The role of Market-incentive environmental regulation (MIER) within the framework of environmental governance is patently evident. While extant literature lauds the advantageous outcomes attributed to the environmental protection tax (EPT) which as a representative of MIER, our empirical inquiry presents a contrasting narrative. By employing the sophisticated Difference-in-Difference-in-Difference (DDD) methodology and utilizing data from A-share listed firms in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2015-2022, our investigation reveals a significant decrease in firms’ total factor productivity (TFP) following the implementation of EPT. Our core assertion is fortified through the discernment of two plausible mechanisms, namely, the production downsizing effect and the production capital crowding-out effect. Building upon this revelation, we delve into the nuanced pathways through which firms can strategically mitigate the impacts of EPT, encompassing the enhancement of human capital, amplification of research and development (R&D) investments, and fortification of overall firm resilience. Heterogeneity analysis discloses a notably heightened impact of EPT on TFP of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), larger enterprises and enterprises located in eastern regions. Ultimately, an approximately cost-benefit analysis conclusively demonstrates that the benefits derived from EPT far surpass the costs incurred by the concomitant industrial output reduction, which further illustrates the rationale for the implementation of EPT.

We examine whether large language models (LLMs) can extract contextualized representation of Chinese news articles and predict stock returns. The LLMs we examine include BERT, RoBERTa, FinBERT, Baichuan, ChatGLM and their ensemble model. We find that tones and return forecasts extracted by LLMs from news significantly predict future returns. The equal- and value-weighted long minus short portfolios yield annualized returns of 90% and 69% on average for the ensemble model. Given that these news articles are public information, the predictive power lasts about two days. More interestingly, the signals extracted by LLMs contain information about firm fundamentals, and can predict the aggressiveness of future trades. The predictive power is noticeably stronger for firms with less efficient information environment, such as firms with lower market cap, shorting volume, institutional and state ownership. These results suggest that LLMs are helpful in capturing under-processed information in public news, for firms with less efficient information environment, and thus contribute to overall market efficiency.

本文研究了元宇宙和工业元宇宙的基本概念及其主要相关技术的特点，指出工业元宇宙是工业乃至产业数字化、智能化发展的全新阶段。介绍了广州市各区从战略高度大力支持元宇宙赋能传统产业，各区“元宇宙”产业发展各有侧重；广州具有发展元宇宙产业的硬件和软件等优势，拥有多个元宇宙场景应用的优势产业，数实融合为广州元宇宙产业发展创造了良好基础。阐述了工业元宇宙是广州数字经济与实体经济融合发展的新时空，是大湾区发展新质生产力的助推器，是新型工业化发展的重要推动力量。针对广州不同区域在推进工业元宇宙中的不足或不均衡现象，提出了完善顶层设计、强化统筹协调、构建全面场景示范、构建协同集聚生态、构建技术攻关体系、推进区域创新要素整合共享、构建区域制造业创新协同机制等建议。

Recent research highlights the significant impact of managerial industry tournament incentives on internal firm decisions. However, their potential impact on external stakeholders-in the context of evolving product market relationships-has received scant attention. To address this gap, we examine the effect of customer aspiration, incentivized by CEO industry tournaments (CITIs), on supplier innovation. Utilizing customer-supplier pair-level data from 1992 to 2018, we establish that customer CITIs enhance supplier innovation, both in quantity and quality. Additionally, we identify that CITIs positively impact the relationship-specific innovation and market valuation for suppliers. The effect of CITIs is more pronounced when customers are larger, geographically closer, socially connected, and have long-standing relationships with their suppliers. The results remain robust to alternative specifications and considering potential endogeneity issues. Our study highlights the bright side of executives’ industry tournament incentives, which not only drive innovation within the sector but can also positively influence related sectors within the supply chain.

