Promoting sustainable development: Revisiting digital economy agglomeration and inclusive green growth through two-tier stochastic frontier model

The impact of industrial agglomeration on new quality productive forces enhancement in China's pig farming industry

Enhancing the development of new quality productive forces (NQPF) has become a critical pathway for overcoming the "low-end lock-in" of the pig industry and achieving high-quality growth. Based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces spanning 2011 to 2022, this study employs benchmark regression models, mediation effect models, and threshold effect models to empirically analyze the impact of industrial agglomeration (AGG) on the enhancement of new quality productive forces in the pig farming industry (NQPP) and its underlying mechanisms. The findings revealed that (1) AGG significantly enhances NQPP, and this conclusion remains robust across various robustness tests. (2) Industrial structure upgrading (ISU) serves as the intrinsic driving force behind the positive effect of AGG on NQPP enhancement. (3) The spillover effects of AGG on NQPP enhancement exhibit a significant non-linear characteristic of "increasing marginal effects". (4) The impact of AGG on NQPP enhancement varies across regions. The promotional effect is more pronounced in regions rich in resources and with strong development potential. Accordingly, the policymakers should carefully consider regional factor endowments and production capacities when formulating differentiated policy measures tailored to local conditions. Additionally, efforts should be made to strengthen the integration of the pig industry chain and promote technological innovation, thereby facilitating the industry's transition toward intensification, efficiency, and sustainability.

Spatio-temporal evolution and drivers of coupling coordination between digital infrastructure and inclusive green growth: Evidence from the Yangtze River economic belt

The change of digital technology has ushered in a new era of digital infrastructure (DI) development. Facilitating the synergistic of DI and inclusive green growth (IGG) is essential for achieving sustainable development at the regional level. This study draws on panel data from 107 cities within China's Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and employs a variety of research methodologies, including the entropy method, the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA), the Dagum Gini coefficient, the GM (1.1), and an optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD). The aim is to explore the coupling coordination degree (CCD) and drivers between DI and IGG from 2011 to 2020. The findings reveal: (1) Throughout the study, the CCD within the YREB remained generally low, achieving only low coordination by 2020. However, the system demonstrates greater harmonization and improved quality each year. Spatially, the distribution pattern exhibits a distinct "high in the east and low in the west" trend. (2) The CCD exhibits a positive spatial correlation, particularly with High-High clusters concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD). (3) Utilizing difference analysis and gray model predictions, the CCD level of the YREB shows considerable potential for development, with regional disparities gradually narrowing. (4) While the dominant driving factors of CCD vary across different sub-regions of the YREB, information supportability and economic driving force generally emerge as the primary drivers across different spatial sub-regions, with their impact significantly enhanced when interacting with other factors. Consequently, this study accurately identifies the driving factors in different spatial sub-divisions and suggests tailored development strategies and measures to provide more scientifically grounded policy insights.

Determinants and action paths of transboundary water pollution collaborative governance: A case study of the Yangtze River Basin, China

With rapid economic growth, the issue of water pollution has become increasingly prominent, and there is a consensus that river basin management systems and cross-regional management coordination mechanisms need improving. In this study, 171 transboundary sections of the Yangtze River Basin were matched with the data of 57 cities to construct panel data from 2015 to 2021. Based on the four-dimensional framework of environment-determination-process-resources, the dynamic qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method is used to identify the key influencing factors and action paths of water pollution collaborative governance effects. The results show that a single antecedent condition is not necessary to achieve efficient collaborative governance effects, and only the "number of collaborative governance" and "scale of collaboration" conditions played important roles. There are five paths that can achieve efficient collaborative governance effects: economy-oriented, ecology-oriented, technology-oriented, government-oriented, and all-oriented. Additionally, heterogeneous results show that the impact of the regional governance intention on efficient collaborative governance effect is limited in the middle and upstream sections of the Yangtze River Basin, while the downstream sections are more dependent on the basic condition of the basin. The results can help promote effective cross-regional collaboration in the Yangtze River Basin, provide scientific basis for regions to formulate targeted governance measures, and provide models for governance in other regions.