The effect of green fiscal policy on green technological innovation: evidence from energy saving and emission reduction fiscal policy.

The "National Comprehensive demonstration of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy" (ESER policy) is a green fiscal policy to facilitate China's green sustainable development. Green sustainable development is facilitated by green technological innovation. Thus, evaluating the influence of the ESER policy on green technological innovation is essential. This study employs the difference-in-differences model to assess the ESER policy effects. The findings suggest that the ESER policy facilitates green technological innovation, but the policy effect has inhibited green technology innovation in neighboring cities. Mechanism analysis indicates that this policy effect is realized through increasing scientific research investment intensity and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this policy is effective in facilitating green technological innovation when performed in eastern, non-old industrial base, non-resource-based, and high green innovation level cities. In addition, the ESER policy implemented in conjunction with innovation policy can be more effective in promoting green technological innovation. These results provide valuable insights for improving the ESER policy and offer helpful guidelines for green fiscal policymaking in other countries.

Phytochemical analysis and hepatotoxicity assessment of braised Polygoni Multiflori Radix (Wen-He-Shou-Wu).

Polygoni Multiflori Radix (PMR) is a medicinal herb commonly used in China and Eastern Asia. Recently, the discovery of hepatotoxicity in PMR has received considerable attention from scientists. Processing is a traditional Chinese medicine technique used for the effective reduction of toxicity. One uncommon technique is the braising method-also known as 'Wen-Fa' in Chinese-which is used to prepare tonics or poisonous medications. Braised PMR (BPMR)-also known as 'Wen-He-Shou-Wu'-is one of the processed products of the braising method. However, the non-volatile components of BPMR have not been identified and examined in detail, and therefore, the hepatotoxic advantage of BPMR remains unknown. In this study, we compared the microscopic characteristics of different samples in powder form using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), investigated the non-volatile components, assessed the effects of different processed PMR products on the liver, and compared the differences between BPMR and PMR Praeparata recorded in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020 edition). We found that the hepatotoxicity of BPMR was dramatically decreased, which may be related to an increase in polysaccharide content and a decrease in toxic substances. The present study provides an important foundation for future investigations of the processing mechanisms of BPMR.

Digital economy, industrial transformation and upgrading, and spatial transfer of carbon emissions: The paths for low-carbon transformation of Chinese cities.

Under the background of increasingly fierce global economic competition and severe climate change, seeking new soft resource input is the key for China to break through the bottleneck of economic transformation. Based on the data from 278 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019, multi-dimensional empirical tests were conducted to investigate the relationship between digital economy (DE) and spatial transfer of carbon emissions (CE). The results show that DE directly reduced CE. Mechanism analysis shows that DE reduced CE through local industrial transformation and upgrading (ITU). Spatial analysis shows that DE reduced local CE while aggravating neighboring CE. The spatial transfer of CE was attributed to the fact that when DE promoted the local ITU, it induced the transfer of the backward and polluting industries to neighboring regions, resulting in the spatial transfer of CE. Moreover, the spatial transfer effect of CE was maximum at 200 km. However, in recent years, rapid DE development has weakened the spatial transfer effect of CE. The results can provide insights into understanding the carbon refuge effect of industrial transfer in China in the context of DE and facilitate formulating appropriate industrial policies to promote inter-regional carbon reduction synergy. Thus, this study can provide a theoretical reference for achieving the dual-carbon target of China and the green economic recovery of other developing countries.

Where will corporate capital flow to? Revisiting the impact of China's pilot carbon emission trading system on investment.

As a policy instrument to address climate change, the Carbon Emissions Trading System (ETS) will directly affect the location choice and development strategies of high-emitting firms' off-site investments, which is crucial to achieve optimal allocation of capital factors and coordinated development among regions. Using data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2020, this study assesses for the first time the impact of Carbon Emissions Trading System on regulated firms' off-site investment strategies at the firm level using the Heterogeneity-Robust Difference-in-differences approach. The estimation results indicate that (1) the Carbon Emissions Trading System leads to about 20% reduction in off-site investment by regulated firms, which is mainly reflected in cross-city investment; (2) the heterogeneous investment effect is more obvious in private enterprise groups, but not in state-owned enterprise groups. Government intervention influenced the investment decisions of enterprise groups to make their development strategies more consistent with local economic growth objectives; (3) regulated enterprise groups significantly expanded their production layout locally and reduced off-site production investment; (4) the Carbon Emissions Trading System will promote long-term performance improvement of regulated firms. The above results are enlightening for the construction of Carbon Emissions Trading System in China and provide a new perspective for theoretically assessing the impact of Carbon Emissions Trading System on the competitiveness of enterprises.

