Decentralised economic development initiatives empowering local governments have gained currency in both developed and developing contexts. The empowerment of county governments in China is a case in point. This study uses difference-in-differences (DID) and the fixed-effects model with panel...

In recent years, the discharge or leakage of dyes has caused severe pollution of water area. Adsorption, for its effectiveness and feasibility, is a good choice to solve this problem. However, the adsorption of dyes in low-temperature aqueous environment has been little studied. In this study, a...

This paper examines whether the proliferation of new index products, such as commodity-tracking exchange-traded funds (ETFs), amplified the volatility transmission channel introduced by financialization. This paper focuses on the volatility spillover effects among crude oil, metals, agriculture,...

This paper investigates the determinants of government size at the provincial level in China. We employ the panel data model as a platform for empirical analysis and control for endogeneity in the study. Our study shows that openness to trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) may curtail...

This article examines a particular type of central mandate in China, the mandate for nationwide across-the-board salary increases in the public sector. The making and implementation of this mandate epitomizes the changes and challenges in intergovernmental relations of a transition economy. Our...

China has emerged as one of the world's most active markets for public-private partnerships (PPP) in the water sector, while the pace of such development globally has slowed in recent years. This article investigates the dynamics of the development of PPP projects in the Chinese water sector...

In the literature on urban studies, the size distribution of cities has been attributed to a random growth process where transportation externalities, congestion costs, and capital formation all play a crucial role. However, the classic economics models do not fully capture the impact of...