How does government efficiency affect carbon emission intensity? A comprehensive empirical study.

This study utilized panel data from 132 countries spanning from 1996 to 2019 to examine the effect of government efficiency on carbon emission intensity. Using a fixed effect model, the study found that stronger government efficiency is associated with a significant decrease in carbon emission intensity. Robustness tests were performed, the results of which consistently supported the main findings. Additionally, the study investigated the mechanisms underlying the linkage between government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, revealing that improved government efficiency can inhibit carbon emission intensity by fostering environmental innovation and promoting renewable energy consumption. Finally, the study examined the moderating effects of national income level, economic freedom, democracy, and ruling party ideology on the nexus of government efficiency and carbon emission intensity, and found empirical evidence supporting these moderating effects. These results provide new insights for governments seeking to reduce carbon emission intensity.

Eco-tourism, climate change, and environmental policies: empirical evidence from developing economies.

Developing ecotourism services is a suitable solution to help developing countries improve the status of sustainable development indicators and protect their environment. The primary purpose of this paper is to find out the effects of green governance variables and carbon dioxide emissions on ecotourism for 40 developing economies from 2010 to 2021. The results confirmed a uni-directional causal relationship between the green governance indicator and the inflation rate of the ecotourism indicator. In addition, with a 1% improvement in the green governance index of developing countries, the ecotourism of these countries will increase by 0.43%. In comparison, with a 1% increase in the globalization index of these countries, ecotourism will increase by 0.32%. Moreover, ecotourism in developing countries is more sensitive to macroeconomic variables changes than in developed economies. Geopolitical risk is an influential factor in the developing process of ecotourism. The practical policies recommended by this research are developing the green financing market, establishing virtual tourism, granting green loans to small and medium enterprises, and government incentives to motivate active businesses.

Toward China's green growth through boosting energy transition: the role of energy efficiency.

The primary purpose of this study is to quantitatively evaluate whether low-carbon energy transition has achieved preliminary progress in facilitating China's green evolution of economy following the provincial dataset. Besides, how improved energy efficiency moderates the influence of energy transition on green growth and the mediation effects are also quantitatively explored. The primary findings insist that low carbonization energy transition is positively associated with green growth, a finding detected by a series of sensitivity checks. Besides, the reciprocal actions between adjusting energy structure and raising energy productivity can effectively strengthen their roles in promoting green growth. In addition, boosting clean energy transition plays an indirect role in green growth by enhancing energy productivity while directly facilitating green growth. Following the three outcomes, this study puts forward some policy implications on enhancing governmental supervision, promoting clean energy evolution, and upgrading ecological protection technologies.

Green finance, renewable energy development, and climate change: evidence from regions of China.

In this study, using data from 2010 to 2021, and by utilizing the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) theory, and system generalized method of moments, the effect of green financing and deployment of renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions in China and its provinces were analyzed. The results show that green financing reduces environmental pollution at the country level. Moreover, with a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption, carbon dioxide emission can be expected to decrease by 0.103%. It also demonstrates that green financing has a statistically significant coefficient only in provinces located in the eastern and western regions. Chinese policymakers should incentive policies for provinces in the eastern region of China in order to have a cleaner environment. The central region should be under supportive and pressure policies to move faster along the path to sustainable development.

Financing Constraints and Firm's Productivity Under the COVID-19 Epidemic Shock: Evidence of A-Shared Chinese Companies.

Focusing on the financing barriers to firm productivity improvement under the influence of external shocks, we empirically analyze the data of A-share listed companies from 2007-2018 to determine the impact of financing constraints on total factor productivity (TFP) in the context of COVID-19 pandemic and the paths of factor use efficiency and R&D innovation efficiency on this impact using ordinary least-squares (OLS) method. We find that financing constraints are an important factor inhibiting the TFP of firms. This inhibitory effect is more serious in small-scale firms, non-state firms, and non-energy firms. Further investigation shows that the inhibitory effect of financing constraints on firms' TFP is more pronounced when firms are located in the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, the Pearl River Delta city cluster, non-port cities, and provincial capitals. The mechanism test finds that improving the efficiency of capital use and labor use can alleviate the suppressive effect of financing constraints on TFP. The alleviating impact is more significant when capital use efficiency is improved. However, increasing the efficiency of R&D innovation further strengthens the inhibitory effect of financing constraints, and this effect is more pronounced under positive external shocks.

