Has COVID-19 Changed China's Digital Trade?-Implications for Health Economics.

Digital technologies have played a significant role in the defense against the COVID-19 pandemic. This development raises the question of whether digital technologies have helped Chinese exports recover quickly and even grow. To answer this question, we study monthly data on Chinese exports to 40 countries/regions from January 2019 to June 2020 and covering 97 product categories. The study takes the COVID-19 outbreak as a natural experiment and treats digital trade products as the treatment group. Using a generalized difference-in-differences (DID) approach, we empirically investigate how this major global public health crisis and digital trade have influenced Chinese exports. Our empirical analysis reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic has inhibited China's export trade overall, digital trade has significantly promoted trade, and the supply mechanism has played a significant role in promoting the recovery of exports. Heterogeneity tests on destination countries/regions reveal that digital trade has significantly promoted exports to countries/regions with different income levels, with a more significant effect on low-risk destinations than on high-risk destinations. The sector heterogeneity test demonstrates that digital trade has enhanced the export recovery of sectors dealing in necessities for pandemic prevention. Other robustness tests, including parallel trend and placebo tests, support the above conclusions. Finally, we extend the research conclusions and discuss their implication for health economics and the practice of fighting COVID-19.

Threshold Effect of Foreign Direct Investment and Carbon Emissions Performance From the Perspective of Marketization Level: Implications for the Green Economy.

Exploring the path and mechanism of marketization level in the effect of foreign direct investment (FDI) on carbon emission performance will help to maximize the stimulation effect of foreign investment on green and low-carbon development. This study used the panel data of 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2008 to 2016. A panel threshold model is constructed to explore the non-linear relationship between FDI and carbon emissions performance from the perspective of marketization level. The main conclusions are as follows: First, from the perspective of marketization level, a significant double threshold effect exists between foreign participation and carbon emission intensity, with threshold values of 4.4701 and 9.2516 respectively. Second, as the marketization level increases, the technology spillover effect of FDI increases, and the stimulation effect of foreign participation on carbon intensity decreases significantly, but it does not inhibit carbon intensity, indicating that the overall benefits brought by FDI technology spillovers are still insufficient to offset pollution caused by foreign investment. Third, the eastern region of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has crossed the second threshold. In the central and western regions, the marketization process is relatively slow except for Chongqing, and the regions are still firmly stuck between the first and second thresholds. In response to the conclusions of the empirical research, relevant policy suggestions are put forward from three dimensions, namely, the strategy of introducing foreign investment, construction of the marketization system, and environmental regulation, to achieve low-carbon and green development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Does the Price Support Policy Drive a Balanced Distribution of Profits in the Chinese Dairy Supply Chain? Implications for Supplier and Consumer Psychology.

Evaluating the price policy of raw milk is of great significance to the sustainable development of an industry supply chain. In this context, our study used the multi-period difference-in-difference method to systematically examine the impact of the policy implementation on product price and profit distribution in the supply chain. The results showed the following: (1) the price of raw milk in the implementation area of the price support policy is 13.54% higher than that of the unimplemented area; (2) the effect of price increase in the western region (15.5%) is higher than that in the eastern region (13%), and the central region (10.73%); (3) furthermore, the purchase price guidance policy of raw milk drives price increase or price suppression in the links of the supply chain to promote a balanced distribution of profits among the participants in the chain. These conclusions all have good stability and have reference significance for further improving and adjusting the price support policy of raw milk to realize the sustainable development of the Chinese dairy industry. This will enhance the production confidence of Chinese raw milk producers and improve Chinese consumers' expectations and consumer psychology regarding domestic dairy products.