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15 September 2026, Issue 05 (244) Previous Issue   

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Can Local Industrial Policies Enhance Foreign Direct Investment Attractiveness? Evidence at the Prefecture-level city level in China Guo Shaoyu, Yan Bing, Wang Naihe 2026 (05):  1-14.  Abstract ( 17 )   PDF (1580KB) ( 9 )   Against the backdrop of profound global economic restructuring, sustained downward pressure on international direct investment, and the increasingly arduous task of stabilizing foreign capital in China, evaluating the efficacy and mechanisms of local industrial policies in attracting foreign investment has become critically important. However, existing research has paid insufficient attention to the unique role of industrial policies in attracting cross-border direct investment, and systematic empirical evidence on the micro-level mechanisms and boundary conditions through which local industrial policies influence foreign firm entry at the city-industry level remains limited. By identifying local industrial policies through text mining of government work reports, this paper systematically examines their impact on foreign firm entry at the city-industry level. Extended analyses are further conducted from three perspectives: industrial network linkages, vertical interactions across policy hierarchies, and strategic trade-offs in urban industrial structure. Our findings indicate that local industrial policies significantly promote foreign firm entry, with fiscal support and credit facilitation serving as the transmission channels. This effect is more pronounced in cities with superior business environments and higher industrial agglomeration, as well as in labor-intensive industries. The policies also demonstrate stronger attraction for capital from developing countries, large-scale foreign enterprises, and joint ventures. Furthermore, industrial policies generate positive backward spillovers and negative forward spillovers. The investment-promotion effect of policies is significantly attenuated when they simply mirror provincial policies. And “strength-building” strategy that leverages local comparative advantages yields superior outcomes in enhancing foreign direct investment attractiveness. This study provides novel empirical evidence on policy-driven investment attraction in the Chinese context and offers actionable policy insights for local governments to achieve targeted foreign investment promotion. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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How Digitalization Helps Solve the Problem of Routine Civil Servant Performance Evaluation?-An Analysis Based on the Theoretical Framework of “multi-principal, multi-task, multi-agent” Li Jing, Yang Xiaoting 2026 (05):  15-26.  Abstract ( 11 )   PDF (1446KB) ( 10 )   Accurately and substantively assessing the performance of civil servants is a prerequisite for effectively motivating them to excel in their duties. Existing studies have identified various problems in the performance evaluation of grassroots civil servants, yet the bottlenecks impeding resolution and the underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently analyzed. Drawing on organizational economics and multi-agent interaction theory, this paper constructs a theoretical framework of “multi-principal, multi-task, multi-agent” for civil service evaluation. From the perspective of incentive mechanism design, we analyze the root causes of evaluation difficulties. Through a case study of the digitalized routine performance evaluation practice—the “All-Staff Assessment” pilot in Xing’an County, Guangxi—we examine the effectiveness and theoretical mechanisms of digital empowerment in routine civil service appraisal. Our findings indicate that digitalization, by reducing information collection costs and expanding the scope of information sources, serves as a critical tool for advancing routine performance evaluation. Streamlining the evaluation process and leveraging digital tools to achieve “assessment, management, and promotion in routine practice” are key to overcoming the deficiencies of traditional performance appraisal in terms of accuracy and incentive provision. Furthermore, performance evaluation should not only strengthen individual accountability but also emphasize organizational cohesion, reconciling individual competition with team collaboration to enhance the solidarity and combat effectiveness of grassroots organizations. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The “Stabilizing Expectations” Effect of Computing Infrastructure on Enterprises Nie Changfei, Xuan Yanxuan 2026 (05):  27-38.  Abstract ( 11 )   PDF (1628KB) ( 16 )   Computing infrastructure, as the core vehicle for providing computing resources and unlocking the value of data elements, has injected strong momentum into stabilizing corporate expectations. Existing studies have predominantly focused on the “expectation-stabilizing” effects of government macroeconomic regulation on firms, with relatively little attention paid to the underlying mechanisms through which computing infrastructure empowers corporate expectations. This study employs the operational launch of national supercomputing centers as a natural experiment. Within the theoretical framework of infrastructure externalities, it systematically examines the impact of computing power infrastructure on corporate expectations and its underlying mechanisms, based on a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies from 2007 to 2023. Research has found that computing power infrastructure can inject “certainty” into enterprise development, enhancing businesses’ positive expectations for future growth. Mechanism analysis indicates that computing power infrastructure achieves a “stabilizing expectations” effect for enterprises through three pathways: alleviating financing constraints, reducing transaction costs, and enhancing supply chain efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive impact of computing infrastructure on corporate expectations is more pronounced when firms exhibit weaker risk-bearing capacity, receive higher levels of government subsidies, and are located in regions designated as computing hub nodes. Extended analysis reveals that the “stabilizing expectations” effect of computing infrastructure on enterprises further expands corporate investment scale and improves production efficiency, thereby playing a role in “stabilizing growth”. However, this effect does not exhibit significant spatial spillover or siphoning effects at the geographical level. This paper reveals the positive externalities of computing power infrastructure from the perspective of stabilizing corporate expectations, offering valuable policy insights for addressing the challenge of weakening corporate expectations in the digital economy era. