25 July 2025, Volume 44 Issue 7
    

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    Trends and Frontiers
  • Han Yonghui, Li Jiatong, Tan Shuting
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 1-15. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.430456
    Abstract ( ) Download PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
        Since Trump's return to the White House in 2025, his "reciprocal tariff" policy has imposed differentiated tariff measures on over 70 countries worldwide, with cumulative tariffs on Chinese goods reaching as high as 145%. This policy has transcended the scope of traditional trade protection measures and become a crucial tool for the United States to destructively reconstruct the international economic order, profoundly impacting the global economic governance system. Drawing on hegemonic stability theory, power transition theory, and securitization theory, this paper systematically analyzes the underlying causes of the United States' role transformation in the global economic governance system and its multidimensional impacts from the perspective of domestic economic policy spillover effects.
        The study finds that the United States' shift from a maintainer to a destructive reconstructor of the global economic governance system stems primarily from the internal contradictions of dollar hegemony and rising maintenance costs, domestic political pressures triggered by manufacturing hollowing-out, and systematic challenges posed by emerging economies to existing governance structures. The "reciprocal tariff" policy will create a triple impact on the global economic governance system: driving governance mechanisms to retreat from multilateral coordination to bilateral gaming, exacerbating fragmentation among governance actors and creating a global public goods supply crisis, and promoting the expansion of governance objects from economic issues to pan-securitization. Facing this challenge, China should persist in safeguarding multilateralism, proactively undertake responsibilities for global public goods supply, promote the depoliticization and de-securitization of economic issues, while constructing a more autonomous and controllable economic circulation system. While defending its own development interests, China should contribute Chinese solutions to promoting effective reform and development of the global economic governance system.
  • Li Jiguang, Zhang Hua
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 16-30. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.430453
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        The global economic landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by a complex interplay of geopolitical, trade war, and public health dynamics. These factors have accelerated the shift in global production networks from efficiency-driven models to security-driven models.
        As an important concept derived from the global production network, the reconstruction of the global innovation network actually predates the global production network. Moreover, the global innovation network also presents a clear security orientation. In the process of restructuring the global innovation network, the characteristics of security orientation are mainly reflected in introversion and regionalization. On the one hand, countries pay more attention to improving their own technological research and development level. This inward focus is evident in policies that encourage domestic R&D investment, support for local innovation ecosystems, and stricter regulations on technology transfers. On the other hand, innovation cooperation is more concentrated geographically. Countries tend to establish closer innovation partnerships within the region to reduce the risks and uncertainties of cross-border innovation cooperation.
        China, as a major player in the global economy, exhibits distinct characteristics in its engagement with innovation networks. Firstly, China exhibits notable inward-oriented innovation characteristic. This feature benefits from its mature innovation ecosystem and supportive policy frameworks. Secondly, China's regional innovation cooperation remains underdeveloped.While there are initiatives to strengthen cooperation within Asia-Pacific regions, the level of integration and collaboration is not yet comparable to more established regional innovation networks in Europe or North America. In this context, China's innovation activities exhibit homogeneity in innovation output, a focus on application in innovation structure, and an increase in the quantity but low quality of innovation output.
        In order to cope with the security-driven restructuring of global innovation networks, China should actively adjust its innovation strategy. In response to the problems of inward development and external blockade in the global innovation network,China should optimize policy guidance and incentive mechanisms. In addition, China should encourage enterprises to increase investment in basic research and cutting-edge technology development, avoid homogenization of innovation activities,and improve innovation quality. In the context of regional development in the global innovation network, in order to address the issue of China's low participation in innovation in the Asia Pacific region, China should establish a closer regional innovation cooperation mechanism. This mechanism can solve the problem of flat innovation activities and gradually enhance its po⁃
    sition in the innovation chain.
        In conclusion, the restructuring of the global innovation network has brought both challenges and opportunities to China. By balancing inward innovation with strategic regional and global cooperation, China can enhance its innovation capabilities and level, and thrive in an era of increasing security issues and geopolitical complexity.
