Population agglomeration in Chinese cities: is it benefit or damage for the quality of economic development?

The interaction between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing companies: Moderating effects of corporate financing constraints and executive short-term compensation incentives

In the era of green economy, the synchronous resonance of industry-talent integration and green innovation is crucial for the high-quality development of pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, but few studies have explored the interaction between the two factors and its situational conditions. To fill this gap, this study decomposes green innovation into green technology research and development (R&D) and achievements commercialization phases based on the two-phase value chain. Meanwhile, a sample of 99 listed Chinese A-share pharmaceutical manufacturing companies from 2013 to 2022 is examined to demonstrate the interaction between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation. The results show: (1) There is a reciprocal effect between industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation efficiency; green technology R&D efficiency has a greater enabling effect on industry-talent integration, and industry-talent integration has a stronger driving effect on green achievements commercialization efficiency. (2) Midwestern and non-state-owned companies have yet to realize a mutually reinforcing response to industry-talent integration and green achievements commercialization efficiency; state-owned companies have not formed a positive interaction between industry-talent integration and green technology R&D efficiency. (3) Enhanced corporate financing constraints can weaken the driving effect of industry-talent integration on two-phase green innovation efficiency; increased short-term compensation incentives for executives will also weaken the facilitating effect of two-phase green innovation on industry-talent integration. In future, pharmaceutical manufacturing companies should alleviate financing constraints and dynamically adjust executive incentive mechanism, so as to promote the mutual response of industry-talent integration and two-phase green innovation through precise measures.

Evaluation and spatiotemporal evolution of veterinary talent competitiveness: a new perspective of veterinary education

Introduction

Improving the quantity and quality of veterinary talent cultivation is an urgent issue to address in current veterinary education and is key to enhancing veterinary talent competitiveness. Starting from an industrial perspective, the introduction of scientific analytical methods for studying veterinary talent competitiveness offers a new view on veterinary education and helps to improve the quality of veterinary education and talent cultivation.

Methods

This study develops a veterinary talent competitiveness evaluation index based on the characteristics of veterinary talent. It proposes a visual method to analyze the level and spatiotemporal evolution of veterinary talent competitiveness using the Entropy method and ArcGIS tools, with Western China as a case study. Data is collected from 12 regions in Western China, spanning 2015 to 2021.

Results

The results show that the method not only evaluates the current state of veterinary talent competitiveness but also considers temporal and spatial evolution, achieving good evaluation effectiveness and high accuracy, thereby guiding the improvement of veterinary education and talent cultivation.

Discussion

Based on the research findings, the study suggests improving the quality of veterinary education and talent cultivation through measures such as strengthening talent resource development, addressing regional imbalances, and promoting spatial integration to achieve a virtuous cycle between veterinary education and industrial development.

Key factors influencing sustainable population growth: A DEMATEL-ANP combined approach

This study highlights the importance of sustainable social demographic growth. It uses a model that combines the Decision-making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) with the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to examine key factors affecting this growth and their interactions. The analysis focuses on six critical factors: economic development, education and gender equality, health services, environmental sustainability, immigration policies, and technological advancement. Experiments using government and international organization databases include comparative experiments with deep learning prediction models, ensemble learning models, Causal Inference Models, complex network analysis models, and agent-based models. Comparison metrics cover accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 score. The results indicate that, with a data volume of 4000, the optimized model achieves an accuracy of 0.973, precision of 0.981, recall of 0.969, and an F1 score of 0.89, demonstrating the model's superior performance. The DEMATEL method analyzes the direct relationships among the factors. The results show that economic development and technological advancement have impact scores of 3.91 and 3.43, respectively, indicating their strong influence on other factors and their role in promoting sustainable demographic growth. Education and gender equality, health services, and technological advancement each have impact scores of 3.39, meaning they are significantly affected by other factors and are sensitive in the growth process. Finally, the ANP method is used to calculate the weights of each factor, determining their relative importance in sustainable social demographic growth. The results highlight that economic development level and technological advancement and innovation are core factors influencing sustainable social demographic growth, with significant direct and indirect impacts on other factors and a crucial role in the overall system. These findings provide a scientific basis for formulating relevant policies and interventions, particularly in prioritizing and strengthening economic and technological development strategies. This study offers valuable insights for research in demography, sustainable development, and social policy formulation.

Research on the coupling coordination characteristics and convergence of digital finance and regional sustainable development: evidence from Chinese city clusters

The study examines the digital finance (DF) and regional sustainable development (RSD) across 90 cities within six major city clusters in China over the period from 2011 to 2020. By constructing an evaluation index system for DF and RSD, we employed the entropy value method to assess their levels, and the coupling coordination degree (CCD) model to evaluate their interplay. Our analysis extended to temporal and spatial disparities, distribution dynamics, and the convergence of CCD through kernel density estimation, Markov chain analysis, σ -convergence, and β -convergence techniques. The results indicate a consistent upward trend in CCD, yet it remains at a low level with pronounced regional disparities and temporal characteristics. The kernel density distribution's central tendency has shifted rightward progressively, albeit with a decelerating pace annually. The Markov transition probability matrix suggests a stable CCD across various levels, hinting at "club convergence". Furthermore, both σ -convergence and β -convergence analyses reveal significant convergence trends in CCD, enhanced by economic growth factors. Using the Quadratic Assignment Procedure (QAP) method, we found that regional economic growth disparities significantly influence the CCD's regional variances.

