment and financing, and moving away from top-down intervention towards a market-based, polycentric approach with greater engagement and interaction with the private sector.The dynamic vertical interactions between different levels of government have played an important role in the transition toward a more market-based approach. For instance, we find that local experimentation of green finance policies explores different development models for the local financial system against diverse local contexts, and these have, in turn, both influenced policy design of the central government and in some instances diffused to other jurisdictions. Time and scale are important dimensions of a green finance policy mix, as policy strategies and instruments evolve over time; policies are also designed and implemented at different scales – with direction, learning and guidance from national to local (provincial) and eventually, with time, vice versa. China’s green finance policy mix is undergoing a transitional process, characterized by a shift from direct public intervention and investment to the construction of a green finance market. This involves placing greater emphasis on attracting private investment and financing, and moving away from top-down intervention towards a market-based, polycentric approach with greater engagement and interaction with the private sector. The dynamic vertical interactions between different levels of government have played an important role in the transition toward a more market-based approach. For instance, we find that local experimentation of green finance policies explores different development models for the local financial system against diverse local contexts, and these have, in turn, both influenced policy design of the central government and in some instances diffused to other jurisdictions.</p

The Difference between Aesthetic Appreciation of Artistic and Popular Music: Evidence from an fMRI Study

<div><p>To test the hypothesis that pleasure from artistic music is intellectual while that from popular music is physiological, this study investigated the different functional mechanisms between aesthetic appreciation of artistic and popular music using fMRI. 18 male non-musicians were scanned while they performed an aesthetic rating task for excerpts of artistic music, popular music and musical notes playing and singing (control). The rating scores of artistic and popular music excerpts were both significantly higher than that of control materials while the scores of them were not different. The fMRI results showed both artistic and popular conditions activated the VS and vmPFC, compared with control condition. When contrasted popular and artistic condition directly, we found popular music activated right putamen, while artistic music activated right mPFC. By parametric analysis, we found the activation of right putamen tracked the aesthetic ratings of popular music, whereas the BOLD signal in right mPFC tracked the aesthetic ratings of artistic music. These results indicate the reward induced by popular music is closer to a primary reward while that induced by artistic music is closer to a secondary reward. We also found artistic music activated ToM areas, including PCC/PC, arMFC and TPJ, when compared with popular music. And these areas also tracked aesthetic ratings of artistic music but not those of popular music. These results imply that the pleasure from former comes from cognitive empathy. In conclusion, this study gives clear neuronal evidences supporting the view that artistic music is of intelligence and social cognition involved while the popular music is of physiology.</p></div

Brain activation of popular and artistic music vs. control material.

<p>Larger activity in bilateral mOFC and bilateral ventral striatum were found for popular(A) and artistic(B) music than for control material.</p

Cognitive empathy regions were activated in the contrast of artistic vs. popular music.

<p>(A) The regions consisted of left arMFC, left PC/PCC, left angular gyrus, left hippocampus /parahippocampus, and left and right inferior temporal gyrus. (B) Mean beta values and SD of the ROI analysis in left arMFC (-6,36,20), left PC/PCC (-4,-42,46), left angular gyrus (-32,-80,32) and left hippocampus (-28,-22,-14) for popular music and artistic music comparing control condition, respectively. Within every single ROI, beta values of both popular music and artistic music conditions were first subtracted by the mean beta value of control condition in the same ROI, before two sample t-test.</p

Regions showing a main effect at <i>p</i><0.05 with FDR correction at the cluster level for contrasts Popular music > Notes Clip and Artistic music>Notes Clip.

<p>Regions showing a main effect at <i>p</i><0.05 with FDR correction at the cluster level for contrasts Popular music > Notes Clip and Artistic music>Notes Clip.</p

Regions tracking increasing aesthetic ratings of popular music and artistic music.

<p>Regions tracking increasing aesthetic ratings of popular music and artistic music.</p

Cerebral regions tracking increasing aesthetic rating of popular music and artistic music.

<p>(A) Cerebral regions tracking increasing rating of popular music included right putamen and IFG. (B) Regions tracking increasing rating of artistic music included right rACC, left arMFC and PCC.</p

Regions showing a main effect at p<0.05 with FDR correction at the cluster level for contrasts Popular music > Artistic music and Artistic music>Popular music.

<p>Regions showing a main effect at p<0.05 with FDR correction at the cluster level for contrasts Popular music > Artistic music and Artistic music>Popular music.</p

The <em>C. elegans</em> Homolog of RBBP6 (RBPL-1) Regulates Fertility through Controlling Cell Proliferation in the Germline and Nutrient Synthesis in the Intestine

<div><p>RBBP6 (retinoblastoma binding protein 6, also known as PACT or P2P-R in humans) is a multi-domain protein that functions in multiple processes, such as mitosis, cell differentiation, and cell apoptosis. RBBP6 is evolutionarily conserved and is present in unicellular organisms to mammals. Studies of RBBP6 have mostly focused on its RB- and p53-binding domains, which are found exclusively in mammals. Here, we investigated the <i>C. elegans</i> homolog of RBBP6 to explore the functional roles of its other domains. We found that RBPL-1, the homolog of RBBP6 in <i>C. elegans</i>, is indispensable for worm development. RNAi silencing of <i>rbpl-1</i> led to embryonic lethality, as well as defects in oocyte production and intestine development. <i>rbpl-1</i> RNAi worms showed defects in germ cell proliferation, suggesting that RBPL-1 regulates mitosis. Moreover, RNAi silencing of <i>rbpl-1</i> inhibited nutrient synthesis in the worm intestine. RBPL-1, as a nucleolus protein, was found to be expressed in diverse tissues and necessary for both germline and soma development. Using microarray analysis, we identified ≈700 genes whose expression levels were changed at least 10-fold in <i>rbpl-1</i> worms. We propose that RBPL-1, like its yeast homolog, may regulate gene expression as an mRNA cleavage and polyadenylation factor. Taken together, the findings from this study reveal that RBPL-1 plays a pivotal role in <i>C. elegans</i> germline and soma development, suggesting that the functions of RBBP6 are conserved in diverse eukaryotic species.</p> </div

Silver Triflate and Palladium Acetate Co-catalyzed Reaction of <i>N</i>′-(2-Alkynylbenzylidene)hydrazide with <i>N</i>-Allyl Ynamide

A silver triflate and palladium acetate co-catalyzed reaction of <i>N</i>′-(2-alkynylbenzylidene)hydrazide with <i>N</i>-allyl ynamide is described, which generates 2-amino-<i>H</i>-pyrazolo[5,1-<i>a</i>]isoquinolines in good to excellent yield. The transformation proceeds with high efficiency through 6-<i>endo</i> cyclization, [3 + 2] cycloaddition, 3,3-sigmatropic rearrangement, and aromatization