The Cinderella moment: Exploring consumers' motivations to engage with renting as collaborative luxury consumption mode

Past literature argued that the purchase of luxury goods is driven by people's motivation to conform or fit into our economic and social system. In this study, the authors focus on a new aspect of consumption, that is, renting instead of purchasing luxury goods, backed by the emerging opportunities of sharing economy platforms. Drawing upon the analysis of spontaneous consumers' online communications (in the form of tweets), this study aims to investigate the motivations to engage with luxury garment renting within a collaborative consumption context. To this end, a series of automatic content analyses, via two studies, were conducted using the tweets posted with respect to the Run the Runway collaborative consumption platform. Results demonstrate consumers' increased willingness to show their social status through renting rather than owning luxurious apparel based on five main motivators (need to wear new clothes for a special event, inspirations created by the products/brands, possibility to explore a new way of consuming luxury goods, need to make more sustainable choices, and to increase the life cycle of each luxury product). The implications of these findings are discussed, while they pave the way for future research in collaborative consumption of luxury retailing.     

A multivariate time series analysis of energy consumption,real output and pollutant emissions in a developing economy: New evidence from Nepal

Mountain economies will have to play a central role in attaining the global pursuit of green economic growth as crucial bearers of ecosystems goods and services. However, these economies are not adequately represented in the development policy debates in spite of their fundamental importance towards global sustainable development. This study examines the inter relationships between energy consumption, output and carbon emissions in a developing mountainous economy using an augmented Vector Autoregression model. Time-series data over the period 1975–2013 is studied applying a multivariate framework using population and gross fixed capital formation as additional variables for Nepal. Testing for Granger causality between integrated variables based on asymptotic theory reveals a long-run unidirectional Granger causality running from GDP to energy consumption, and a unidirectional Granger causality running from carbon emissions to GDP. We suggest that the government of Nepal can address energy poverty by accelerating the adoption energy conservation policies such as rationing energy consumption and energy efficiency improvements to narrow the energy supply-demand gap. The opportunity to promote the uptake of decentralised off-grid renewable technologies in remote areas and the large scale development of hydropower at the national level also needs to be prioritized. Our results remain robust across different estimators and contributes to an emerging literature on the nexus relationships between energy consumption, income and carbon emissions in mountainous developing economies.     

Sustainable consumption in China: New trends and research interests

China is currently the largest CO₂ emitter in the world and demonstrates one of the highest levels of energy consumption. The sustainable consumption behavior has increased in China, especially in urban cities. Some clear evidence of this includes food purchasing behavior. Recent studies have also suggested that considering full product information transparency, consumers are willing to pay premium prices for products. With this in mind, sustainable consumption must still be facilitated by related policies, regulations, and tools. This study focuses on sustainable consumption behavior in China and collects and analyzes the literature from the last decade (2007–2017) on the topic. In so doing, it highlights new trends and research topics against the background of circular economy development. The method of systematic review is applied. The review is categorized into several main groups: national policies and regulations, the green awareness of consumers, the definition of related concepts, the barriers between sustainable consumption and the circular economy, and the indicators for circular economy assessment in China. Future research directions are discussed. Furthermore, future challenges are addressed from three perspectives: sustainable consumption facilitating the circular economy, “cradle‐to‐cradle” practices, and the link between the European Union and China. This is a fundamental study in the research domain of sustainable consumption behavior. It provides added value that benefits both academic researchers and decision makers. It also sheds light on the further study of sustainable consumption behavior in China from a macroeconomic perspective.     

On the role of the utility function in the estimation of preference parameters

Modern economic theory summarizes the main characteristics of individual preferences through a definite set of parameters: risk aversion, prudence, and the elasticity of intertemporal substitution. Despite their importance, the results of the literature devoted to the parameters’ estimation are controversial. This paper highlights the neglected role that may have been played by the constraints that the quantitative definition of the parameters and the utility functions employed impose on the estimation. A number of simulation exercises are presented, which show that the same saving behaviour can be associated with quite different values of the parameters depending on the utility function adopted.     

Does economic growth and energy consumption drive environmental degradation in China’s 31 provinces? New evidence from a spatial econometric perspective

The panel data analysis points to economic and social factors contributing to NO_x, PM_2.5, PM₁₀, SO₂, and VOCs in China’s 31 provinces. The spatial correlation analysis using Global and Local Moran’s I values indicates the existence of a significant and positive spatial autocorrelation with respect to environment, economy and energy, and the high spatial correlation is evident in the eastern region, covering the northern part of Yangtze River Delta, Huaihai Economic Zone, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River Economic Belt. The empirical estimation is performed through spatial lag and spatial Durbin models. All emitted air pollutants in 31 provinces have significant spatial dependence and strong spillover effects. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between emitted air pollutants (NO_x, PM₁₀, VOCs, and PM_2.5) and per capita GDP, which follows the EKC hypothesis. The relationship between SO₂ and per capita GDP does not follow the EKC hypothesis. There is a positive relationship between pollutant emissions and coal consumption, which is consistent with current studies for various countries like Canada, Denmark, UK and US and regions like New York State. However, the effects of science and technology investment on air pollutants are mostly positive, which is not as policy expected.     