Nous nous concentrons sur les obstacles liés au financement qui entravent l'amélioration de la productivité des entreprises lorsqu'il y a des chocs externes, et nous analysons de façon empirique l'impact des contraintes de financement sur la productivité globale des facteurs des entreprises dans le contexte de la COVID-19, ainsi que les voies permettant l'efficacité d'utilisation des facteurs et l'efficacité de l'innovation en R&D sur cet impact. Pour ce faire, nous utilisons la méthode des moindres carrés ordinaires en nous basant sur les données de sociétés cotées en bourse de 2007 à 2018. Nous constatons que les contraintes de financement représentent un facteur important qui inhibe la productivité globale des facteurs des entreprises. Cet effet inhibiteur est plus prononcé au sein des petites entreprises, des entreprises non gouvernementales et des entreprises non énergétiques. Une autre étude révèle que l'effet inhibiteur des contraintes de financement sur la productivité globale des facteurs des entreprises est plus prononcé lorsque les entreprises sont situées dans le groupe de villes du delta du fleuve Yangtze, dans le groupe de villes du delta de la rivière des Perles, dans les villes non portuaires et dans les capitales provinciales. Le test du mécanisme révèle que l'amélioration de l'efficacité de l'utilisation du capital et de la main-d'œuvre des entreprises peut atténuer l'effet suppressif des contraintes de financement sur la productivité globale des facteurs. L'impact d'atténuation est plus important lorsque l'efficacité d'utilisation du capital est améliorée. Cependant, l'augmentation de l'efficacité de l'innovation en R&D renforce encore l'effet inhibiteur des contraintes de financement, et il est plus prononcé en cas de chocs externes positifs.

Effects of COVID-19 on Global Financial Markets: Evidence from Qualitative Research for Developed and Developing Economies.

The research aims to prioritize the pandemic's impact on the financial markets of developed and developing economies using a multi-criteria decision-making approach. The results revealed that COVID-19's pandemic effects on financial markets differ between developed and developing nations. COVID-19 pandemic affects developed countries' financial markets more through supply reduction, demand reduction, and economic instability. Regarding developing nations, confidence and expectations, changes in consumption patterns, and the bandwagon effect are the three most significant impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on financial markets. The best decisions to lower the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on developed nations' financial markets are the declaration of the stimulus package and support of small-and-medium-sized enterprises. Contrastingly, in developing countries, support for vulnerable households and declaration of the stimulus package are the best decisions to combat COVID-19's negative impact on their financial markets. As practical policy implications for lowering COVID-19's negative impact on financial markets, the promotion of new financing instruments, reconstruction of the relationship between public and private sectors, and support of vulnerable households and enterprises are highly recommended.

La recherche vise à hiérarchiser l'impact de la pandémie sur les marchés financiers des économies développées et en développement en utilisant une approche décisionnelle à plusieurs critères. Les résultats ont révélé que les effets du COVID-19 sur les marchés financiers diffèrent entre les nations développées et en développement. Le COVID-19 affecte davantage les marchés financiers des pays développés par la réduction de l'offre, la réduction de la demande et l'instabilité économique. En ce qui concerne les pays en développement, la confiance et les attentes, les changements dans les habitudes de consommation et l'effet boule de neige sont les trois impacts les plus significatifs causé par le COVID-19 sur les marchés financiers. Les meilleures décisions pour réduire l'effet du COVID-19 sur les marchés financiers des pays développés ont été la déclaration de plans de relance et le soutien aux petites et moyennes entreprises. En revanche, dans les pays en développement, le soutien aux ménages vulnérables et la déclaration de plans de relance apparaissent comme les meilleures décisions pour combattre l'impact négatif du COVID-19 sur leurs marchés financiers. En ce qui concerne les implications politiques pratiques pour réduire l'impact négatif du COVID-19 sur les marchés financiers, la promotion de nouveaux instruments de financement, la reconstruction de la relation entre les secteurs public et privé, et le soutien des ménages et des entreprises les plus vulnérables sont fortement recommandés.

Reducing Virus Transmission from Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning Systems of Urban Subways.

