Table of Content

16 September 2024, Volume 44 Issue 9

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Evaluation of the High-quality Development Level of China's Economy Based on International Comparison

HUANG Taiyan, JIANG Wei

2024, 44(9):  1-16. 

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The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made a comprehensive deployment to improve the institutional mechanism to promote highquality economic development from the new perspective of further deepening reform comprehensively to advance Chinese modernization and made a new summary of connotation of Chinas highquality economic development Therefore，based on the new summary of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the highquality economic development，an evaluation index system should be built and used to find the shortcomings and weaknesses in promoting Chinas highquality economic development，accurately promote the economic system reform and the corresponding resource optimization and adjustment，accelerate the process of highquality economic development of China，which is of great significance to achieve the goal of Chinese modernization 
According to the new explanations of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on the connotation of promoting highquality economic development，this paper builds an evaluation index system of highquality development level of Chinas economy from five dimensions of new quality productive forces，digital and real integration，highquality development of the service industry，modern infrastructure construction，and the resilience and safety of industrial and supply chains The average of corresponding indicators from the 27 EU countries is selected as the international reference，and unbiased weighting method based on cross entropy is used to evaluate the highquality development level of Chinas economy The evaluation found that from 2012 to 2021，due to the significant progress made by China in new quality productive forces，digital and real integration，and modern infrastructure construction，as well as the continuously enhanced resilience and safety level of industrial and supply chains，the highquality development level of Chinas economy has been significantly improved，reaching 6792% in 2021，approaching the average level of the 27 EU countries
To achieve the development goals by 2035，in view of the existing shortcomings and weaknesses，China needs to accelerate the promotion of selfreliance and strength in science and technology，strengthen the primary driving force for the highquality development of Chinas economy；accelerate the transformation of energy structure and reduce the dependence of economic development on nonrenewable resources；strengthen the construction of talent teams and deeply implement the strategy on developing a quality workforce





Three Differential Losses of Individual Account for Old-age Insurance and Dynamic Adjustment of Annuity Divisor

YANG Zaigui, QIN Shaopeng

2024, 44(9):  17-32. 

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The annuity divisor table for the individual account in Chinas Basic Oldage Insurance for Enterprise Employees （BOIEE） has not been revised for nearly two decades，which underestimates the benefit payment period Though China has proposed plan to revise the annuity divisor table，most studies examining the impact of annuity divisor dynamic adjustment only calculated the shortfall resulting from the extension of average life expectancy，without taking into account the shortfall caused by the excessively low actual return rate （ARR） of pension funds
Based on the assumption that the booking interest rate （BIR） is higher than the ARR，this paper decomposes the shortfall of individual account into the “longevity differential loss （LDL）” caused by longevity risk，the “interest differential loss （IDL）” caused by the ARR being lower than the BIR，and the “growth differential loss （GDL）” caused by investment returns being lower than the growth increment of the benefits Thus，the annual deficit of all participants individual accounts can be summarized into three parts，namely，the inservice death return gap，the pension payable gap and the inheritance gap Based on the mortality rates for China predicted in the World Population Prospects 2022 and other assumptions，we have compiled genderspecific and unisex annuity divisor tables that are adjusted every five years
The result indicates that under the scenario where the ARR is lower than the BIR，dynamic adjustment of the annuity divisor can directly reduce LDL，indirectly reduce IDL and GDL In the annual deficit，the inservice death return gap is not affected by the annuity divisor Since the new annuity divisor table only applies to retirees after 2025，there is a lag in the decrease of the pension payable gap，and the inheritance gap will continue to increase Therefore，the annual deficit will first increase and then decrease，with the actuarial present value of the annual deficit predicted to decrease by approximately 52% during the forecast period If the annuity divisor is adjusted while simultaneously raising the ARR to the BIR，all three losses are reduced The inservice death return gap can be gradually reduced to zero，and the actuarial present value of the annual deficit decreasing by approximately 75% Although simultaneously lowering the BIR can decrease the actuarial present value of the annual deficit by approximately 80%，it significantly diminishes participants pension replacement rate There is little difference in annual deficit between genderspecific and unisex annuity divisor tables；however，the latter exhibits a redistribution effect that narrows the gender gap in benefits Thus we recommend that China adopt a dynamically adjusted unisex annuity divisor table in the future while also striving to improve the investment return rate of the BOIEE





The Influence of Labor Relative Price on Servitization ofAgriculture in China

CHEN Rui, JIANG Weiyang, ZHONG Zhen

2024, 44(9):  33-52. 