The Effect of the Interaction between Price and Time Preference on Cigarette Consumption among Pregnant Women

In this study, I explore smoking behavior among pregnant U.S. women using the 1979 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. The key aspect of this study is the availability of smoking participation data before and during pregnancy. I consider the probabilities of smoking cessation while pregnant as the outcome. I find that pregnant women who smoke are less responsive to price changes when they are more future-oriented. Women who are more present-oriented are more likely to smoke and consume more cigarettes given that they smoke more than those who are future-oriented. Moreover, those who discount the future more heavily are more sensitive to the money price of cigarettes than those who are more future-oriented. I focus on the role of time preference and the interaction between time preference and price in determining these outcomes.     

国有企业高管薪酬管制与委托代理问题

由于国企高管的经营业绩难以被准确度量，加上监督约束机制不健全，高管的超额薪酬成为国企代理问题的一种典型表现，于是政府将高管薪酬管制作为应急措施来降低代理成本，缓解国企代理问题。采用双重差分法对2011—2018年A股上市公司的分析表明：第二次限薪令在有效限制国企高管薪酬水平的同时，没有对高管在职消费产生显著影响，有效降低了国企代理成本；但第二次限薪令也降低了薪酬激励效应，导致国企高管努力程度降低，由此造成的利益损失又成为新的代理成本。国企薪酬制度改革面临激励与管制的两难选择，应在国企分类改革的基础上对不同类型国企的高管采取不同的激励机制：对公益类及特殊行业的国企增强高管政治晋升激励，对竞争行业（营利性）国企则应在推向市场的同时放松薪酬管制，从而有效降低代理成本，解决国企代理问题。     

食物消费结构升级对农业碳排放的动态影响机制研究

[目的]探寻主要食物消费结构与农业碳排放之间的动态关联机制。[方法]基于1990—2015年面板数据,通过VAR模型进行研究。[结果]结果显示食物消费结构升级与农业碳排放确实有着一定的关联性,且存在一定的滞后性,但其影响程度和方向因食物种类而异。[结论](1)从影响方向看,农业碳排放对肉禽类、奶类等动物性食物消费和粮食、蔬菜、食用植物油等植物性食物消费变动的冲击响应方向基本相反,这主要是由动物性食物和植物性食物的替代性导致;农业碳排放对食物消费变化冲击的响应方向呈正负交替变化,且随着时间的推移而趋于平缓,主要是由于农产品供求的收敛型"蛛网"变动特点引起。(2)从响应时间看,农业碳排放变动对植物性食物消费冲击响应更为迅速,主要是由于动物类食物调整生产周期明显长于植物类食物产品;以植物性食物消费代替动物性食物消费的方式在短期内(3～4年以内)确实可以一定程度上降低碳排放,但是长期看来效果并不明显;所有食物消费变动对农业碳排放的冲击效应在8～9期以后均逐渐消失,说明食物消费结构的变动对农业碳排放的影响持久,农业碳减排任务不可能在短期内一蹴而就,而需要长期而持续的努力。(3)从影响程度看,方差分解结果表明,对农业碳排放变动的影响贡献最大的是其自身,说明农业碳排放基数庞大,减排工作任务艰巨,尽管肉禽类食物消费导致的碳排放量比重较大,但研究期间农业碳排放变动的并不是主要由这类食物消费的变化导致,而是由植物性食物消费变化导致。研究结果为在满足居民食物消费需求的前提下降低农业碳排放、发展低碳农业提供一定的依据。     

The Income and Consumption Effects of COVID-19 and the Role of Public Policy*

We provide empirical evidence on the labour market impacts of COVID-19 in the UK and assess the effectiveness of mitigation policies. We estimate the relationship between employment outcomes and occupational and industrial characteristics and assess the effects on consumption. Seventy per cent of households in the bottom fifth of the earnings distribution hold insufficient assets to maintain current spending for more than one week. We compare the effectiveness of the UK's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and of Economic Impact Payments in the US. The EIPs are more effective at mitigating consumption reductions as they have full coverage, depend on household structure and are higher for low-income workers.     

城镇化进程中水资源消耗的影响因素研究

在"多项连乘和加总"及向量扩展形式的LMDI模型基础上,构建城镇化进程中人口-居民消费-用水强度的分解框架,分析2003—2016年间水资源消耗的影响因素。研究表明:人口规模扩大和人口城镇化对用水量增长均为正向促进作用,且前者驱动力强于后者;居民消费水平提升是拉动用水量增长的主导因素,而居民消费结构优化升级和居民消费率上升均有效抑制了水资源的消耗,且前者更为显著;用水量的下降主要得益于产业技术进步,生活用水量的增长主要源于生活强度效应。进一步指出未来应合理控制我国人口规模和人口流动,加速居民消费结构的优化升级,注重强化产业技术创新,深挖农业节水潜力,提升居民消费率以实现既定经济规模下的相对节水。