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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How Does Open Public Data Influence Digital Technology Innovation: The Nonlinear Empowerment of the Business Environment and Entrepreneurial Activity Zhang Diandian, Wang Congjie, Han Fei 2026 (05):  39-49.  Abstract ( 10 )   PDF (1424KB) ( 4 )   Existing research on the impact of open public data on digital technology innovation has largely relied on single-path analyses, resulting in a lack of an integrated theoretical framework and systematic validation of underlying mechanisms. Based on resource orchestration theory, this paper develops an analytical framework that elucidates how open public data facilitates urban digital technology innovation from both institutional and innovation agent perspectives. The results demonstrate that open public data significantly promotes digital technology innovation, a finding that remains robust across multiple tests. This innovation effect is mediated through two channels-business environment improvement and entrepreneurial activity stimulation-both of which show significant threshold effects. Moreover, the effect is heterogenous, being stronger in cities with greater technological and human capital endowments. This study provides new micro-level evidence on the mechanisms through which open public data enables urban digital technology innovation and offers a theoretical basis for designing differentiated policies. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Effects and Paths of Digital Trade in Empowering Green Manufacturing Supply Chains Wang Xin, Shi Enyi 2026 (05):  50-61.  Abstract ( 10 )   PDF (1491KB) ( 4 )   Clarifying the mechanisms through which digital trade enables the greening of manufacturing supply chains is crucial to enhancing the modernisation of supply chains and achieving a green transition in the manufacturing sector. Existing research has largely focused on improving the efficiency of digital trade, whilst paying insufficient attention to the network effects within its supply chains. This paper focuses on the unique enabling dimensions of digital trade. Drawing on ‘chain-based’ thinking, it analyses the mechanisms of green collaborative development among related entities—such as upstream and downstream enterprises, chain leaders and chain members—and explores the underlying mechanisms and optimisation pathways through which digital trade enables the greening of manufacturing supply chains via the synergies of supply chain networks. The results show that digital trade significantly enhances the sustainability of manufacturing supply chains. While digital trade improves the sustainability of manufacturing supply chains both through the spillover effects of information within supply chain networks between upstream and downstream enterprises, and through the ‘aggregation’ and ‘bridging’ roles played by lead enterprises and their affiliated enterprises. In addition, the impact of digital trade on the sustainability of manufacturing supply chains is more pronounced in enterprises with a higher degree of digital transformation, where suppliers are geographically closer, and in non-high-tech industries. Finally, digital trade can enhance supply chain resilience by promoting the greening of supply chains. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Construction of Industrial Ecology and the development of Chinese-style Modernization Xiang Qiulan, Cai Shaohong 2026 (05):  62-70.  Abstract ( 7 )   PDF (1291KB) ( 2 )   Current research on Chinese-style modernization predominantly concentrates on theoretical connotations and empirical summarization, with few studies examining practical pathways from the perspectives of economics and ecology. Exploring the practical pathways and development strategies of Chinese-style modernization through the interdisciplinary lens of economics and ecology helps to fill the existing research gaps in both cross-disciplinary perspectives and practical dimensions. Chinese-style modernization takes harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature as its fundamental goal, the construction of an industrial ecological system as its core philosophy, and the promotion of industrial ecology as its primary pathway. Through exploring new models of industrial ecology and resource allocation, promoting economic structural transformation, and unleashing the momentum of the industrial ecosystem, this pathway facilitates the organic integration of four sets of relationships: part and whole, material and spiritual, short-term and long-term, and self-interest and altruism. The realization of the above goals depends on the synergistic interplay of three dynamic mechanisms of industrial ecology: the linkage mechanism among industries, regions, and urban-rural areas provides foundational factor-flow momentum; the coordination mechanism among government, enterprises, and society provides institutional organizational guarantee; and the evolutionary mechanism of goal transformation and structural upgrading provides sustained structural advancement momentum. These three mechanisms collectively propel the realization of Chinese-style modernization. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Whether the establishment of new rural financial institutions can enhance the entrepreneurial activity of counties? Xiao Jian, Meng Meixia, Han Xianfeng, Li Jiajia 2026 (05):  71-84.  