{"title":"Can Environmental, Social, and Governance Performance Promote the Participation of Emerging Economies in Multinational Supply Chains?","authors":"Dianfan Yu, Xin Li, Chao Wang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12587","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12587","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Multinational companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of integrating social responsibility initiatives into their business models as a means of building a sustainable competitive advantage. This study uses data from Chinese A-share listed companies spanning from 2009 to 2020 to conduct an empirical analysis. The findings indicate that strong environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance facilitated firms' integration into global supply chains. This effect was particularly pronounced among firms in heavily polluting and labor-intensive industries, and those located in provinces with weaker institutional environments and underdeveloped industrial structures – regions often associated with greater ESG-related identity challenges. The positive impact of ESG performance was also more evident in firms that supplied listed companies or operated closer to end consumers, due to increased public scrutiny. Mechanism analysis revealed that ESG performance served as a signaling tool by enhancing information transparency and building reputational capital. Further analysis showed that ESG performance not only supported firms' entry into host countries with stronger institutional environments but also contributed to longer lasting supply chain relationships. This article provides new insights into how emerging economies could integrate into the international supply chain system more effectively.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"33-75"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074539","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":"Creating Cities and Urban–Rural Income Dynamics: Evidence from County-to-District Transformation in China","authors":"Wenhui Chen, Xinyan Hu","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12589","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Classical development economics theories offer conflicting perspectives on the relationship between urbanization and urban–rural income gaps (URIG). This study examined the impact on URIG of county-to-district transformation (CDT), a Chinese government-led urbanization strategy. Using county-level panel data from 2000 to 2022, the analysis found that CDT promoted county-level economic growth, resulting in absolute income gains for both urban and rural residents. However, urban incomes grew at a faster rate, widening the relative income gap. This gap-widening effect was primarily driven by urban-biased land allocation and fiscal expenditure preferences, with a more pronounced effect in areas that were farther from the city government and smaller in scale. Agricultural support measures could mitigate this trend. Dynamic analysis revealed that the impact of CDT on URIG followed a short-term expansion and long-term convergence trend. These findings provide new evidence regarding urbanization and income disparity and offer policy insights for the promotion of inclusive growth through urbanization in developing countries.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"109-149"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074541","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":"Historical Clans and Contemporary Human Capital","authors":"Yao Wang, Zhecong Zheng, Dawei Feng","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12591","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12591","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the long-term impact of historical clan strength on contemporary human capital development in China. Our findings reveal that historical clan strength had a significant positive effect on individual human capital, particularly in rural households, even after accounting for confounders and robustness checks. We observe that clan culture complemented the implementation of compulsory education in shaping contemporary educational outcomes. Mechanism analysis suggests that clan strength motivated parents to prioritize their children's education and increased the likelihood of low-income individuals receiving financial assistance from relatives and friends. However, we find no evidence that clan strength affected the allocation of public educational resources. These findings highlight the enduring role of cultural transmission mechanisms in human capital formation and underscore the importance of incorporating cultural factors into the design of educational policies.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"234-270"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074615","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":"Rewards and Costs of Being a Mother: Motherhood and Women's Mental Health in China","authors":"Xiangpo Chen","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12586","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12586","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Women's well-being has gained increasing importance in global health agendas. This study employed longitudinal data from 36,144 women in China from 2010 to 2018 to investigate the impact of motherhood on women's mental health. Using a model that incorporated interactions between time trends and individual and household characteristics, the study revealed that women with newborns generally reported higher levels of mental well-being. However, those with toddlers aged 3–6 were more likely to experience symptoms of depression. The impact of motherhood on mental health was shaped by the interplay between the emotional benefits linked to hormonal changes and the emotional costs associated with childcare obligations. Access to supportive childcare services can help women alleviate the stresses of maternal responsibility, thereby enhancing their mental well-being. When adequate resources are available, motherhood may not pose significant challenges to women's mental health.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 3","pages":"271-294"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-05-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144074616","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":"Tax–Debt Substitution? Local Government Debt Management and Corporate Tax Burden","authors":"Yixuan Tan, Jianjun Li, Fanghui Li","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12576","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12576","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Local Debt Management System Reform, introduced in 2014 and implemented in subsequent years, was a key initiative by the Chinese government to mitigate local government debt risks. Using its implementation as a natural experiment, this study examined its impact on corporate tax burdens. The results indicated that tighter debt constraints significantly increased corporate tax burdens, as local governments intensified tax collection to offset reduced debt-related revenue. This effect was stronger in areas that were reliant on land financing and less economically developed. Further analysis revealed that, rather than reducing expenditure, local governments sought alternative revenue sources, including urban investment bonds, land transfer income, and public–private partnership projects. These findings illuminate local fiscal behavior under debt constraint and provide insights for the design of institutional frameworks aiming to manage local debt risks.