The 16th annual China International Conference on Insurance and Risk Management (CICIRM 2026) will be held on July 8-11, 2026 at the Yunnan Lianyun Hotel in Kunming, Yunnan, China. The conference is organized by the China Center for Insurance and Risk Management, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, and co-organized by the School of Finance, Yunnan University of Finance and Economics.

China faces significant environmental challenges, including reducing pollutants, improving environmental quality, and peaking carbon emissions. Industrial restructuring is key to achieving both emission reductions and economic transformation. This study uses the Environmentally Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output model and multi-objective optimization to analyze pathways for China’s industrial transformation to synergistically reduce emissions. Our findings indicate that under a compromise scenario, China’s carbon emissions could stabilize at around 10.9 billion tonnes by 2030, with energy consumption controlled at approximately 5 billion tonnes. The Papermaking sector in Guangdong and the Chemicals sector in Shandong are expected to flourish, while the Coal Mining sector in Shanxi and the Communication Equipment sector in Jiangsu will see reductions. The synergy strength between carbon emission reduction and energy conservation is highest at 11%, followed by a 7% synergy between carbon emission and nitrogen oxide reduction. However, significant trade-offs are observed between carbon emission reduction and chemical oxygen demand, and ammonia nitrogen reduction targets at -9%. This comprehensive analysis at regional and sectoral levels provides valuable insights for advancing China’s carbon reduction and pollution control goals.

This paper examines the impact of low-cost carriers (LCCs) on the pricing strategies of full-service carriers (FSCs) in the Chinese airline market. We first analyze the effect of LCC presence and find that LCCs exert significant downward pressure on FSC fares, with the magnitude of this impact varying across carriers and routes. Next, we explore the dynamic responses of incumbent FSCs to the entry and the threat of entry by LCCs. Our findings reveal that FSCs begin lowering fares well in advance of LCC entry, with fare reductions of approximately 11%–18% occurring as early as the 8th quarter before entry. The fare reductions intensify as the entry date approaches and persist beyond it. On the other hand, FSCs do not seem to respond to LCC entry threats. Our analysis highlights the importance of considering the dynamic pricing responses of FSCs rather than relying solely on LCC presence which is commonly used in the literature studying Chinese LCCs.

The corporate maturity mismatch is highly likely to trigger systemic financial risks, which is a realistic issue commonly faced by businesses. In the context of the intelligent era, the impact of artificial intelligence on maturity mismatch has emerged as a focal point of academic inquiry. Leveraging data from Chinese A-share companies over the 2011–2023 timeframe, this research employs a double machine learning approach to systematically examine the influence and underlying mechanisms of artificial intelligence on maturity mismatch. The findings reveal that artificial intelligence significantly exacerbates maturity mismatch. However, this effect is notably mitigated by government subsidies, media attention, and collectivist cultural. Further analysis indicates that in high-climate-risk scenarios, collectivist culture exerts a notably strong moderating influence. By contrast, government subsidies and media attention exhibit stronger moderating influences in low-climate-risk environments. This study constructs a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance framework, which helps to reveal the 'black box' between artificial intelligence and maturity mismatch, thereby offering a theoretical basis for monitoring maturity mismatch.

In this study, we investigate the impact of the development of the digital economy on corporate innovation and value using data of listed firms in China spanning the years 2011 to 2018. Our findings reveal a positive correlation between the development of the digital economy and corporate innovative activities, with a more pronounced effect observed in growth-stage firms, labor-intensive enterprises, and companies situated in underdeveloped regions. To establish a causal relationship, we employ a quasi-experimental approach utilizing the "Broadband China" pilot program. Using a difference-in-difference framework, we establish a causal link between the advancement of the digital economy and the increased innovative activities. Furthermore, our research underscores that digital economy development enhances firm value by promoting innovative activities. These results support the view that the digital economy plays a pivotal role in increasing firm value and fostering sustainable development in the overall economy.

Fintech has significantly influenced the traditional financial industry by introducing advanced technologies and innovative business models with profound impacts. We aim to study the effect of Fintech development on labor allocation efficiency, and to explore its underlying mechanisms. Using a set of companies on Chinese A-share market over the years of 2011- 2020, we find that Fintech development plays a positive role in labor allocation efficiency, mainly through suppressing labor overinvestment. This positive effect is further reinforced by market competition. In addition, our investigation reveals that the primary pathways through which Fintech enhances labor allocation efficiency are lowering information asymmetry, mitigating agency issues and substituting low-skilled labor. Moreover, we show that the dimensions of depth and digitalization are particularly important in improving labor allocation efficiency among the three dimensions of Fintech development. Lastly, we find that Fintech development enhances total factor productivity by improving labor allocation efficiency.