Abstract ( 5 )   PDF (1420KB) ( 2 )   How to improve the vitality of entrepreneurial activities at the county level is a practical issue that needs to be addressed to achieve urban-rural integration and common prosperity. Based on the panel data of 1,836 counties (county-level cities) in China from 2004 to 2022, this paper systematically analyzes the impact of the establishment of new rural financial institutions on county-level entrepreneurial vitality using a multi-period difference-in-differences model. The results show that: first, the establishment of new rural financial institutions can effectively enhance county-level entrepreneurial vitality, and this conclusion remains valid after a series of endogeneity treatments and robustness tests, such as instrumental variable regression, PSM-DID, and heterogeneous robust estimators. Second, the establishment of new rural financial institutions indirectly boosts county-level entrepreneurial vitality by improving the degree of banking competition, enhancing the availability of credit resources, raising the level of human capital, and expanding the scale of the consumer market. Third, the entrepreneurial incentive effect of the establishment of new rural financial institutions is more pronounced in areas with a strong red cultural atmosphere, low clan cultural level, and low degree of administrative and cultural segmentation. Fourth, new rural financial institutions do not exhibit significant cross-county spillover effects on entrepreneurship, but realize the geographical agglomeration effect of entrepreneurial activities within counties. This study helps to understand the specific impact of the establishment of new rural financial institutions on county-level entrepreneurship from the perspectives of aggregate volume and space, and provides certain implications for the realization of comprehensive rural revitalization and urban-rural integrated development. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Research on the Dimensional Structure and Scale Development of Change-Oriented Human Resource Management Zhang Song, Chen Lu, Ye Shen 2026 (05):  85-95.  Abstract ( 7 )   PDF (1326KB) ( 4 )   Sustained organizational change has become normal practice in the digital and intelligent era. Nevertheless, existing research on Change-Oriented Human Resource Management (COHRM) mostly remains at the conceptual discussion stage. Systematic research grounded in the Chinese local context with clear theoretical frameworks and rigorous measurement approaches is scarce, leaving empirical studies in this field trapped in dual dilemmas of ambiguous constructs and insufficient measurement instruments for a long time. Unlike prior studies that simply adopt Western scales mechanically or adopt a single functional perspective, this study is rooted in the unique context of transitional enterprises in China. Integrating the dynamic capabilities view and complex adaptive system theory, this study conceptualizes COHRM as a core management system driving organizational adaptability. Following the dynamic logic of “sensing-seizing-transforming”, COHRM is decomposed into six coordinated practice dimensions: sensing-oriented human resource planning, seizing-oriented talent allocation, empowering training and development, agile performance management, incentive-oriented compensation and benefits, and resilient labor relations management.In strict accordance with standardized scale development procedures, a theoretical model is established through grounded analysis of multi-source qualitative data collected from 60 transitional enterprises. A six-dimensional measurement scale consisting of 20 items is developed and validated via empirical surveys, which demonstrates satisfactory reliability, convergent validity and discriminant validity. Additional predictive validity tests verify that scale scores exert a significantly positive predictive effect on employees’ change-supporting behaviors. From a systematic synergy perspective, this study enriches the theoretical connotation of COHRM and breaks away from the superficial “change-oriented modification” of traditional HR functions. It provides a reliable and valid localized measurement tool for relevant empirical research within the Chinese context, delivering both theoretical innovations and practical implications. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Political Integration and Bureaucratic Regulation: The Responsibility System of Guarantee in Rural Governance Tong Jian, Li Xiaoyi 2026 (05):  96-108.  Abstract ( 8 )   PDF (1522KB) ( 2 )   Rural society in China is currently grappling with governance dilemmas characterized by imbalances in power and responsibility, task overload, and procedural formalism. As a key coping mechanism, the “responsibility system of guarantee” urgently requires theoretical elucidation regarding its effectiveness and sustainability in practice. Existing studies tend to focus on a single logic—such as pressure transmission, target management, or campaign-style mobilization—and thus fail to systematically reveal the complex interactions between “politics” and “administration” embedded within the system. To fill this theoretical gap, this paper introduces a two-dimensional analytical framework of “political integration and bureaucratic regulation”. The study finds that the operational core of the responsibility system of guarantee lies in the dual-track coordination and dynamic transformation between political integration and bureaucratic regulation. The former drives systemic mobilization and structural reconstruction through political potential, injecting momentum into bureaucratic governance; the latter provides institutionalized channels for the release of political momentum by accomplishing goal setting, process control, and incentive accountability through technical rationality. This mechanism innovation constitutes a two-way mutual construction of “politics creating bureaucracy and bureaucracy regulating politics”, aiming to transcend simplistic political mobilization or administrative contracting, and to prevent rural governance from falling into systemic dilemmas of value depletion or technical involution. It thereby offers a new theoretical perspective for understanding the resilience of grassroots governance with Chinese characteristics and the modernization of state governance. