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The impact of green-credit policy on carbon emission: evidence from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei Province
No full textChinese industries have long been characterized as high energy consumption and intensive pollution, posing significant obstacles to sustainable development. In line with the national goals of achieving carbon peak, green credit policies have emerged as pivotal instruments to promote sustainable economic transformation. To evaluate the effectiveness of such policies, this study constructs a dynamic panel model with data from fourteen cities in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region spanning 2010 to 2021 to investigate the impact of green credit growth on regional carbon emissions. The empirical results reveal a robust and significant negative relationship between green credit expansion and carbon emission, indicating that increased green credit effectively mitigates carbon emissions,which holds after addressing potential endogeneity and conducting various robustness checks. Further heterogeneity analysis shows that the carbon-reducing effect of green credit is more pronounced in regions with a higher share of secondary industry and lower levels of marketization. Based on these findings, this study recommends differentiated policy measures, including promoting the scale and efficiency of green credit, facilitating industrial upgrading, reducing dependency on energy-intensive sectors, and designing targeted strategies aligned with local economic structures. These insights provide valuable policy implications for regional governments aiming to balance economic growth with carbon reduction objectives
What drives repo haircuts? Evidence from the UK market
No full textUsing a unique transaction-level dataset covering the UK bilateral repomarket, we show that only 61% of the repos are backed by high-quality collateral, with banks intermediating liquidity across counterparties and using CCPs mainly for high-quality collateral and netting benefits. Haircuts reflect both collateral and borrower characteristics: larger, higher-rated, less levered, less sophisticated borrowers, and thosewith repeated relationships receive lower or even zero haircuts. Borrower attributes explain as much variation in haircuts as collateral quality, while lender liquidity and default risk play little role. We also document a pecking order in collateral use, with higher-quality assets pledged first
Fitting public policy theories in understanding African policy systems
No full textOver the past three years, African scholars have shown keen interest in understanding how African states can effectively be governed to achieve sustainable development. This has led to increased scholarly research to develop unique approaches to studying public policy within African governance systems. This is what we refer to as African public policy. Efforts in African public policy demonstrates that assessing the shift towards governance in African countries and how it influences policy processes in these contexts requires humility as scholars strive to comprehend and integrate policy theories in understanding the changes that have taken root in the region in the last two decades. There is a need for openness and respect for different perspectives, especially in light of recent events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite some existing research on public administration and decentralisation, there is a significant lack of comprehensive research on public policy in African contexts, also marked by the lack of theoretical discourse. Scholars and practitioners interested in African countries need to address this gap. This conceptual review chapter explores how conventional Anglo-Saxon policy theories can be relevant in informing this agenda
A climate neutrality strategy for Cyprus
No full textThis paper presents the findings of our model-based study on the transition of Cyprus to a net-zero economy. A climate-neutral Cyprus will be characterised by almost complete replacement of fossil fuels by electricity and renewable sources, full utilisation of waste and use of renewable hydrogen in transport and heavy industry. This will require serious public and private investments, which however can be beneficial for the economy and society. Still, important challenges lie ahead that call for swift policy action. Apart from long-term planning that must start today, effective implementation of green policies is key. In this context, the paper also provides a background on behavioural barriers that should be overcome, as the lack in understanding human behaviour is at the heart of the sustainability challenge. Drawing from our recent work for Cypriot authorities, we highlight directions in which policy-making in Cyprus can be enhanced, with special attention to energy poverty
Wage reforms and equality gains: evidence from Greece
No full textThis paper examines whether minimum wage reforms affect income inequality among low-wage workers. We construct a novel “within-occupation” measure of wage dispersion, using a Greek dataset between 2010 and 2020. Using modern difference-in-differences analysis for causal inference, our findings show non-symmetrical effects on wage dispersion when a minimum wage reform is imposed. In particular, the minimum wage cut of 2012 did not alter the wage dispersion of low-wage workers, while the minimum wage increase of 2019 led to a decrease in wage inequality at the bottom segment of the labor market. Our paper equips policymakers with a solid understanding of the effects of minimum wage reforms on wage inequality and highlights the important role of wage rigidities in shaping these effects
Psychology and research assessment in the United Kingdom
No full textWhat can we learn about psychology research in the UK, and its perceived quality, from examining manuscripts submitted to the psychology, psychiatry and neuroscience subpanel of the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF2021)? Using a latent Dirichlet allocation topic modelling approach, we identified 33 topics which collectively summarised the content of the journal articles returned to the subpanel. We found that the composition of submissions to the subpanel, in terms of these topics, explained a large proportion of the variance in the quality assessments they received from the expert peer review subpanel. Our model identified topics which were typically associated with receiving higher and lower unit-level quality assessments. In our discussion we pay particular attention to the fate of qualitative research, and discuss possible accounts for why units who returned a large amount of qualitative work tended to receive lower quality assessments than those who did not
Menstrual health and endometriosis: costs incurred by women, health systems and society
No full textSexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) are central to overall health and well-being. Advancing women’s gynaecological health is an aspect of SRHR that has been inadequately prioritized. We highlight the costs incurred by women, health systems and societies associated with menstrual health and endometriosis to underscore critical unmet women’s health needs and call for interventions to mitigate society-wide economic repercussions of poor gynaecological health in women
Are cities the real engines of growth in the EU?
No full textBetween 2001 and 2021, capital metro regions had the fastest productivity growth in the EU, followed by non-metro regions, while it was much lower in other metro regions. Capitals reduced their sectoral concentration, while the other regions increased it. Our shift-share analysis confirms that capitals relied entirely on productivity growth within sectors, while the other two types benefitted also from shifting jobs to more productive sectors. Our regression analysis showed that convergence and being a capital boosted productivity growth. Population density also strengthened productivity growth, but not enough to prevent other-metro regions from lagging behind the non-metro regions
Entrepreneurial activity and environmental quality: a dynamic environmental kuznets curve analysis
No full textPurpose This study investigates how various dimensions of entrepreneurship affect environmental sustainability, with a specific focus on their influence on CO2 emissions. It also evaluates the effectiveness of renewable energy sources in mitigating emissions within the broader context of entrepreneurial dynamics. Design/methodology/approach Using panel data from 14 countries spanning the years 2002–2019, the study employs the panel smooth threshold regression (PSTR) model to capture the non-linear and dynamic relationships between entrepreneurship indicators and environmental outcomes. Ten entrepreneurship indicators are examined alongside renewable energy variables to assess their combined impact on CO2 emissions. Findings The analysis identifies a modified dynamic Kuznets curve driven by entrepreneurship indicators, which intensifies the relationship between production scale and emissions. This dynamic accelerates progress toward the Kuznets curve peak through improved energy efficiency. Additionally, entrepreneurship moderates the typically positive effect of energy intensity on emissions and reduces the negative impacts of trade openness and urbanization. Interestingly, the results also reveal a paradoxical increase in CO2 emissions associated with shifts in the renewable energy mix, suggesting unintended consequences in the current energy transition. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by integrating entrepreneurship into the environmental Kuznets curve framework through a novel PSTR modeling approach. It provides nuanced insights into the role of entrepreneurship in shaping environmental outcomes and offers practical implications for policymakers aiming to design sustainability strategies that harness the potential of entrepreneurial activity