The two-way interaction between population aging and industrial transformation

This study examines the relationship between the labour-force age structure and industry composition in a multi-region and multi-sector framework. Relying on a panel dataset of Chinese provinces, the simultaneous equations model reveals two-way influences between age and industrial structures. Population aging induces a (an) reduced (increased) secondary-sector (tertiary-sector) employment share. The industrial structure then changes the age structure of the local labour force via the migrations of young workers as non-agricultural sectors expand. With an improved Leslie model, we predict a province-level population aging and industry structure trend. Accordingly, municipalities, developed coastal provinces and the three northeastern provinces face greater pressure from population aging and a rapid structural, industrial transformation. Further considerations of the ‘two-child policy’ via simulation results show that relaxed birth restrictions could slow population aging in some but not all these provinces.     

钢的快速球化退火

本文介绍了几种快速球化退火工艺及其原理和应用。     

How crop insurance influences agrochemical input use: Evidence from cotton farmers in China

Crop insurance is critical in risk management in global agricultural production (e.g. by helping stabilise farmers' incomes in the long term and reducing risk-bearing costs). In this paper, using field survey data on cotton farmers in Xinjiang, China, we examine the influence of crop insurance on farmers' behaviours regarding agrochemical inputs and aim to investigate the synergy between crop insurance and reductions in fertiliser and pesticide usage. We find evidence that crop insurance significantly negatively affects farmers' use of fertilisers and pesticides, as well as significantly positively affects their adoption of green agricultural technologies (GAT) that can replace or complement traditional fertilisers and pesticides. Moreover, our results reveal that compared with small-scale farmers, crop insurance has a stronger effect on large-scale farmers' use of agrochemicals. Finally, when the insured amount is higher or the relative deductible is lower, farmers are more likely to reduce fertiliser and pesticide usage and adopt GAT. Overall, this paper scientifically identifies crop insurance can improve farmers' agrochemical input behaviour, by reducing farmers' use of traditional agrochemical inputs and increasing their adoption of GAT, which is of great significance for ensuring the safety of the agricultural ecological environment.     

Firm performance and economic development: Evidence from a unique dataset of China

Using a unique firm-level dataset from 2007 to 2015, we investigated the characteristics and trends of China's economic development from the perspective of firm performance. We found that China's economic development in the recent decade has made the following achievements: less reliance on investment for growth, enterprises’ deleveraging, a more competitive market environment and improvement in labour income distribution. Yet, it still faced severe challenges, such as increasing tax and fee burdens, high employment pressure, low total factor productivity (TFP) growth rate, and how to realize the coordinated development of the economy and environment.     

The combined effects of positive and negative affect on job satisfaction and counterproductive work behavior

Management researchers have paid more attention to the role of affect in the workplace in the last two to three decades. While it is clear that positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) should be associated with positive and negative employee attitudes and behaviors, respectively, we know little about their combined effects. In this study, we provide preliminary evidence concerning the potential complexity of the interplay between PA and NA in affecting job satisfaction and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). Results of polynomial regression analyses from a sample of 216 employees showed that congruence of PA and NA at high level leads to the higher level of job satisfaction and CWB than they are congruent at low level. For incongruence situations, PA higher than NA leads to higher level of job satisfaction and a lower level of CWB than when NA is higher than PA. Theoretical implications, limitations and future directions are discussed.

     

Internal control material weakness disclosure and misstatement duration

Only a small proportion of companies that announce restatements disclose existing internal control material weaknesses (ICMWs) over financial reporting during misstatement periods. Using a sample of 1939 restatements related to misstatements between 2003 and 2015, we find that misstatement duration decreases with the disclosure of ICMWs during misstatement periods. Our results are robust to different samples and different measures of the dependent and test variables. We also find that the number of ICMWs disclosed is negatively related to misstatement duration. The disclosure of both entity-level and process-level ICMWs is associated with misstatements of shorter duration. Moreover, we find that the negative association between ICMW disclosure frequency and misstatement duration is more salient when restatements are intentional. Despite the negative consequences of reporting existing ICMWs found in prior studies, our results suggest that the disclosure of ICMWs can shorten the duration of misstatement periods, leading to more timely improvement in financial reporting. Hence, our evidence provides context and complements prior research suggesting that companies are penalized for disclosing ICMWs.     

西部大开发20年人力资本时空演变及影响因素分析

本文采用基于劳动收入的人力资本测算法,对西部大开发以来西部89个城市的人力资本存量进行时空演变分析与影响因素探究,以期为更好的发挥人力资本在新时代推进西部大开发形成新格局中的作用提供参考。研究发现:从时序特征来看,各城市的人力资本存量呈现不同程度的增长趋势,但人力资本分布不平衡现象比较突出,人均人力资本绝对差异增大,相对差异减小;从空间特征来看,人均人力资本在空间变化上呈现出非均衡的分异特征,高值区多分布于西南地区与五大城市群城市;从影响因素来看,经济发展水平、产业结构、营商环境、创新水平、政府教育投入、基础教育质量、医疗卫生水平对西南与西北地区的人均人力资本均具有显著的正向促进作用。     

美国高龄劳动者就业保障制度及其镜鉴

美国高龄劳动者就业保障的制度体系主要包括就业促进制度、禁止歧视制度、解雇保护制度、退休福利制度等。在构建和完善高龄劳动者就业保障制度时，美国一直在寻求“张”与“驰”之间的衡平，具体表现为高龄劳动者就业保障上的“张”与青年劳动者就业保障上的“驰”、立法保障上的“张”与司法保障上的“驰”以及劳动法保障上的“张”与社会保障法保障上的“驰”。借鉴美国经验，结合我国实际，宜从制度环境、制度依据、制度框架三个方面建立健全我国高龄劳动者就业保障制度。