中共二十届三中全会强调要健全高质量充分就业促进机制，就业是最大的民生，如何扩大就业对社会稳定和经济发展意义重大。本文基于投入产出表数据构建企业宏观层面的数字化转型指标，并基于中国31个省份代表性报纸构建中国省级行政区经济政策不确定性指数，考察企业数字化转型对经济政策不确定性与劳动力就业规模关系的影响。研究发现，经济政策不确定性对劳动力就业存在破坏效应，数字化转型能够有效缓解经济政策不确定性对劳动力就业的不利影响。机制检验发现，数字化主要通过减弱企业对经济政策不确定性的感知度、缓解企业融资压力和减弱企业金融化动机的途径缓解经济政策不确定性对劳动力就业的破坏效应。异质性分析表明，这一缓解作用在东部地区、知识产权保护强地区和国有属性企业效果更强。此外，数字化转型对第三产业和中高技能劳动力就业规模的缓解效果更强，有助于提升就业质量。本文基于企业数字化角度为高效减轻经济政策不确定对劳动力就业的破坏效应提供了新的经验证据。

With fintech growth and smartphone adoption, e-wallets, which enable instant transactions while offering cash management products with financial returns, have become increasingly prevalent. Using a unique dataset from Alipay, the world’s largest e-wallet provider, we find that holdings in Yu’EBao—an investment product usable for payments—are less affected by interest rate changes than similar assets without payment functions. This effect is stronger for users who depend on Yu’EBao for daily spending, during peak payment periods, or among less experienced investors. Our findings show that Yu’EBao reduces retail fund flow to riskier assets by 7.7% for every one-percentage-point interest rate cut, dampening monetary policy transmission through the portfolio rebalancing channel.

摘 要：随着互联网与电子贸易的发展，用户的个人隐私保护机制已成为当今社会的热点议 题之一。本文探讨《中华人民共和国个人信息保护法》实施对企业创新的影响。选取2021年《个 人信息保护法》的实施作为准自然实验以构建双重差分模型，并以机构投资者和分析师关注度为 中介变量构建机制分析。在《个人信息保护法》实施后，实验组比对照组的每年专利数量增量减 少了 12.4%。《个人信息保护法》的实施短期内对企业获职数据的能力造成限制，因此会抑制数 字化转型程度较高的企业的创新活动。此外，机制分析表明《个人信息保护法》通过抑制机构持 股比例和分析师关注度进而抑制企业创新，这一结论与异质性检验结果一致，即尽管长远看有助 于构建健康数字经济环境，该抑制效应短期内在国有高数字化转型水平企业及非四大审计的企业 中更为显著。

As digital transformation strategies have emerged as a primary approach for enterprises to enhance their Total Factor Productivity (TFP), it is crucial to empirically examine the impact of these strategies on TFP. For this purpose, this study considers these transformation strategies as a quasi-natural experiment and employees a propensity score-weighted difference-indifferences methodology on data from Chinese firms listed on the A-share market between 2007 and 2020. The key findings include: (1) digital transformation has a significant positive influence on TFP; (2) Generalized boosted regression trees analysis reinforces this finding after controlling for other TFP determinants; (3) notably, non-state-owned and technology-intensive enterprises exhibit a more distinct enhancement in TFP following digital transformation. These results underscore the need for firms to increase investment in research and development capabilities and digital competencies.

The aging population is expanding globally, and addressing the challenges of elderly care is urgent. Using the 2019 China Household Finance Survey data, this study finds that commercial pension insurance significantly promotes households’ allocation of risky financial assets. We test the mechanisms using household risk perception and investment risk preference as mediating variables. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive effect of commercial pension insurance on risky financial asset allocation is more significant in rural households with household registration, those with two sets of housing, and households in the northeast. The research findings of this article aim to promote the continuous improvement of China’s elderly care system and provide important empirical evidence for the formulation of relevant policies.

This study assesses the impact of China’s Green Credit Guidelines (GCG) 2012 on the quality of firms’ green innovation and their financial asset allocations. While examining patent applications and grants, our findings reveal that, although the GCG 2012 led to a significant increase in green patent applications, its influence on granted patents, especially in the invention category, was minimal. This highlights a discrepancy between innovation intent and quality, suggesting that highpolluting enterprises (HPEs) prioritize rapid policy compliance rather than substantial environmental improvements. However, HPEs seem to prioritize liquidity over long-term financialization, potentially indicating enhanced credit allocation efficiency.