{"title":"Can digital inclusive finance simultaneously enhance carbon productivity and green total factor productivity?","authors":"Xiao Huang, Hong Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108536","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108536","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Utilizing panel data spanning 2010–2023 across 31 Chinese provincial-level administrative regions (excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao), this study implements a fixed effects regression framework to analyze how Digital Inclusive Finance (DIF) adoption influences regional carbon productivity and Green Total Factor Productivity (GTFP). The study finds that: DIF significantly enhances regional carbon productivity; DIF significantly improves regional GTFP; DIF can enhance regional carbon productivity by promoting green technological innovation; DIF can also improve regional GTFP through fostering green technological innovation(GTI); furthermore, the effects of DIF on regional carbon productivity and GTFP exhibit heterogeneity across different regions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108536"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recipes for innovation: A configurational analysis of openness, appropriability, and environmental uncertainty","authors":"Xueyang Wu, Qingliang Meng, Jiajun Sun","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108545","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108545","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces the context of the openness paradox and innovation into the exploitation–exploration dilemma framework. Applying a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to 247 Chinese manufacturing companies, we examine the interaction effects between openness (innovation breadth and depth), appropriability (level of value capture), and environmental (market and technological) uncertainty dimensions. Findings identify one configuration for exploitative innovation (configurations I), three for exploratory innovation (configurations R1, R2, and R3), and one for innovation ambidexterity (configurations A), revealing that specific combinations of the factors support specific innovations. This study emphasizes the synergy between the openness paradox and innovation context in achieving specific innovations, demonstrates how environmental uncertainty support the effectiveness of various combinations of openness and appropriability, and integrates the openness paradox as a configurational challenge.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108545"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145236268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Inflation spillover effect of agricultural sector and its formation mechanism between China and the countries along the Belt and Road","authors":"Lu Liu , Minyao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108533","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108533","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper employs a dynamic network approach and a time-varying spillover index model to quantitatively assess the inflation spillover effects within the agricultural sectors between China and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries. Our findings reveal that there is a strong overall interconnectedness in the agricultural inflation among BRI countries, with the total spillover index exhibiting a rapid increase from 2011 to 2013, followed by a gradual decline. Notably, China transitioned from being a net recipient to a net contributor of inflation spillovers in June 2012. The net spillover influence of China appears to be more pronounced in Southeast Asia, while its interactions with Central and Eastern European countries exhibit a pattern of alternating strength. Mechanism tests suggests that international trade, capital flows, and market sentiment are closely associated with agricultural inflation spillovers between China and BRI countries. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that for countries along the Maritime Silk Road and developed nations, spillovers predominantly occur through trade and capital flow channels, whereas sentiment factors play a more significant role in countries along the Land Silk Road and developing nations. Moreover, a floating exchange rate regime and robust institutional quality can provide some insulation against inflation. Finally, China’s progress in high-quality agricultural development is associated with a reduced level of outward spillovers.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108533"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217310","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Xiaoyuan Zhang , Minzhuo Li , Yaling Deng , Yuhong Tang
{"title":"Green finance, consumption structure upgrading, and regional sustainable development","authors":"Xiaoyuan Zhang , Minzhuo Li , Yaling Deng , Yuhong Tang","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108539","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108539","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Green finance is an important means to promote the efficient use of resources while improving the quality of the ecological environment, and it is a new driving force to enhance the level of regional sustainable development. Based on the provincial panel data from 2012 to 2022, this paper constructs the index of green finance development level and regional sustainable development level by using entropy weight method, and establishes an econometric model to explore the impact of green finance development level on regional sustainable development level. The conclusions are as follows: (1) the improvement of green financial development level can promote the improvement of regional sustainable development level, and the conclusion of the impact is reliable after a series of robustness tests; (2) the improvement of green financial development level can improve the regional sustainable development level by promoting the upgrading of the consumption structure; (3) the impact of the green financial development level on the regional sustainable development level is characterized by regional heterogeneity. Based on this, this paper puts forward policy recommendations from three aspects: deepening the structural reform of the supply side of green finance, activating the green consumption market, and implementing regional differentiated green finance development strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108539"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217151","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A naive approach to forecast inverted yield curve risk with theta model","authors":"Tianhao Ouyang, Guobin Qiu, Haolun Wang, Huamai Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108515","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108515","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>When in yield curve or term structure, the long or mid-term bond interest rate became lower than short-term interest, the phenomenon is called inverted yield curve (IYC). In the last 20 years, the most severe catastrophe after an IYC is the 08 Financial Crisis. IYC indicates that in the long run, the economic risk will be much higher than the short run. Thus, a prediction on IYC can buy more time to confirm an upcoming instability if not