This study examines the impact of ESG rating events on innovation in China's new energy vehicle industry. The baseline Difference-in-Differences (DID) analysis demonstrates that ESG ratings promote innovation among new energy vehicle companies. A series of robustness tests, including parallel trend analysis and placebo tests, support the baseline results. The channel tests in the mechanism analyses indicate that ESG ratings promote innovation in new energy vehicle enterprises by increasing R&D investment and the number of R&D personnel. Other mechanism analyses suggest that ESG ratings also enhance innovation output and quality by stimulating green patent applications, encouraging joint patent applications, and increasing the number of high-quality patents.

Digital financial inclusion narrows the gap in regional financial services, reshapes the pattern of regional division of labor, and improves regional economic efficiency. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020, this paper studies the theoretical logic and effect of digital financial inclusion on regional economic efficiency. We find that digital financial inclusion significantly improves regional economic efficiency, but with the development of digital financial inclusion, regional economic efficiency will first decline and then increase under the influence of digital financial inclusion. Moreover, digital financial inclusion mainly alleviates the phenomenon of financial exclusion with the support of provincial transportation infrastructure and traditional financial development, improves the availability of factors in vulnerable areas and groups, and thus improves the overall regional economic efficiency. Then, this promotion effect is based on a certain level of economic development and traditional financial development. Finally, digital financial inclusion can improve regional economic efficiency by increasing entrepreneurial activity and narrowing the gap in educational level between regions.

This paper explores the impact of the three kinds of heterogeneity of the executive team on the enterprise's total factor productivity and the mechanism of the impact of the heterogeneity of the executive team on the enterprise's total factor productivity, with the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies in China as the research samples in the period of 2010-2022. The final results of the study found that (1) the heterogeneity of the professional background of the executive team, the heterogeneity of the overseas experience, and the heterogeneity of the financial background of the military contribute to the increase in the total factor productivity of the enterprise. (2) Improving the financial flexibility of the enterprise, improving the quality of the internal control of the enterprise, and improving the research and development and innovation of the enterprise are effective paths for the rise in the level of the enterprise's total factor productivity.

We propose a deep reinforcement learning method to improve pairs trading by identifying nonlinear relationships in stock news. Using the CSI 300 index constituents from 2015 to 2022, we integrated cointegration and news co-occurrence analysis in asset pairing and used a threshold-based approach in trading design. Results showed our NEWS-CO-DRL method, fusing deep learning and news co-occurrence, outperformed in return generation and risk control, indicating its potential for the Chinese A-share market.

This paper examines whether China’s switch back and forth from fixed to floating exchange rates in 2005 and 2008 changed the contribution to stock price discovery by foreign and domestic investors. During that time, mainland investors could only trade the RMB-denominated A-shares in the domestic Shanghai and Shenzhen markets, while the dual-listed HKD-denominated H-shares were available only to overseas investors. Using intraday data on overlapping trading hours, we find that the switch from a fixed rate to managed floating in July 2005 increased the H-shares’ contribution to price discovery; while the exchange rate regime reversal in July 2008 allowed the domestic stocks to regain their dominance in information shares. These results imply that, in a market subject to restrictions on capital flows, a flexible exchange rate regime increases the propensity of investors to trade foreign-issued stocks to speculate on the RMB exchange rate, which raises overseas investors’ contribution to price discovery.

完善专利制度体系建设，是我国从知识产权大国向知识产权强国迈进的关键举措。作为专利制度体系的重要组成部分，专利代理机构是连接发明人、申请人与审查员、法官等的重要桥梁和纽带。本文首次实证检验了我国专利代理行业的发展对创新绩效的影响，从而通过专利代理行业的视角，来探究专利制度体系的建设和完善。借助2008年高新技术企业资质认定政策调整的拟自然实验，本文发现，政策变动前一省高新技术企业占比越高，政策变动后该省专利代理机构数量和创新产出的增长越快，但与此同时也引致了专利质量的下降。从专利代理行业看，规模小、从业年限短的专利代理机构，以及代理业务竞争激烈、技术复杂度高、专利审查员工作负荷高、审查速度快的技术领域，专利代理机构对创新质量的影响更为凸显。从细分的技术专业领域来看，与新能源相关的一些战略性新兴产业的专利代理机构，需要进一步加强政府监管。本文的发现为改进科技激励政策的机制设计，完善专利代理行业的制度体系建设，以及实现我国知识产权创造由多向优、由大到强的转变，提供了科学可行的启示。

Using four datasets of individuals’ digital payment and mutual fund investment records from a dominating fintech platform, we observe a robust U-shaped relation between individuals’ consumption and their financial wealth shocks. Contrary to the prediction of the wealth effect, individuals increase their consumption shortly after experiencing large positive and negative wealth shocks. The unexpected increase in consumption following negative wealth shocks is particularly pronounced among consumption categories with a “hedonic” nature, such as entertainment-related items. We show that this effect, termed “financial retail therapy,” is consistent with a dynamic model of Prospect Theory and evidence from a controlled laboratory experiment.

Macro-prudential policy plays a crucial role in stabilizing the financial system and influencing banks' risk preferences and willingness to take risks. This study examines the influence of macro-prudential policies on bank risk-taking using unbalanced panel data from 126 commercial banks in China between 2010 and 2021. The difference-in-differences model is employed to analyze the data. The empirical findings demonstrate that implementing macro-prudential policies in China effectively enhances bank risk prevention measures. In other words, macro-prudential policy implementation facilitates the digital transformation of banks and subsequently reduces risk-taking behaviors. Moreover, the heterogeneity test reveals that macro-prudential policies have a more significant impact on the risk-taking behavior of commercial banks with higher capital adequacy ratios compared to those with lower ratios. Additionally, commercial banks with strong interbank dependence exhibit more pronounced effects on their risk profiles when subjected to macroprudential policies with stricter capital supervision requirements. Therefore, this study proposes policy recommendations for strengthening bank capital supervision through differentiated approaches, serving as a valuable reference for the regulatory authorities.

This research analyses the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on China's economy, examining the divergent epidemic prevention policies used by local governments. Empirical evidence highlights that the emergence of COVID-19 cases correlates with a 1.13% reduction in quarterly GDP growth. However, when a city's secretary maintains an informal ties with the provincial secretary, GDP growth remains resilient. Analyzing micro-level data, we observe that city secretaries with informal ties tend to enact flexible anti-contagion measures. This flexibility stems from a decreased likelihood of reprimand for virus transmission. Such shields exclusively manifests when incumbent provincial secretaries share informal ties with central leadership. This underscores the interplay of political networks in shaping localized economic responses.

Recent research indicates that the relationship between state ownership, firm size, and technological innovation outcomes in Chinese firms is a complex and intriguing topic. However, we propose a new perspective based on institutional complexity and examine the combined effects of these two factors. By considering the interplay between the economic efficiency rationale and the institutional logic associated with state ownership and firm size within the context of Chinese firms, we argue that the effects of state ownership and firm size can counterbalance each other. In order to test our hypotheses, we analyze a sample of 385 publicly listed firms spanning the period from 2015 to 2019. The findings reveal that while state ownership and firm size individually exert a negative influence on both exploratory and exploitative innovation in Chinese firms, their interaction actually yields a positive impact. This study contributes to our comprehension of how state ownership influences exploratory and exploitative innovation in the presence of competing institutional logics, as well as the contingent effect of firm size.