Revisiting carbon disclosure and performance: Legitimacy and management views

With corporate disclosure of carbon emissions rapidly increasing, the long-standing question remains whether carbon disclosure has any influence on the improvement of carbon performance. Previous studies of environmental disclosure and performance have predominantly focused on whether disclosure is a substitute for poor performance. Little attention has been devoted to the more important question about how changes in disclosure may lead to subsequent changes in performance over time. Following the rationales taken by the legitimacy and management perspectives, we revisit the relationship between carbon disclosure and performance, with a focus on changes that disclosure may (or may not) create. Using a change analysis of Global 500 companies and their carbon emission and disclosure data released between 2008 and 2012, this study finds that the change in carbon disclosure levels is positively associated with a subsequent change in carbon performance (examined through direct and indirect carbon emission intensities). Thus, regardless of whether disclosure has been used as a legitimising tool for prior poor performance, this study confirms that carbon disclosure motivates companies and creates an ‘outside-in’ driven effect for subsequent change and improvement in carbon performance. However, the association between changes in carbon disclosure and performance is relatively weaker in high energy-intensive firms.     

Carbon Cap-and-Trade in China: A Comprehensive Framework

This article proposes a comprehensive framework to explore a possible carbon cap-and-trade scheme in China. By applying the case of China, our empirical results present the demand side and supply side of carbon-emission permits in the market and several other significant findings: (i) carbon dioxide (CO₂) marginal abatement cost varies a lot among different regions; (ii) in total, CO₂ emissions could have been reduced by 5.14 billion tons if all the provinces had achieved their anticipated environmental performance during 1997–2014; (iii) the equilibrium price of CO₂ trading is 241 RMB/ton, irrelevant to the original allocation of allowances.     

略论低碳经济的发展向度与意义

低碳经济作为一种新的经济形式,无论是理论研究还是实践探索都呼唤发展哲学的观照。低碳经济作为一种新的发展模式,具有鲜明的低代价发展向度、普世的公正发展向度及强烈的创新发展向度,这对于人类社会的持续发展和文明跃迁具有重大而深远的意义。     

Pollution Permits: A Discussion of Fundamentals

The author provides an economic analysis of tradable pollution permits by clarifying the derivation of permit supply and demand relationships and connecting those concepts to permit trading for the case of two polluters. Using the standard comparison of costs and benefits, he makes the marginal cost of emission reduction of a typical polluter the basis of the derivation of its permit supply and demand schedules. Developing these relationships for both polluters allows the creation of market schedules for permit supply and demand. He demonstrates equilibrium in the market for permits and the corresponding trading of permits. He discusses the satisfaction of the equi-marginal principle, which ensures that pollution reduction is achieved efficiently. The author concludes by considering the consequences of the presence of a third polluter in the market for permits.     

碳排放约束视角下产业智能化对区域经济差距的影响研究

本文利用2003~2019年中国省级面板数据,从碳排放约束视角出发,实证考察了产业智能化对区域经济差距影响的差异性和产业智能化影响区域经济差距的机制。研究表明,产业智能化对缩小全国、东、中和西部地区省域间经济差距具有显著的正向效应;进一步考虑碳排放约束,发现碳排放约束正向调节了产业智能化对区域经济差距的正向效应,西部地区由于自身产业结构和区位因素,抑制了产业智能化对区域经济差距的正向效应;最后,对产业结构升级的两个子维度在产业智能化和区域经济差距间的中介效应检验,发现产业结构升级的中介效应存在,且主要是通过产业结构高级化实现,产业结构合理化发挥的作用较小。     

电力市场效率评估与碳市场价格设计——基于电碳市场关联视角下的传导率估计

厘清并量化电力市场与碳市场间的关联关系,是深化电力市场改革与实现"双碳"目标的重要抓手。本文基于2006—2018年中国100个地级及以上城市的面板数据,使用似不相关回归模型评估了电力市场效率,在此基础上研究了电、碳市场关联条件下碳价对电价的传导率,并对不同场景下全国碳市场的碳价进行了优化设计。研究发现:(1)与非试点地区相比,碳市场试点地区中电力市场的无谓损失率更低,并且市场效率的提高具有更高的碳减排作用。(2)电、碳市场关联条件下,碳价对电力市场中居民电价的传导率高于对工业电价的传导率,但均远低于完全竞争条件下的传导率水平。(3)传导率的提升能够缓解"降电价"与"碳减排"之间的矛盾。当前传导率下电力市场效率目标与碳减排目标的协同实现需要碳价的大幅提升,而在完全传导的理想情况下最优碳价约为40元/吨。(4)长期而言,当前传导率下碳排放总量下降场景、经济增速放缓场景对应的最优碳价分别为255.05元/吨、173.63元/吨,而人口老龄化场景并未对最优碳价的设置形成约束。本文的研究不仅为电力市场与碳市场之间的关联奠定了理论基础,也为全国碳市场价格机制的优化设计提供了政策参考。     

素质教育与应试教育的经济学分析

在现代教育中,作为以卓越为目标追求的学校,将个人素质或学习能力作为招收学生的一个决定性因素.考试是个人素质与学习能力考核的替代性安排,这种制度安排既节约交易费用,同时又产生社会资源浪费.资源浪费的表现形式体现为提高考试分数,而不是在提高素质上加大投入,即应试教育的产生和壮大.学校招生制度的变革能够在一定程度上减少这种浪费.     

Insolvent trading and voluntary administration in Australia: economic winners and losers?

Australian directors who incur debts while their companies are insolvent can be pursued by the corporate regulator for compensation when their companies fail. Under the Australian insolvent trading laws, directors no longer experience ‘true’ limited liability, and as expected, they adjust their behaviour as a result. Identifying director's rational behaviour in an insolvent trading world is difficult as there are no formal economic models of director decision-making under Australian current corporate law. In this paper, we develop such a model primarily for private companies. We incorporate the threat of insolvent trading as well as director's tactical use of voluntary administration to avoid insolvent trading litigation. We show that neither a combination of insolvent trading or voluntary administration can simultaneously ensure creditors-best outcomes, eliminate insolvent trading and reduce director underinvestment.     

不同碳排放达峰情景对产业结构的影响——基于动态CGE模型的分析

依据2017年投入产出表数据,运用可计算一般均衡理论,构建包括13个中间产业部门和5个能源产业部门的动态CGE模型,考量不同碳排放达峰情景对于产业结构的影响。结果显示：碳减排政策能促进产业结构优化,包括农业、轻工业和服务业等在内的低碳产业部门在总产出中占比增加,高耗能产业部门如非金属矿物加工业、金属加工业等在总产出中占比下降;对能源产出结构影响显著,高碳能源如煤炭、石油在能源产出比例下降,低碳能源如天然气在能源产出比例增加,其中可再生能源比例上升幅度最大。鉴此,应完善碳交易市场运行配套政策和环境,加大技术创新力度,促进产业结构和能源结构优化升级。     

基于“交易圈”的异常利润汇出分析方法

异常利润汇出的方式主要有通过构造利润分配决议、虚构利润等方式实现超额利润汇出和利用跨部门监管薄弱环节违规汇出。对异常利润汇出排查的传统方式主要基于服务贸易外汇监管系统的定期预警指标,成本高企且效率低下。人民银行济南分行在分析异常的利润汇出行为特点及资金流动路径的基础上,提出了将指向性强的筛查指标和"交易圈"分析法相结合的创新性核查方法,有效提升了核查线索的精准度及发现异常违规行为效率。