outright financial and economic turbulence. This paper presents a naïve approach to forecast IYC by measuring interests-prediction errors. The method indicates a clean “Hard X shape” comes before IYC which could bring investors or regulators an early warning with a few months’ lead for preparing financial or other aspects of counter-measures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108515"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Industrial policy, enterprise investment risk taking and innovative activities","authors":"Bing Zhou , Mengyuan Qin , Feng Zhan","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108526","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108526","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The policy environment is an important external environment which determines the survival and development of enterprises. Our study examines the impact of industrial policy on corporate investment risk and its mechanisms based on an analysis of Chinese public-listed firms from 2011 to 2021. We find that industrial policy significantly reduces investment risk by bolstering managers' optimistic expectations. Moreover, we find that industrial policy has a greater impact on mitigating enterprise investment risk when the innovation level of enterprises is higher. Industrial policy also has a stronger impact for non-SOE firms and for firms located in regions with lower economic development. Our research offers theoretical insights that bridge the gap between macro-level industrial policy and micro-enterprise investment behavior, and practical guidance to help governments plan industrial policy rationally and help enterprises gain a better understanding of investment risks appropriately.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108526"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Impact of new quality productive forces on the share of enterprise labor income","authors":"Lening Qiu , Xi Liu , Tingfa Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108523","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108523","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how new quality (NQ) productive forces affect firms’ labor income share, using data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2015 to 2023. Employing two-way fixed effects and instrumental variable methods, we find a robust positive link between NQ and labor income share. Mechanism tests show that NQ raises labor shares by enhancing human capital and promoting business diversification. Heterogeneity analysis indicates stronger effects in nontechnology-intensive, nonstate-owned, and large firms. These results provide micro-level evidence that productivity improvements can support both efficiency and equity, contributing to global debates on inclusive growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108523"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Public data openness and digital finance development","authors":"Yanning Yang , Siqian Peng , Jing Xie","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108525","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108525","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study investigates the impact of public data openness on digital finance development using panel data from 285 Chinese cities spanning 2011 to 2022. Exploiting the staggered launch of open data portals across these cities as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ a difference-in-differences methodology. Our results show that public data openness significantly promotes the development of digital finance. The effect size corresponds to 3.95 % of the sample standard deviation. The positive effect of public data openness on digital finance development is particularly pronounced in regions with higher public data quality, limited alternative information sources, and a more developed traditional financial sector. Our study advances the understanding of the drivers of digital finance and the economic consequences of public data openness. It also offers policy insights on fostering digital finance through open public data initiatives.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108525"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155798","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Qisong Wang , Xiongling Tu , Chengkun Liu , Yajie Han
{"title":"How informal institutions influence entrepreneurs' cross-border location and industry choices: Empirical evidence from Macao's associations","authors":"Qisong Wang , Xiongling Tu , Chengkun Liu , Yajie Han","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108527","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108527","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Cross-border informal institutional bonds rooted in ancestral culture constitute a quintessential social-capital network that enables entrepreneurs to overcome resource and information barriers. Leveraging data from Macao’s associations, this paper builds a new index of the territory’s embeddedness in these networks. Panel estimates show that more prosperous ancestry-based informal institutions in the home region boost inbound investment from places of shared ancestral culture and steer entrants into industries that align with local comparative advantage. To address endogeneity, we combine Qing-dynasty prefectural genealogy counts with Macao’s GDP to create a novel instrumental variable.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108527"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145155800","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Unmasking green camouflage: The governance effect of common institutional ownership on firm greenwashing","authors":"Qing Zhao , Xiaojuan Feng , Chunhong Zhang , Xinyu Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108522","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.frl.2025.108522","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amid growing global concerns over corporate greenwashing and the role of institutional investors in environmental governance, this study investigates whether and how common institutional ownership (CIO) acts as a market-based force to curb greenwashing among Chinese A-share firms. Using panel data from 2009 to 2023 and applying firm- and year-fixed effects, Heckman two-stage estimation, and multiple robustness tests, we find consistent evidence that CIO significantly reduces both the likelihood and severity of greenwashing. On average, CIO presence lowers the greenwashing index by 13.5 % relative to the sample mean. Mechanism analysis highlights two governance channels: (1) stronger reputational discipline, which heightens firms’ sensitivity to reputational risks, and (2) increased monitoring by financial analysts, which enhances external oversight. Together, these mechanisms explain much of CIO’s governance effect. Policy implications include promoting long-term institutional holdings, optimizing investor structures, and reinforcing monitoring frameworks to strengthen disclosure credibility and deter greenwashing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":12167,"journal":{"name":"Finance Research Letters","volume":"86 ","pages":"Article 108522"},"PeriodicalIF":6.9,"publicationDate":"2025-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145217306","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}