Does political propaganda matter in mitigating climate change? Insights from the United States of America

Some research on climate change has been the basis of climate change denialism (hereafter, CCD is used to refer to denial, denialism, and deniers). There is formative knowledge about the role of political propaganda in climate policies and resulting outcomes. To contribute to the understanding of political ideology and the extent of CCD, we adopt econometric techniques to study the impact of the United States of America's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. The results show that ideological political propaganda has psychological and philosophical consequences that impact climate change policies. In addition, we find that the effect of a state's economic growth on climate change is mediated by CCD. In particular, low-income capitalist states have a higher propensity to become CCDs because they are more likely to engage in economic expansion even at the expense of environmental sustainability. Global climate change policies depend on high-income nations and industries' willingness to adopt economic policies to achieve sustainable future development. Thus, this study fills the literature gap on the relationship between political ideology and climate change. The findings show that CCD significantly influences voting patterns and socioeconomic outcomes. It impedes states from achieving net-zero emissions and carbon neutrality and it is used as a political propaganda. Subject to these findings, relevant policy suggestions are offered.     

CSR activity in response to the Paris Agreement exit

In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. Although there were concerns that the exit would impede the global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the environmental performance of U.S. firms in carbon-intensive sectors improved after the announcement at a significantly higher pace than firms in other sectors. Moreover, our findings are concentrated among firms exposed to higher public attention. One implication is that firms under greater public scrutiny used the United States' departure from the agreement as an opportunity to credibly signal their commitment to combating global climate change.     

CEO contractual protection and debt contracting

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) contractual protection, in the forms of CEO employment agreements and CEO severance pay agreements, is prevalent among S&P 1500 firms. While prior research has examined the impact of these agreements on corporate decisions from shareholders’ perspective, there is little research on the impact from debt holders’ perspective. We find that, compared with other loans, loans issued by firms with CEO contractual protection on average contain more performance covenants and performance-pricing provisions. This effect increases with CEOs’ risk-taking incentives and opportunities, but it decreases with CEOs’ preference for and opportunity of enjoying a quiet life. Furthermore, for loans issued by firms with CEO contractual protection, debt holders include stricter covenants, charge a higher interest rate and use a more diffuse syndicate structure. Collectively, these results shed light on the impact of CEO contractual protection on debt contracting.     

我国对RCEP成员国ICT产品出口的贸易效率及潜力研究北大核心

区域全面经济伙伴关系协定(RCEP)的签署,标志着全球规模最大的自由贸易协定正式达成,这对我国实现疫后经济复苏以及新一轮高水平对外开放具有重要意义。本文采用随机前沿分析方法,对2005~2020年我国对RCEP成员国出口信息通信技术(ICT)产品的出口贸易效率及潜力进行了实证分析。结果表明,我国对RCEP成员国ICT产品的出口贸易效率虽逐年上升但整体偏低,并且不同产品的贸易效率存在较大差异;成员国的制度质量、基础设施和受教育水平等因素均对贸易效率的提升产生显著积极影响。据此,应在政策沟通的基础上,区域联动加快互联网等基础设施建设,注重人力资本的积累,为进一步拓展我国ICT产品出口空间营造良好的环境。