  • Institution, Policy and Governance
  • Liu Jinquan, Yang Guang, Chen Rundong
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 31-54. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.420842
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    This paper first employs a Dynamic Factor Stochastic Volatility (DFM-SV) model to estimate global and countrylevel economic uncertainty. Subsequently, a Panel Threshold Vector Autoregressive (PTVAR) model is utilized to analyze the asymmetric effects of economic uncertainty shocks from a business cycle perspective. Finally, the effectiveness of fiscal and 
    monetary policies in mitigating business cycle fluctuations and uncertainty shocks is examined. The results reveal three key findings: (1) The adverse impacts of internal and external economic uncertainty shocks on the real economy are significantly stronger during recessions than expansions, with trade suffering disproportionately greater harm compared to household consumption. This underscores the necessity of prioritizing domestic demand to sustain growth under heightened uncertainty. (2)During recessions and periods of elevated internal uncertainty, monetary policy efficiency diminishes, whereas fiscal policy generates higher multiplier effects, positioning it as a robust tool for economic recovery and uncertainty management. (3) Fiscal policy demonstrates superior effectiveness in developed economies when addressing uncertainty shocks, while monetary policy exhibits comparable efficacy across developed and developing nations. Moreover, accommodative monetary policy can synergistically enhance the effectiveness of fiscal measures. These findings provide actionable insights for policymakers to optimize macroeconomic strategies in navigating cyclical fluctuations and uncertainty-driven challenges
  • Wei Wanqing, Ye Qiuzhi, Chen Yongzhou
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 55-74. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.421527
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        The transformation of government performance evaluation and its accompanying change in the role of government have significant implications for the development of new quality productive forces. However, the existing studies have explored the mechanism and path of promoting new quality productive forces development solely from the role of the government, and have not touched on the root causes of shaping the role of the government, so they can not really get rid of the deeper systemic blockage that restricts the development of new quality productive forces. In fact, China's government performance evaluation system has a strong influence on the role of local governments and even determines the actual role of government in the economy and society. The question that arises is whether it is possible to reshape the role of government through the transformation of government performance evaluation (uphold "fundamental" principles) and thus promote new quality productive forces (break "new" ground). And how can the transformation of government performance evaluation (uphold "fundamental" principles) contribute to the development of new quality productive forces (break "new" ground)? Therefore, this study employs a quasi-natural experiment, created by the new 2013 government performance evaluation regulations, to examine the specific impacts and the chain of action of the transformation of government performance evaluation on new quality productive forces. The analysis is based on a Generalized Difference-in-Differences model and 2010-2021 city data under the principal-agent and attention allocation frameworks. It was found that the transformation of government performance evaluation promotes the development of new quality productive forces. This is because the transformation of government performance evaluation leads to a change in the role of government, which in turn focuses more attention and resources on the development of new quality productive forces. Mechanism tests show that, on the one hand, the transformation of government performance evaluation strengthens the role of the government as a financier and enforcer, and creates a favorable institutional environment for the development of new quality productive forces by increasing fiscal expenditure on science and technology and strengthening intellectual property protection. On the other hand, the transformation of government performance 
    evaluation will deepen the role of the government as a guide and supporter, accelerating the generation of new quality productive forces by stimulating innovation and enhancing. Heterogeneity analysis confirms that the transformation of government performance evaluation has a heterogeneous effect on new quality productive forces under different conditions, with stronger effects in cities with high government efficiency, strong local government competition and strong incentives for promotion of officials. The findings of the study not only extend the explanatory scope of the performance appraisal system from the perspective of new quality productive forces, but also provide a realistic basis for promoting the development of new quality productive forces through the establishment of a correct view of performance and the governance system of officials.