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The servitization of agriculture is a significant aspect of agricultural modernization in China Why does Chinas agriculture develop in the direction of servitization，and what factors are driving this transformation? The existing literature has not fully discussed this issue，and this paper addresses the gap by applying the theory of induced institutional change Using provincial panel data from China spanning from 2006 to 2022，we analyze the causes of agricultural servitization in China from the perspective of the relative price of agricultural labor amidst population changes 
Our study reveals that the continuous migration of the rural population，particularly the younger and middle-aged workforce，to urban areas has transformed agricultural labor from being in absolute surplus to relatively scarce This shift has led to an increase in the relative price of agricultural labor，which leads to a series of elements，technologies and labor alternatives in the form of socialized agricultural services Ultimately，this process fosters the servitization of agriculture in China Additionally，our study also find that there is an “inverted-shaped” relationship between the relative price of labor and the extent of agricultural servicization As agricultural production scales up beyond a certain point，operating entities will shift from purchasing services to investing in machinery for self-service，thereby restraining the expansion of agricultural service market capacity Further analysis shows that the predominance of small-scale family farming and the differences across various agricultural regions and industries characteristics of Chinese agriculture are the main reasons for the agricultural servicization and diversification of agricultural services in China 
Based on the these conclusions，this paper puts forward the following three policy suggestions: Firstly，the price of agricultural factors should be reasonably regulated according to the situation，by establishing a specialized and seasonal agricultural labor market，standardizing of land circulation markets，and regulating excessively large-scale land circulation Secondly，take service subjects as the core to improve the agricultural socialized service system，including strengthening the service suppliers service capabilities，building a regional service platform to promote the connection of service supply and demand，and strengthening the connection relationship between service suppliers and buyers Thirdly，the government should implement targeted policies to promote the diverse development of socialized agricultural services It is essential to design various service plans and support policies tailored to specific contexts and timeframes





Air Pollution and Firm Entry： A Study Based on Countylevel Data in China

ZHANG Mingang, YANG Yush, BAI Yanfeng

2024, 44(9):  53-68. 

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Entrepreneurial activity is a crucial pillar for strengthening local economic development and driving regional economic growth When firms choose a city for registration and location，they consider not only the impact of air pollution on their economic benefits but also the environmental constraints imposed by pollution control measures Indepth research on the relationship between air pollution and firm entry is vital for analyzing the environmental factors that influence firm decisionmaking
In this context，this paper focuses on the impact of air pollution on firm entry Specifically，it measures air pollution using PM25 and utilizes a panel dataset of monthly firm registration information from 2001 to 2020，matched with countylevel air pollution data across the country The study employs the meteorological phenomenon of thermal inversion as an instrumental variable for air pollution to alleviate endogeneity issues and empirically investigates the effect of air pollution on firm entry The results indicate that air pollution has a significant inhibitory effect on firm entry，with each unit increase in air pollution concentration leading to a 08% decrease in firm entry Further analysis reveals that the impact of air pollution on firm entry exhibits significant heterogeneity depending on employee labor productivity and the level of regional environmental regulation： the inhibitory effect of air pollution is more pronounced for firms with high labor productivity and in regions with low environmental regulation
Compared to existing literature，the main contributions of this paper are as follows： First，this study expands the research on the economic effects of air pollution by examining how air pollution affects firm dynamics Additionally，by consistently using the meteorological phenomenon of thermal inversion as an instrumental variable in all regressions，the study integrates meteorological elements into economic activity research，not only mitigating potential endogeneity issues but also reflecting the innovation of crossdisciplinary research，thereby enhancing the studys credibility and accuracy
Second，the paper extends the research on the factors influencing firm entry By incorporating air pollution，a natural environmental factor，into the same analytical framework with firm entry and revealing the specific logic of how air pollution affects firm behavior through heterogeneity analysis，the study provides a theoretical reference for further enhancing regional entrepreneurial vitality
The conclusions of this study reveal the harm of air pollution from a microeconomic perspective and offer effective insights for governments in formulating and implementing comprehensive air pollution control policies to achieve the dual goals of environmental protection and economic development





Social Dishonesty and Corporate “Shortterm Financing for Long-term Investment”:On the Governance Effect of the System of Disclosing Dishonest Information

ZHANG Shaohui1, CHEN Jian2

2024, 44(9):  69-86. 