本文基于2011-2022年城市层面与A股上市公司数据，采用多维面板固定效应模型与双重差分法（DID），系统考察了国外技术引进对企业数字化转型的影响及其作用机制。研究发现，国外技术引进通过技术转移基地的设立显著促进了企业数字化转型，且这一结果在控制了企业特征与城市特征后依然稳健。技术溢出效应是数字化转型的重要中介路径，国外技术引进通过提升数字经济领域专利授权量推动了企业数字化转型，但对专利申请的影响较小。异质性分析表明，国外技术引进对国有企业、参与国际贸易企业以及融资约束较小企业的促进作用更为显著；高技术制造业企业比中低技术制造业企业更易从技术引进中获益，而服务业企业的数字化转型受技术引进的影响较小。城市异质性分析显示，非省会城市、内陆城市以及新基础设施较发达城市的技术引进对企业数字化转型的促进作用更为显著。本文的研究为理解企业数字化转型过程中，国外技术引进的作用提供了经验证据，同时也为相关政策制定提供了重要参考。

本文以2011—2023年A股市场存续的全部股票型ETF基金为样本，基于多期双重差分法（DID）识别流动性服务业务引入对ETF跟踪误差的影响效应。研究发现，引入流动性服务机制可显著降低ETF的跟踪误差，该结论在通过了一系列稳健性检验。机制检验表明，流动性服务商激励改善与市场交易条件优化是跟踪误差降低的主要传导路径，机构投资者比例提升进一步强化流动性服务的政策效应。异质性分析显示，优化复制策略、宽基指数ETF与中小规模产品受益更为显著。进一步研究发现，该机制显著改善了流动性基础薄弱ETF的跟踪误差，缓解了市场“马太效应”。本文从制度演变的视角系统揭示了ETF市场流动性服务机制的微观传导与结构性影响，为提升ETF基金运行质量与健全ETF市场功能提供了实证支持与政策启示。

本文以沪深港通交易制度实施为准自然实验，选取2011-2023年沪深A股上市公司数据，探究金融开放对企业产品竞争力的影响机制。研究发现：（1）沪深港通交易制度的实施显著提升了企业的产品竞争力，此结论经过一系列稳健性检验后仍成立；（2）机制检验表明，沪深港通交易制度主要通过两条路径来提升企业产品竞争力，一是竞争压力倒逼效应，推动企业实施产品差异化战略和提升创新能力，重塑竞争优势。二是资源配置效应，通过优化人力资本结构，改善融资环境和拓展出口渠道，帮助企业实现要素升级，进而增强产品竞争力；（3）异质性检验发现，政策效果在资本密集型行业、盈利能力低及环境信息披露质量低样本中更为显著。本文丰富了金融开放对企业影响的实证研究，为党的二十大提出的“推进高水平制度型开放”提供了微观证据。

Why do firms appoint expired independent directors? How do expired independent directors affect corporate governance and thus impact investment decisions? By taking advantage of the sharp increase in expired independent directors’ re-employment in China caused by exogenous regulatory shocks, Rule No. 18 and Regulation 11, this paper adopts a PSM-DID design to test the impact of expired independent directors on CSR performance. We find that firms experience a significant decrease in CSR performance after re-hiring expired independent directors and the effect is stronger for CSR components mostly related to internal governance. The results of robustness tests show that the main results are robust to alternative measures of CSR performance, an extended sample period, alternative control groups, year-by-year PSM method, and a staggered DID model regarding Rule No. 18 as a staggered quasi-natural experiment. We address the endogeneity concern that chance drives our DID results by using exogenous regulatory shock, an instrumental variable (the index of regional guanxi culture), and placebo tests. We also find that the negative relation between the re-employment of expired independent directors and CSR performance is more significant for independent directors who have more relations with CEOs and raise less objection to managers’ decisions, and for firms that rely more on expired independent directors’ monitoring roles (e.g., a lower proportion of independent directors, CEO duality, high growth opportunities, and above-median FCF). The mediating-effect test shows that the re-employment of expired independent directors increases CEOs’ myopia and thus reduces CSR performance. In addition, we exclude the alternative explanation that the negative relation is caused by the protective effect brought by expired independent directors’ political backgrounds. Our study shows that managers may build reciprocal relationships with expired independent directors in the Chinese guanxi culture and gain personal interest.