  • Huang Xu
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 75-97. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.421652
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        This paper develops an overlapping generations dynamic general equilibrium model to examine how population aging and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies affect workers' retirement decisions. The results show that, under the backdrop of increasing aging, the current level of AI development is insufficient to effectively alleviate labor shortages and social security pressures. In the short term, the policy of delayed retirement helps mitigate the impact of population aging by increasing labor supply, promoting research and innovation, and enhancing intergenerational wealth transfer. In the long term, AI can replace some labor and promote economic growth, thus alleviating the economic challenges brought by population aging and gradually reducing the reliance on delayed retirement policies. Further analysis reveals that the aging trend leads workers to adjust their economic behavior by reducing current consumption, increasing savings, lowering fertility intentions, and choosing delayed retirement to cope with future pension uncertainties. High-skilled workers are more inclined to optimize intergenerational investment by improving the human capital quality of their offspring, while low-skilled workers focus more on increasing the number of children to diversify retirement risks. The development of AI, while increasing labor compensation,also triggers workers' desire for early retirement, weakening their fertility motivation. In this context, if the government appropriately increases transfer payments to low-skilled groups, such as providing fertility allowances and educational subsidies, it can effectively enhance their willingness to delay retirement and increase fertility. However, such incentives have limited effects on high-skilled groups. This paper not only provides theoretical support for optimizing delayed retirement policies but also reveals the heterogeneity in behavioral responses and policy sensitivity among workers of different skill levels during technological change and demographic transitions. The conclusions of this paper are of significant practical importance for promoting rational human resource allocation, enhancing the sustainability of the social security system, and driving inclusive economic growth
  • Finance, Trade and Region
  • Wei Shiwei, Pan Shuang, Gao Xirong, Xie Chenxin
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 98-118. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.421394
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        Entrepreneurship is an important part of promoting inclusive growth. However, entrepreneurial activities are affected by agglomeration effects. Due to the high resource dependence of entrepreneurial activities, small and medium-sized cities face various constraints in obtaining entrepreneurial resources. Entrepreneurship theory generally holds that resources,opportunities, and costs are key factors that affect the success, failure, and quality of entrepreneurial activities. In the era of digital economy, the development of information technology and the application of digital technology have profoundly changed traditional entrepreneurial behavior and patterns, greatly expanding the information resource channels for entrepreneurs, enriching entrepreneurial opportunities, and enhancing their ability to cope with entrepreneurial risks. Therefore, the accelerated evolution of the information technology revolution and the iterative innovation of digital technology are constantly subverting entrepreneurial behavior and entrepreneurship model, making entrepreneurship one of the key drivers of Chinese path to modernization. This article starts from the perspective of siphon and diffusion effects between cities, and uses urban level data to explore the impact of network infrastructure on entrepreneurial activities.
        Research has found that the construction of network infrastructure can significantly promote the activity of urban entrepreneurship. And in the dimension of distance from provincial capital cities, it presents an inverted U-shaped nonlinear feature, reflecting that network infrastructure can help small and medium-sized cities resist the siphon effect of central cities. In addition, the diffusion effect of network infrastructure helps to promote coordinated development between cities, with a more significant incentive effect on small and medium-sized cities as well as the central and western regions. Further research has found that optimizing the business environment, increasing economic agglomeration, and developing digital finance are important mechanisms and paths for the impact of network infrastructure on entrepreneurial activity. In addition, a favorable market environment and political stability are key external environmental factors for fully leveraging the promoting role of network infrastructure.
        The construction of network infrastructure provides vast fertile ground for China to improve its overall entrepreneurial level and achieve high-quality and full employment. Therefore, the widespread application of network infrastructure can help small and medium-sized cities break through the barriers of time and space, obtain more abundant entrepreneurial resources,and is of great significance for achieving inclusive growth and stimulating the entrepreneurial vitality of the whole society.This article provides empirical evidence at the urban level for a deeper understanding of the impact of network infrastructure on urban entrepreneurial activity. The paper can also provide theoretical guidance and policy implications for how to promote regional coordinated development, digital transformation of the economy and society, and high-quality development in the context of the digital economy.
  • Guo Wei, Wang Bocheng, Han Di
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 119-135. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.420543
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        China-U.S. trade event news constitutes a critical external factor influencing the volatility of China's stock market.It transmits directly or indirectly to the Chinese market through investor sentiment. Accurate assessment of the impact of vari⁃ous types of U.S.-China trade news on China's stock index volatility is of practical significance for understanding the microlevel internal mechanisms of price adjustment and the effects of external shocks in China's capital market. This study integrates a ChatGPT-based sentiment analysis strategy with machine learning models to investigate how a large number of representative and heterogeneous U.S.-China trade event news affect China's stock index return rate. Empirical results show that U.S.-China trade event news is multidimensional and complex, and its impact on stock index returns is closely associated with the type of event, its initiator, and sentiment polarity. There exists substantial heterogeneity across sectors in their response to such news: small and medium-sized listed companies, along with sectors such as durable consumer goods and apparel, are more sensitive to trade-related news. Furthermore, index return sensitivity varies with event characteristics: in terms of event type, most sector indices respond more strongly to joint meetings initiated by both countries; in terms of event source, the impact strength follows the order of jointly initiated events, U.S.-initiated events, and China-initiated events.This research reveals a micro-level mechanism through which U.S.-China trade news drives market expectations and asset price adjustments via investor sentiment. It contributes to the empirical identification of the impact path of trade news on financial markets, and offers policy implications for constructing sentiment-based financial early warning systems and enhancing the capital market's resilience to external shocks.