Balance between Smog Control and Economic Growth in China: Mechanism Analysis Based on the Effect of Green Technology Innovation.

The balance between smog pollution (SP) control and economic growth (EG) is currently a major problem facing China's development. Green technology innovation (GTI) is an effective way to promote ecological civilization and realize green development. Thus, whether GTI can facilitate a win-win situation of SP control and stable EG is an important issue of academic concerns. In this paper, the mechanisms of the role of GTI, SP and EG were systematically demonstrated. The corresponding research hypotheses were proposed. Based on the data book of 278 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2020, the effects of GTI on SP and EG were systematically investigated using the econometric estimation method of dynamic spatial panel simultaneous equations. The results show that GTI can reduce SP directly, or indirectly by promoting EG. Although GTI can promote EG, EG may be inhibited due to GTI-induced SP reduction. Inter-regional SP showed significant spatial agglomeration characteristics. EG had significant spatial correlation effects. GTI in neighboring regions can also facilitate local SP control. Further analysis shows that compared with green utility model innovation (GUMI), green invention and innovation (GII) had a more significant effect on reducing SP and promoting EG. In addition, the analysis of the comprehensive effect of GTI on SP and EG shows that GTI can achieve the overall balanced development of SP prevention and EG regardless of GTI types.

Impact of China's Rural Land Marketization on Ecological Environment Quality Based on Remote Sensing.

The market entry of rural collective operating construction land (MERCOCL) is an important way for the Chinese government to promote the marketization of rural land. However, the impact of China's Rural Land Marketization on the ecological environment quality (EEQ) remains to be understood. Understanding these mechanisms is necessary for regional sustainable development and rational resource allocation. Therefore, a universal assessment model of China's regional EEQ was built based on the Landsat 5/8 and the national ecological index (EI) provided by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment at the national district and county scale. A total of 229 counties (32 pilot counties and other counties in the pilot cities) in China from 2011 to 2018 were taken as the research object. This paper empirically studied the evolution process, driving mechanism and spatial heterogeneity of EEQ from the perspective of MERCOCL. The study shows that China's EEQ presented a spatial distribution pattern of "high in the south, low in the north, high in the east and low in the west". When a county implemented the MERCOCL policy, its EEQ index increased by 0.342, with the improvement effect occurring in the second year after the MERCOCL implementation. Regarding the mechanism, MERCOCL mainly improved the EEQ by promoting industrial structure optimization and increasing urban population aggregation. From the perspective of spatial heterogeneity, the improvement effect of MERCOCL on EEQ was more significant in regions with lower economic development levels and latitudes (southern China). This study will facilitate an understanding of the impact of China's rural land marketization on the EEQ and provide scientific data support for government departments to formulate sustainable urban development policies that meet local conditions.

Chinese expert consensus on assessment of cognitive impairment in the elderly.

Cognitive impairment is a term that refers to the impairment of one or more cognitive domains to varying degrees caused by a variety of reasons. It is under a high prevalence, many risk factors, complex etiology, and great harm to the elderly population. Early screening, diagnosis, and intervention for cognitive impairment in the elderly are of great importance. However, at present, the recognition rate of cognitive impairment for the elderly in China is low, the rate of missed diagnosis is high, and the evaluation is not standardized. This consensus integrates the commonly used cognitive function assessment scales in China and abroad, and aims to popularize the screening of cognitive impairment, standardize the evaluation methods and procedures of cognitive impairment in the elderly, and establish clinical diagnoses, interventions, and follow-up plans in a timely manner.

Central environmental protection inspection and green technology innovation: empirical analysis based on the mechanism and spatial spillover effects.

In this study, the central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) policy is considered a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the data of 216 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2018, the influence of CEPI on green technology innovation (GTI) is empirically examined mainly using difference-in-differences (DIDs), propensity score matching DID and spatial DID methods. The results indicate that CEPI can effectively promote GTI. Regarding different types of GTI, CEPI mainly promoted utilitarian GTI. Regarding the mechanism, CEPI significantly promotes local GTI mainly through the increase of environmental protection expenditure and research and development investment. Considering the dynamic marginal effect, CEPI starts to significantly promote GTI in the second year after the policy implementation but exhibited no effects in the third year. The extended study shows that GTI effect of CEPI only occurs in small-medium cities and big cities. Furthermore, there is a certain beggar-thy-neighbor effect between inspected and uninspected cities. Finally, the spatial decomposition of CEPI effects shows that the inhibitory effect of CEPI on GTI mainly occurs in the neighboring uninspected cities, while CEPI has no evident inhibition on GTI in neighboring inspected cities.