Ke Li and Boqiang Lin
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of technology progress on carbon intensity in China. Abatement of carbon emission has become one of the most important…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of technology progress on carbon intensity in China. Abatement of carbon emission has become one of the most important targets for the Chinese government. Numerous studies confirm that technology progress is the main factor responsible for reduction in CI. However, very few studies analyze the impacts of technology progress on CI for various regions. There is also inadequate knowledge on the transmission mechanisms of the impacts. These are the motivations for this research.
Design/methodology/approach
Given energy consumption and CO2 emissions, an improved MLPI, which stands for the generalized technology progress related to energy and environment, is introduced and decomposed into technical and efficiency changes. Using a panel data of 30 provinces from 1997 to 2012, the authors construct different panel data models to investigate the effects of technology progress (and its decomposition elements) on CI.
Findings
Results show that technology progress is conducive for reducing CI, with the main factor being technical change. It also finds that the two components of technology progress have completely different effects in the three regions of China. Dynamic panel data models with threshold effects indicate that capital deepening enforces and weakens the negative effects of technical change and efficiency change on CI.
Originality/value
The above conclusions provide new evidences for policy-makers with respect to capital deepening, technical innovation and allocative efficiency enhancement with a view to achieving CI reduction.
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Ibrahim Dolapo Raheem and Joseph O. Ogebe
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of industrialization and urbanization on CO2 emissions in 20 African countries for the period 1980 to 2013.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of industrialization and urbanization on CO2 emissions in 20 African countries for the period 1980 to 2013.
Design/methodology/approach
In order to correct for cross-sectional dependence, this study adopts the use of pooled mean group. Also, the study contributes to the literature by estimating the direct, indirect and total effects of industrialization and urbanization on carbon emission.
Findings
The results show that industrialization and urbanization directly increase environmental degradation. Interestingly, industrialization and urbanization were also found to reduce environmental degradation through their indirect effects on per capita income. In general, the authors conclude that the indirect effect of industrialization will overcrowd the direct effect, and this will lead to a decline in the overall effect of industrialization on carbon emission. Also, the positive direct effect of urbanization outweighs the negative indirect effect, thus the overall effect of urbanization will endanger carbon emission in the long run.
Originality/value
The existing studies on emission, industrialization and urbanization have typically been biased toward Africa. This present study filled this gap. The choice of African countries is based on the notion that the continent is desirous of expanding her industrialization level. This has coincidentally led to the increase in urbanization growth rate as well as income level of former rural dwellers. The second contribution of this study is the “effects decomposition” into direct, indirect and total effects. This is to reveal some inherent information that might be missing.
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Jiaxin Huang, Wenbo Li, Xiu Cheng and Ke Cui
This study aims to identify the key factors that influence household pro-environmental behaviors (HPEBs) and explore the differences caused by the same influencing factors between…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to identify the key factors that influence household pro-environmental behaviors (HPEBs) and explore the differences caused by the same influencing factors between household waste management behavior (HWM) and household energy-saving behavior (HES).
Design/methodology/approach
A meta-analysis was conducted on 90 articles about HPEBs published between 2009 and 2023 to find the key factors. HPEBs were further categorized into HWM and HES to investigate the difference influenced by the above factors on two behaviors. The correlation coefficient was used as the unified effect size, and the random-effect model was adopted to conduct both main effect and moderating effect tests.
Findings
The results showed that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control all positively influenced intention and HPEBs, but their effects were stronger on intention than on HPEBs. Intention was found to be the strongest predictor of HPEBs. Subjective norms were found to have a more positive effect on HES compared to HWM, while habits had a more positive effect on HWM. Furthermore, household size was negatively correlated with HWM but positively correlated with HES.
Originality/value
The same variables have different influences on HWM and HES. These results can help develop targeted incentives to increase the adoption of HPEBs, ultimately reducing household energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and contributing to the mitigation of global warming.
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Mahdi Salehi, Hamdollah Sojasi Qeidari and Ahmad Asgari
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of the targeted subsidies plan in the rural and agricultural sectors of Iran and its impact on the government’s…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the implementation of the targeted subsidies plan in the rural and agricultural sectors of Iran and its impact on the government’s sales income, operating cash flow (OCF) and receivables collection ratio.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the panel data approach, the authors examine their hypotheses on a sample of six provinces of Iran, including Khorasan Razavi, Khorasan Jonoubi, Kerman, Semnan, Kermanshah and Kurdistan, during 2009-2013.
Findings
The findings indicate that the implementation of the targeted subsidies plan leads to increased actual electricity sales in the rural sector. Further, while the coefficient on OCF in the estimated model suggests a significant and positive relationship between the OCF and the implementation of the targeted subsidies plan, the coefficient on receivables collection ratio demonstrates a significant but negative association. Contrary to the government’s primary expectations, the results do not provide any support for the reduction of electricity consumption.
Originality/value
The current study is apparently the first study which conducted on the subject under study.
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Shuangying Chen, Feng Fu, Tingting Xiang and Junli Zeng
Extant research on the crowding-out effects of government subsidies on the positive role of firm innovation resources or activity remains limited. This paper aims to investigate…
Abstract
Purpose
Extant research on the crowding-out effects of government subsidies on the positive role of firm innovation resources or activity remains limited. This paper aims to investigate the crowding-out effects of subsidies on the utilization of technological capabilities and also the contingency mechanisms of market-oriented economy based on the resource-based view (RBV), given the co-existence of the subsidies and technological capabilities for firm innovation in transitional economy.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper used panel data of 115 Chinese high-tech firms from 2002 to 2010. Fixed-effects model was used to test several hypotheses.
Findings
This paper empirically demonstrates that the subsidies crowd out the utilization of firms’ technological capabilities for invention outcomes in the near-term. Furthermore, this paper finds that the crowding-out effects are weaker when firms have high export intensity or are located in provinces with high market-oriented systems.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this paper apply to Chinese firms. Future research could test their generalizability to different samples and other transitional economies.
Practical implications
This paper highlights the crowding-out effects of the subsidies, revealing that high-tech firms should balance the direct effects and crowding-out effects of the subsidies.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the neglected interactions between the subsidies and technological capabilities based on RBV and provides a more nuanced understanding of the crowding-out effects of the subsidies in transitional economy.