Aerosols carrying the virus inside enclosed spaces is an important mode of transmission for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), as supported by growing evidence. Urban subways are one of the most frequented enclosed spaces. The subway is a utilitarian and low-cost transit system in modern society. However, studies are yet to demonstrate patterns of viral transmission in subway heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. To fill this gap, we performed a computational investigation of the airflow (and associated aerosol transmission) in an urban subway cabin equipped with an HVAC system. We employed a transport equation for aerosol concentration, which was added to the basic buoyant solver to resolve the aerosol transmission inside the subway cabin. This was achieved by considering the thermal, turbulent, and induced ventilation flow effects. Using the probability of encountering aerosols on sampling surfaces crossing the passenger breathing zones, we detected the highest infection risk zones inside the urban subway under different settings. We proposed a novel HVAC system that can impede aerosol spread, both vertically and horizontally, inside the cabin. In the conventional model, the maximum probability of encountering aerosols from the breathing of infected individuals near the fresh-air ducts was equal to 51.2%. This decreased to 3.5% in the proposed HVAC model. Overall, using the proposed HVAC system for urban subways led to a decrease in the mean value of the probability of encountering the aerosol by approximately 84% compared with that of the conventional system.

Determining dependence, centrality, and dynamic networks between green bonds and financial markets.

We adopted a network approach to examine the dependence between green bonds and financial markets. We first created a static dependency network for a given set of variables using partial correlations. Secondly, to evaluate the centrality of the variables, we illustrated with-in system connections in a minimum spanning tree (MST). Afterward, rolling-window estimations are applied in both dependency and centrality networks for indicating time variations. Using the data spanning January 3, 2011 to October 30, 2020, we found that green bonds and commodity index had positive dependence on other financial markets and are system-wide net contributors before and after COVID-19. Time-varying dynamics illustrated heightened system integration, particularly during the crisis periods. The centrality networks reiterated the leading role of green bonds and commodity index pre- and post-COVID. Finally, rolling window analysis ascertained system dependence, centrality, and dynamic networks between green bonds and financial markets where green bond sustained their positive dependence all over the sample period. Green bonds' persistent dependence and centrality enticed several implications for policymakers, regulators, investors, and financial market participants.

The Impact of the Long-Term Care Insurance on the Medical Expenses and Health Status in China.

Based on the panel data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011, 2015, and 2018, this paper used the difference-in-difference (DID) method to evaluate the implementation effect how the Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) policy impacted on the medical expenses and the health status of the middle-aged and elder population. The empirical results show that LTCI has reduced the outpatient and inpatient quantity by 0.1689 and 0.1093 per year, and cut the outpatient and inpatient expenses by 23.9% and 19.8% per year. Moreover, the implementation of LTCI has improved the self-rated health, the activity of daily living (ADL), as well as the mental health. These conclusions verify the implementation value of LTCI system and provide policy implications for the medical reform and the further LTCI implementation in a larger scale.

Role of green finance in improving energy efficiency and renewable energy development.

Deploying green energy is, directly and indirectly, related to energy- and environment-related sustainable development goals (SDGs). This study uses the stochastic impact by regression on the population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions, energy efficiency, green energy index (GEI), and green finance in the top ten economies that support green finance. The results show that green bonds are a suitable method to promote green energy projects and reduce CO2 emissions significantly. At the same time, there is no causal linkage between these variables in the short term. Therefore, to achieve sustainable economic growth for environmental issues, governments should implement supportive policies with a long-term approach to boost private participation in the investment of green energy projects. This policy may be applicable during and in the post the COVID-19 era when green projects have more difficulties accessing finance.

The impact of environmental cleanliness and cultural factors on child health in Africa.

Africa is a region with abundant natural resources, but the child mortality rate is higher. Despite World Health Organization (WHO) support, the region remained the highest with the number of child mortality rate. Given this fact, this study examines the role of environmental degradation, clean water source, and sanitation facilities on child mortality and life expectancy/longevity in Africa. To achieve this objective, we employ pooled regression and system generalized method of moment (S-GMM) on 33 African countries between 2000 and 2014. We found that environmental degradation is positively related to child mortality and life expectancy or longevity. However, clean water sources and sanitation facilities help to reduce the child mortality rate and help to improve life expectancy. Also, we found cultural norms improve child mortality and life expectancy. Our results imply that African countries are benefitting from cultural values, clean water sources, and sanitation facilities.