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Going Green：A Study on the Corporate Environmental Governance Effect of Environmental Protection Tax Duan Longlong, Li Aidi, Lin Zhongyuan 2026 (05):  109-120.  Abstract ( 7 )   PDF (1564KB) ( 4 )   As an important part of environmental regulatory institutional tools, whether the environmental protection fee-to-tax reform officially implemented in China in 2018 will have significant environmental governance effects on micro enterprises has received little attention in the literature. Based on the interaction-oriented perspective of macro fiscal policy and micro corporate behavior, the study takes the data of Chinese A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen as samples during 2011-2021, and adopts the double-difference method to examine in-depth the impacts and mechanisms of environmental protection tax on corporate environmental governance effects. The study finds that the implementation of environmental protection tax has a production reduction effect on the environmental governance of enterprises to reduce the scale of pollution, but has no effect on improving the green innovation capability of enterprises. The reason for this is the increase in resource constraints and environmental compliance pressure at the early stage of policy implementation, which in turn changes enterprises’ expectations of future business conditions and intensifies the competition of managers’ short-term profit-seeking behavior. The study also found that the environmental governance effect of the environmental protection tax policy is more pronounced in enterprises with higher media attention, larger enterprises, enterprises with non-labor-intensive enterprise types, enterprises in heavily polluting industries, and enterprises located in the east-central region, and this conclusion still holds after conducting robustness and placebo tests. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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The Agricultural Carbon Emission Reduction Effects and Mechanisms of Low-Carbon Pilot Policies: Evidence from Double Machine Learning Zeng Huasheng, Cheng Long, Tao Ling 2026 (05):  121-133.  Abstract ( 10 )   PDF (1654KB) ( 4 )   Under the dual constraints of China's carbon peak and carbon neutrality goals and food security, the low-carbon transformation of agriculture has become an urgent practical challenge. Existing studies have separately examined low-carbon pilot policies and agricultural carbon emissions, yet few integrate the two, leaving the direction and transmission channels of such effects theoretically uncertain. This paper uses panel data for 290 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2023, treats the implementation of low-carbon pilot policies as a quasi-natural experiment, and employs double machine learning, mechanism analysis, a spatial Durbin model, and spatial spillover boundary analysis, together with a city-year index of the agricultural embeddedness of local pilot policies constructed from policy texts, to systematically examine the impact of these policies on agricultural carbon emissions. The results show that low-carbon pilot policies significantly reduce agricultural carbon emissions in pilot cities, and the findings remain robust across a series of tests. The effects are more pronounced in the first and third batches of pilot areas, cities with higher fiscal autonomy, cities with relatively scarce agricultural labor, and cities with stronger agricultural embeddedness in local policies. The policies reduce agricultural carbon emissions mainly by enhancing agriculture-related technology supply, promoting the development of agricultural socialized services, and strengthening green finance support. Spatially, the policies generate both positive and negative spillover effects on agricultural carbon emissions; as distance increases, the crowding-out and siphoning effects gradually outweigh the diffusion and learning effects. Accordingly, the linkage between low-carbon pilot policies and agricultural mitigation tasks should be strengthened, the systems for agriculture-related green technology supply, socialized services, and green finance support should be improved, and cross-regional collaborative governance should be enhanced to promote the low-carbon transformation of agriculture. References | Related Articles | Metrics

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Analysis of the Mechanism of Artificial Intelligence Empowering Grassroots Governance from the Perspective of Cultural Embedding:A Case Study Based on “The 6-foot Lane of Harmony” Li Bo, Zhang Yao 2026 (05):  134-142.  Abstract ( 6 )   PDF (1559KB) ( 2 )   While artificial intelligence drives the transformation and upgrading of grassroots governance, the tension between instrumental rationality of technological tools and value rationality is becoming increasingly prominent. How can local culture be integrated into the artificial intelligence-enabled system, and through matching, integration and symbiosis with technology, promote the synergy of technical rationality and humanistic rationality? Existing studies have not provided a clear explanation. Therefore, based on the TOE theory, this research constructs a TOE-C analysis framework of “technology-organization-environment-culture”, and takes the “Yi Dao Liushijiao” project in T City, Anhui Province as a case to explore the enabling mechanism of artificial intelligence on grassroots governance from the perspective of local culture integration. The research finds that artificial intelligence effectively enables grassroots governance through three mechanisms: mutual construction of technological culture, coupling adaptation of organizational culture, and dynamic evolution of environmental culture. Therefore, in the future, it is necessary to deepen cultural coding, strengthen organizational collaboration, and optimize the goverance ecology, so as to better achieve the balance between the enabling of technical rationality and humanistic rationality by artificial intelligence, and ultimately promote the improvement and efficiency enhancement of artificial intelligence empowerment. References | Related Articles | Metrics