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"252-282"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707418","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 Robot Adoption, Human Capital, and Global Value Chain Upgrading: Insights from China","authors":"Tianding Zhang, Sumei Gan","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12575","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12575","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Concerns have been raised that the adoption of industrial robots in developed economies may hinder industrialization and displace jobs in emerging economies. However, the growing use of robots in emerging economies may help mitigate these negative effects. This study, drawing on a theoretical model and empirical analysis, reveals that the adoption of robots in China, a developing country, significantly enhanced firms' positions in global value chains (GVCs). A detailed analysis reveals that markups and the structure of intermediate inputs were key mechanisms. The study also found that improvements in human capital enhanced the efficiency of robots, enabling firms to use them more effectively, which further strengthened the firms' position in GVCs. The positive impact of the adoption of robots on GVC upgrading was more pronounced in non-resource-based cities and cities with high labor costs. Furthermore, the study highlights that robot adoption in medium- and high-tech industries had a greater impact on GVC upgrading. In conclusion, this study suggests that robot adoption in emerging economies can enhance their position in GVCs, with human capital playing a crucial role.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"209-251"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707416","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":"Trade Theories in the Digital Age","authors":"Yongjin Wang, Wenbin Wang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12581","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12581","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The digital economy is overtaking the industrial economy and reshaping every subfield of economics. As a result, widely accepted conclusions and policy implications of international trade theories are becoming outdated. This paper endeavors to delineate some of the potential directions in which digital technologies may disrupt and overturn traditional trade theories. It also provides frameworks that enable the conceptualization and analysis of international trade in the digital age. The advance of digital technology has given rise to novel industries and numerous supporting infrastructures and has instigated a fundamental transformation of traditional industries. This transformation is evident across multiple dimensions, including factors of production, product attributes, production technology, market structures, business models, and consumer search behaviors.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"1-40"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707433","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":"Can Quality and Safety Demonstration Zone Policy Lower Nontariff Barriers? Evidence from Sino–US Food and Agricultural Trade","authors":"Rui Xiao, Genyuan Zhong, Xifang Ma","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12579","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12579","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Technical regulations and product standards are increasingly hindering international food and agricultural trade, particularly for developing countries. This paper examines the impact of China's place-based agricultural policy – specifically, the establishment of quality and safety demonstration zones for exported food and agricultural products – on reducing the disparity in product standards between China and the US. Using panel data for Chinese cities between 2009 and 2017, this study employed a difference-indifferences approach and found that the policy significantly reduced the incidences of US import refusals related to China's exported products. Mechanism analysis suggests that adoption of new production technology was the primary driver of this improvement, narrowing the technical gap between the two countries. The findings offer actionable insights for developing countries seeking to address nontariff barriers and improve food and agricultural exports to developed markets.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"65-97"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707428","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":"It's not Overcapacity, but a Matter of Global Imbalances","authors":"Kai Guo, He Zhu, Fei Yu, Jiajia Zhang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12582","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12582","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Against the backdrop of geopolitical conflicts and major power competition, the US and several Western nations have claimed that China has significant “overcapacity” in manufacturing and have imposed various tariff and nontariff trade measures to shield domestic industries. Using data from publicly listed companies, this study conducted an industry-level analysis of investment and capacity expansion in China's manufacturing sector. We find that the growth in manufacturing investment is currently driven mainly by the “new trio” (electric vehicles, solar cells, and lithium batteries), and most enterprises have begun market-oriented clearing. However, the new trio involved in investment and capacity expansion accounts for only a small portion of China's manufacturing sector. The US narrative regarding China's overcapacity is therefore fundamentally misleading. From the perspective of major power dynamics, the essence of the overcapacity narrative lies in China–US trade imbalances, which are, in turn, a consequence of macroeconomic imbalances between the two nations. Insufficient demand in China and excess demand in the US form the underlying impetus behind the trade imbalances.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"138-170"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707431","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":"The Post-Bretton Woods System and US External Unsustainability","authors":"Yongding Yu, Bohan Yang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12580","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12580","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The persistent US current account deficit, supported by the post-Bretton Woods system, will continue to worsen the country's net foreign debt position. The net foreign debt-to-GDP ratio, shaped by factors such as the US budget deficit, the gap between private investment and savings, investment income, and GDP growth, will steadily increase as it approaches a critical threshold. Shifts in these factors will push the trajectory of the ratio upward, and foreign investors' willingness to hold US assets will play a pivotal role as the ratio nears its limit. Exceeding this threshold could trigger a balance of payments crisis. Furthermore, the weaponization of the US dollar has significantly eroded its credibility as the cornerstone of the post-Bretton Woods system, raising concerns about the US's ability to sustain its external debt and finance its deficits without precipitating a financial crisis.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 2","pages":"41-64"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143707340","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}