Scale or effectiveness? The nonlinear impact of talent agglomeration on high-quality economic development in China

Talent agglomeration serves as a vital pathway for achieving high-quality economic development. This paper, based on provincial panel data from China spanning 2011-2020, first analyses the impact of talent agglomeration on high-quality economic development from two dimensions: the talent agglomeration scale and effectiveness. Second, with innovation activity as a threshold variable, this paper explores the nonlinear impact of the talent agglomeration scale and effectiveness on economic efficiency improvement and economic structure optimization. This study finds that (1) the main driving force for high-quality economic development within the sample period comes from the talent agglomeration scale, while the promoting role of talent agglomeration effectiveness has not yet passed significant tests. (2) Under different levels of innovation activity, the talent agglomeration scale has a diminishing marginal utility impact on economic efficiency improvement and economic structure optimization; talent agglomeration effectiveness also has different nonlinear effects on economic efficiency improvement and economic structure optimization.

Impact of digital finance on urban ecological resilience: evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

From the emergence of the new coronavirus pandemic to extreme climatic catastrophes, the development and enhancement of urban ecological resilience has evolved into a critical and strategic imperative. Investigating the capacity of digital finance to promote urban ecological resilience bears substantial relevance to the sustainable advancement of urban centers. This study examines the influence of digital finance on urban ecological resilience by applying a benchmark regression model on data from 107 prefecture-level cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt across 2011-2020. Additionally, this study delves into its mechanism and spatial spillover impacts via a mediating effect model and a spatial effect model. The findings revealed that (1) digital finance strengthens the ecological resilience of the locale and beneficially impacts the surrounding regions; (2) digital finance enhances urban ecological resilience by fostering technological innovation and reducing energy intensity; and (3) in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, digital finance plays a greater role in improving urban ecological resilience. Cities with high level of traditional financial development, high level of economic development and high intensity of environmental regulation have a more obvious role in promoting urban ecological resilience. Within the paradigm of ecological civilization, it is advisable for governmental bodies to fortify inter-regional digital financial collaboration, refine the green financial infrastructure, and advocate for sustainable, low-carbon, high-quality urban development.

The causal effect and autonomous buffering mechanisms of large-scale internal migration on carbon emissions: evidence from China

Large-scale internal migration and unprecedented urbanization have dramatically promoted economic growth in China, resulting in a rapid surge in carbon emissions in urban areas. However, few studies have investigated the causal effect of mass internal migration on carbon emissions or examined the effects of autonomous mitigation mechanisms, such as population agglomeration and technological innovation. This study identifies the causal effect of internal migration on prefectural-level cities' carbon emissions in China by employing an instrumental variable and further investigates the buffering effect of population agglomeration and technological innovation using mediating effect models. The results show that mass internal migration has a substantial impact on increasing carbon emissions in prefectural-level cities. If the proportion of inflowed migrants rises by 1% point, prefectural-level cities' carbon emissions per capita will increase by 1.9%. A series of robustness tests confirms the result. Population migration also promotes population agglomeration and technological innovation in urban areas. Two autonomous mechanisms buffer 11.9% and 5.4% of prefectural-level cities' incremental carbon emissions per capita caused by population migration, respectively. This study highlights the crucial role of population agglomeration and technological innovation in mitigating carbon emissions in cities experiencing significant migrant inflows and provides several implications for formulating relevant policies.

Sequential growth of urban environmental efficiency: evidence from Chinese cities

We examined the relationship between city size and environmental efficiency and found sequential growth of environmental efficiency in 282 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2019 and also tested the mechanism of industrial transfer. The empirical results show that as the period advances, the relationship between the environmental efficiency of cities and the city size changes from an upward-sloping straight line to a "U-shaped" structure, indicating that the urbanization advantages of megacities are shifting to large or medium-sized cities. This shift is the result of the industrial transfer. The government should refrain from excessive market interventions in industrial shifts. Simultaneously, it should facilitate population mobility in large cities and enhance public services for medium-sized cities. Small cities undergoing population decline should not be hindered.

The impact of population agglomeration on ecological resilience: Evidence from China

Due to climate change and human activities, ecological and environmental issues have become increasingly prominent and it is crucial to deeply study the coordinated development between human activities and the ecological environment. Combining panel data from 31 provinces in China spanning from 2011 to 2020, we employed a fixed-effects model, a threshold regression model, and a spatial Durbin model to empirically examine the intricate impacts of population agglomeration on ecological resilience. Our findings indicate that population agglomeration can have an impact on ecological resilience and this impact depends on the combined effects of agglomeration and crowding effects. Also, the impact of population agglomeration on ecological resilience exhibits typical dual-threshold traits due to differences in population size. Furthermore, population agglomeration not only directly impacts the ecological resilience of the local area, but also indirectly affects the ecological resilience of surrounding areas. In conclusion, we have found that population agglomeration does not absolutely impede the development of ecological resilience. On the contrary, to a certain extent, reasonable population agglomeration can even facilitate the progress of ecological resilience.