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Chinese corporations exhibit a significant phenomenon of “shortterm financing for longterm investment”，where the maturity mismatch of investment and financing results in severe debt risks for these enterprises As an important consideration for banks and financial institutions to issue loans，credit will also change the lending behavior of banks and corporations，thus affecting the allocation of corporate investment and financing terms In recent years，the surge in the number of dishonest defaulters in China has become a social focal point Understanding the impact of the social dishonest environment on the corporate “shortterm financing for longterm investment” is an important and urgent issue to explore
Furthermore，Chinas social credit system is undergoing a profound transformation，with traditional areas that were previously governed by informal norms gradually being brought under the jurisdiction of formal institutions Based on this background of institutional evolution，this paper further examines the external governance effect of the dishonest information disclosure system on corporate “shortterm financing for longterm investment”
This study conducted an empirical analysis by matching the data on dishonest defaulters published by the Supreme Peoples Court with data from listed companies from 2007 to 2017，The research finds that：（1） Social dishonesty significantly exacerbates the phenomenon of corporate “shortterm financing for longterm investment”.（2） The impact of social dishonesty is more pronounced in regions with low levels of digital financial development，weaker banking competition，and in corporations with lower management incentives（3） Mechanism tests indicate that social dishonesty increases external financing constraints and internal agency costs for enterprises，thus aggravating the corporate “shortterm financing for longterm investment”.（4）The implementation of the dishonest information disclosure system can reduce corporate financing constraints and internal agency costs，effectively alleviating the tendency of corporations to engage in “shortterm financing for longterm investment” in a socially dishonest environment
Compared to existing literature，the marginal contributions of this paper are as follows：（1） This paper makes up for the limitations of how a single informal system or formal system affects corporate “shortterm financing for longterm investment”，comprehensively examines the micro economic effects of social dishonesty and the disclosure system of dishonesty information，and enriches relevant research perspectives（2） Combined with the dual path of supply side and demand side，this paper explains how social dishonesty affects the investment and financing term allocation of firms through the mechanism of “external financing constraints” and “internal agency costs”，which supplements the traditional firm maturity matching theory（3） This paper provides a basis for correctly understanding the effectiveness of external dishonesty governance mode under the background of social credit system construction





Does Killer Acquisition Exist in Chinese Digital Platforms——Stylized Facts，Motivation and Consequences

JIANG Mobing, LUO Lian, LV Pin

2024, 44(9):  87-104. 

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In recent years，Chinas digital platform companies have experienced rapid growth，spurred by a supportive regulatory environment However，the market has become highly concentrated，with leading platforms such as Baidu，Alibaba，and Tencent (collectively known as BAT) undertaking numerous acquisitions This trend has sparked worries among regulators and the public，specifically “killer acquisitions”，where established companies acquire emerging competitors to eliminate future competition This study aims to investigate the presence of such acquisitions among Chinas digital platform giants，analyze their motives，and assess the consequences，providing insights for antitrust policy formulation
The study has the following conclusions First，this paper identifies six distinctive features of BATs acquisition strategies：1 A strong preference for acquiring domestic startups；2 A concentration of acquisitions in their main revenuegenerating sectors；3 A significant 41% of acquired companies products are terminated postacquisition 4 A divergence in acquisition trends compared to other technology companies 5 A strategic approach to crossindustry acquisitions aimed at entering new fields 6 An increasing overlap in the industries they target over time Second，acquisitions occurring in BATs primary revenue sectors and during their growth phases have a lower probability of resulting in product termination This suggests that the primary motive behind these acquisitions is not to eliminate potential competition Finally，BATs acquisitions have led to an increase in both the number of new entrants and the volume of subsequent M&A activities within the same industry This indicates BATs acquisition activities have had a stimulating effect on market competition and have attracted more players to enter the industry
This paper makes several significant contributions Firstly，this study fills a crucial gap in understanding the competitive strategies of digital platforms and their broader economic implications Secondly，the study moves beyond theoretical discourse to provide robust quantitative analysis，offering new insights into the actual practices and impacts of platform acquisitions Lastly，the findings have direct policy implications，the conclusions underscore the need for balanced and informed policymaking





Tournament，Cooperative Strategies and Cooperative Individuals:An Experimental Study Based on Public Goods Game Tournaments

LUO Jun1, ZHANG Zhen2, DAI Ruinan1

2024, 44(9):  105-122. 