  • Industry, Labor and Enterprise
  • Su Hang, Liu Jiawen, Wang Chenyu
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 136-156. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.421162
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        Technological innovation is a core element in the cultivation and development of new quality productive forces. As the U.S. technological blockade against China continues to escalate, external uncertainties facing the innovation and development of Chinese enterprises have increased dramatically. Most of the established studies focus on the relationship between external technological blockades and firms' own innovations, while less attention is paid to whether supplier firms will innovate after their customers are subjected to technological blockades. Based on the supply chain linkage perspective, this study empirically examines the impact of a technological blockade on supplier firms' innovation when their customers are subjected to a technological blockade, utilizing data from A-share listed companies in China and the entity list data published by the U.S.Department of Commerce for the period from 2009 to 2021. It is found that customers' exposure to technological blockade significantly enhances suppliers' level of innovation. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the increase in supplier innovation is more pronounced when the supplier is in high geographic proximity to the customer, when the customer has stronger bargaining power, when the supplier is highly subsidized by the government, and when the supplier belongs to a high-technology industry. Mechanism analysis shows that customers' exposure to technological blockades promotes supplier innovation mainly through the feedback channels and the demand channels. Further research shows that supplier innovation not only significantly improves their business performance, but also helps maintain stable relationships with customers. This paper confirms that the United States technology blockade against China can stimulate supplier innovation through supply chain linkages,providing a theoretical basis and policy reference for addressing the challenges of the technology blockade and accelerating the formation of new quality productivity.
  • Li Baohua, Yi Hui
    South China Journal of Economics. 2025, 44(7): 157-182. https://doi.org/10.19592/j.cnki.scje.420730
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        The identification of technological advancement biases within firms and the optimization of production input structures are intrinsic requirements for the current transformation of economic growth models and the development of new qualitative productive forces. This paper, based on micro-enterprise data from the National Tax Survey from 2007 to 2015, constructs a proxy for the actual social security contribution ratio to measure the cost burden of social security contributions at the firm level. It also calculates the labor-biased technological progress index at the micro level to examine the direction of technological advancement bias when firms face an increase in social security contribution burdens.
        The study reveals that, regardless of whether firms are paying or the level at which they are paying, an increase in social security contribution burdens drives firms to opt for capital-biased technological progress. This conclusion is supported by instrumental variable analysis and exogenous policy shocks from the Social Insurance Law, as well as a series of robustness tests. The impact is more pronounced in non-public enterprises, those where social security contributions are collected by tax authorities, and micro-enterprises. Mechanism analysis shows that an increase in social security contribution burdens leads to a higher capital-to-labor ratio in production inputs, thereby biasing technological progress towards capital. This increase in the capital-to-labor ratio is manifested in both a reduction in employee hiring and an increase in fixed assets. Furthermore,this mediating path is weakened in firms with independent research and development activities, larger trade union sizes, and higher levels of wage distortion. Further research shows that the social security contribution reduction policies and financial subsidies implemented by the government in recent years have alleviated the social security contribution burdens of enterprises, promoting labor-biased technological progress. This labor-biased technology also helps to increase the share of labor income, offering new insights into the improvement of income distribution systems and the path towards common prosperity.

        The contributions of this paper lie in three main aspects. First, this study adopts a micro-level perspective to measure biased technological progress within firms, expanding the research horizon on the determinants of such progress at the microeconomic level. The inclusion of a diverse range of firms, especially SMEs, enhances the representativeness of the findings,grounding them in the realities of the current economic landscape. Second, this paper delves into the differential changes in the productivity of capital and labor induced by technological progress, thereby identifying instances of biased technological progress. Third, this study carries substantial policy implications. The findings offer valuable insights for the refinement and enhancement of social security systems, aiming to optimize their institutional effectiveness. This research provides a reference point for policymakers in their endeavor to improve social security frameworks and harness their benefits more effectively.