Individuals' Financial Satisfaction and National Priority: A Global Perspective.

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between financial satisfaction and individuals' preferences for various national priorities (including economic growth, national defense, freedom of speech, and having a beautiful nation). Using the sixth wave of World Value Survey (2010-2014) data for 60 countries, our Probit regression analyses show a positive and significant relationship between individuals' financial satisfaction and individuals' preferences for freedom of speech and having a beautiful nation. We also find that financial satisfaction is negatively associated with the priority of economic growth but not statistically related to the priority of national defense. These findings are robust when we use a Probit model with endogenous regressors and country-level data with a 2SLS estimator. The regression results also show that the preference for a stronger national defense is higher among individuals who are older, married, nationalistic, educated and have jobs in the public sector. Finally, we find that people with lower education and income and those with full-time employment and non-government jobs are more interested in the economic growth of their countries.

Ecological Water Requirement in Upper and Middle Reaches of the Yellow River Based on Flow Components and Hydraulic Index.

Deterioration of the ecological environment in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River in China substantially impacts the growth and development of aquatic organisms in the drainage basin. This paper builds a conceptual model by applying flow components and fish ecological requirements relation with a relevant object of main fish in the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River. The paper utilized the flow restoration method by employing the River2D model (two-dimensional model of river hydrodynamics and fish habitat), and a one-dimensional hydrodynamics HEC-RAS (hydrologic engineering center's-river analysis system). The calculation result showed that the runoff condition required for Silurus lanzhouensis survival is that the monthly lowest flow in a year is 150 m3·s-1, and the lowest flow for suitable flow from April to October is 150 m3·s-1, and 300 m3·s-1 from November to March. The research result is closer to the actual condition and has more outstanding operability. Meanwhile, the results proposed the coupling method of ecological water requirement for the mainstream of the Yellow River. Moreover, the results portrayed the ecological flow process according to the upper envelope of minimum and maximum ecological water requirements of each fracture surface. It is regarded that the ecological flow process is deemed as the initial value of the reservoir regulation model.

Neuroscience20 (BRAIN20, SPINE20, and MENTAL20) Health Initiative: A Global Consortium Addressing the Human and Economic Burden of Brain, Spine, and Mental Disorders Through Neurotech Innovations and Policies.

Neurological disorders significantly impact the world's economy due to their often chronic and life-threatening nature afflicting individuals which, in turn, creates a global disease burden. The Group of Twenty (G20) member nations, which represent the largest economies globally, should come together to formulate a plan on how to overcome this burden. The Neuroscience-20 (N20) initiative of the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics (SBMT) is at the vanguard of this global collaboration to comprehensively raise awareness about brain, spine, and mental disorders worldwide. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the various brain initiatives worldwide and highlight the need for cooperation and recommend ways to bring down costs associated with the discovery and treatment of neurological disorders. Our systematic search revealed that the cost of neurological and psychiatric disorders to the world economy by 2030 is roughly $16T. The cost to the economy of the United States is $1.5T annually and growing given the impact of COVID-19. We also discovered there is a shortfall of effective collaboration between nations and a lack of resources in developing countries. Current statistical analyses on the cost of neurological disorders to the world economy strongly suggest that there is a great need for investment in neurotechnology and innovation or fast-tracking therapeutics and diagnostics to curb these costs. During the current COVID-19 pandemic, SBMT, through this paper, intends to showcase the importance of worldwide collaborations to reduce the population's economic and health burden, specifically regarding neurological/brain, spine, and mental disorders.

The Health Status Transition and Medical Expenditure Evaluation of Elderly Population in China.