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Competition is a key mark of the society，serving to enhance efficiency and allocate resources The tournament，which allocates rewards based on relative ranking，is a typical form of it However，in recent years，the positive effects of competition have often been underestimated，while the negative sides have been overly magnified：under overly singular criteria，participants invest resources potentially leading to resource waste without substantive development；competition may estrange or even conflict Thus，the strategic choices of individuals in a competitive environment are of practical significance
Many literature use simulations to combine games and tournaments to find winning strategies and examine their properties，while corresponding empirical research is relatively scarce Meanwhile，the experimental methods have been applied in other branches of cooperative problems，exploring the prosocial behavior and decisionmaking mechanisms of individuals However，these literatures rarely adopt a strategic perspective and consider the interactive relationships among players
Meanwhile，competitors possess heterogeneity in reality，which affects competitors This paper examines the impact of heterogeneity on individual behavior by altering the earning capacity of individuals in the PGG （Public Goods Game） On the other hand，heterogeneity is also reflected in individual traits This paper identifies the individual traits，enriching the levels of research 
This article uses experimental economics methods to interpret the behavioral dynamics of individuals in PGG tournaments from a strategic perspective The main findings are as follows The competition mechanism has no significant impact on the average level of cooperation and the cumulative payoff The effect of game history is asymmetric Decisions of winners are obviously strategic，only a few of them are noncollaborators，leading to highlevel cooperation within the group and greater benefits from it
The main contribution of this study is：firstly，based on the direct reactions of individuals in experiments，this paper constructs strategies，providing empirical evidence in evolutionary game theory Analyzing cooperation dynamics from a strategic perspective fully considers the interactivity of game participants，which helps to enrich the understanding of individual behaviors and improve the pertinence of incentive design；Secondly，in this article，rather than cooperate or defect，individuals have more game choices and are closer to complex competitive activities in reality；Thirdly，it provides a basis for more effective organization and participation in competition This article reveals that if there is a cooperative scenario，competition can also screen individuals with nonfree riding traits and cooperative strategies





Antitrust Remedy Policies for Self-preferencing of Digital Platforms via Algorithm

TANG Yaojia, YU Jinyu

2024, 44(9):  123-142. 

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The recent decades have seen a growing number of dualmode platforms such as Amazon and Google Dualmode platforms may favor their own products in the downstream market through search result display，algorithmic recommendations，etc，and discriminate against downstream market competitors Thus，selfpreferencing has become an important policy concern in the antitrust of the platform economy At present，antitrust economics research on the selfpreferencing behavior of dualmode platforms has drawn different views Therefore，how to scientifically recognize the competitive effects of selfpreferencing and how to adopt optimal antitrust remedy policies have become the focus of the issue
This paper focus on exploring the behavioral incentives and competitive effects of digital platforms selfpreferencing via algorithmic recommendations and examining the effectiveness of policies that restrict selfpreferencing The main findings are as follows A monopoly platform will only have the incentive to engage in selfpreferencing when the increase in sales revenue of its own products due to selfpreferencing exceeds the loss in commission An important market structural condition for digital platforms to implement selfpreferencing is that they have strong relative market power on the seller side Selfpreferencing can increase digital platforms market power in downstream markets and induce market foreclosure to competitors However，its impact on consumer surplus and social welfare is uncertain，mainly affected by search costs and commission rates In terms of the effects of different remedy policies，structural separation，neutrality regulation and data isolation all can promote market competition，but their implications on consumer surplus and social welfare are significantly different，and all have certain economic costs 
The policy implications of this paper are： First，the antitrust regulation of digital platforms selfpreferencing via algorithmic recommendations should use reasonable principles to analyze case by case Second，regulation of selfpreferencing should first be subject to a market structure review，with a focus on the platforms market power in the upstream intermediary service market Third，the antitrust review should adopt a threestep approach of “capability  incentive  competition damage” Fourth，the antitrust remedy policy should be selected based on the economic facts of individual cases Fifth，when designing antitrust policies for digital platforms selfpreferencing in China，it is necessary to establish an organic connection between exante regulatory policies and expost enforcement policies and to achieve the best combination of scientific review and effective remedy