(1) Background: Because of the rapid expansion of the aging population in China, their health status transition and future medical expenditure have received increasing attention. This paper analyzes the health transition of the elderly and how their health transition impacts medical expenditures. At the same time, feasible policy suggestions are provided to respond to the rising medical expenditure and the demand for social care. (2) Methods: The data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) from 2011 to 2015 and analyzed using the Markov model and the Two-Part model (TPM) to forecast the size of the elderly population and their medical expenditures for the period 2020-2060. (3) Results: The study indicates that: (1) for the elderly with a mild disability, the probability of their health improvement is high; in contrast, for the elderly with a moderate or severe disability, their health deterioration is almost certain; (2) the frequency of the diagnosis and treatments of the elderly is closely related to their health status and medical expenditure; alternatively, as the health status deteriorates, the intensity of the elderly individuals' acceptance of their diagnosis and treatment increases, and so does the medical expense; (3) the population of the elderly with mild and moderate disability demonstrates an inverted "U"-shape, which reaches a peak around 2048, whereas the elderly with severe disability show linear growth, being the target group for health care; (4) with the population increase of the elderly who have severe disability, the medical expenditure increases significantly and poses a huge threat to medical service supply. Conclusions: It is necessary to provide classified and targeted health care according to the health status of the elderly. In addition, improving the level of medical insurance, establishing a mechanism for sharing medical expenditure, and adjusting the basic demographic structure are all important policy choices.

Does infrastructure facilitate trade connectivity? Evidence from the ASEAN.

This paper explores the impact of infrastructure on trade connectivity among ASEAN and three Asian countries-India, China, and Japan. Our study is mainly motivated by the increased infrastructure investment and trade among these countries in recent years. The main results of trade network analysis include high trade density and interconnectedness among ASEAN, India, China, and Japan. There are specific "trade intensive paths" among the few countries in the group. It highlights the "export hubs" or main "suppliers of intermediate goods" in the region. Further, the paper analyzed the nexus between trade connectivity and infrastructure by applying the panel fixed effects method and Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood. Moreover, the robustness of the results is tested by estimating two-stage least square. Hard infrastructure, foreign direct investment plays a crucial role in bringing the nexus to trade connectivity. Reducing trade barriers and improving infrastructure quality are essential for deepening regional trade integration.

Competition and cooperation in the natural gas market: a game-theoretic demand-base analysis.

This paper aims to explore various possibilities in the evolving global gas market by constructing game-theoretical models involving the major players: Russia and Qatar exporting gas to the Asia-Pacific and Europe, respectively. We explore a series of hypothetical scenarios based on competitive and collusive settings for the Asia-Pacific LNG market and based on Qatar's export route to the European gas market. The scenarios that are examined are (1) Russia as the follower and Qatar as the leader in a Stackelberg game; (2) Russia and Qatar as Cournot competitors; (3) collaboration between Russia and Qatar as bilateral monopolies; (4) Qatar exporting gas to European borders; (5) Qatar exporting gas to the last transit country; and (6) Qatar transporting gas to the Turkish border under a multi-pricing scheme. Demand is estimated under each scenario to simulate the respective export volumes, prices and quantities, and profit in each scenario. By exploring these market interactions, we find that it is essential for Russia to strike a deal with Qatar in the Asian market and accelerate their gas production in order to compete as an LNG market leader. Russia is likely to benefit more if it can link with Qatar to act as a monopoly on their segmental demand curve. On the other hand, Qatar's profit is expected to be higher under the scenario when Qatar sells all the gas to the last transit country as the sole demand point instead of passing through transit countries.

Jet fans in the underground car parking areas and virus transmission.

Jet fans are increasingly preferred over traditional ducted systems as a means of ventilating pollutants in large environments such as underground car parks. The spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-which causes the novel coronavirus disease-through the jet fans in underground car parks has been considered a matter of key concern. A quantitative understanding of the propagation of respiratory droplets/particles/aerosols containing the virus is important. However, to date, studies have yet to demonstrate viral (e.g., SARS-CoV-2) transmission in underground car parks equipped with jet fans. In this paper, numerical simulation has been performed to assess the effects of jet fans on the spreading of viruses inside underground car parks.

Environmental treaties' impact on the environment in resource-rich and non-resource-rich countries.

This paper examines the impact of environmental treaties on the environment across 74 countries: 50 resource-rich and 24 non-resource-rich countries. Using data spanning over 35 years, we find a negative and significant association between environmental treaties and environmental quality in resource-rich countries. On the contrary, we find environmental treaties positively and significantly affect the environment in non-resource-rich countries. Our results suggest that the environmental treaties signed by resource-rich countries may lead them to achieve sustainable development growth by 2030. Therefore, our results extend the environment literature and inform policymakers of the need to pay attention to the effects of signing environmental treaties on environmental protection.