Leveraging the inauguration of the China-Europe Railway Express (CRE) as a natural experiment, this study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model using data from China’s listed manufacturing firms spanning 2011 to 2021. The findings reveal that the CRE has significantly enhanced the green innovation capabilities of manufacturing enterprises, with a notably stronger impact on substantive green innovation than strategic green innovation. These results are further reinforced through rigorous robustness checks, including instrumental variable approaches, propensity score matching combined with difference-in-differences (PSM+DID) regression, and variable substitution. The study identifies two primary mechanisms driving the CRE’s positive impact on corporate green innovation: alleviating financial constraints and facilitating cross-border innovation resource flows. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the CRE’s benefits are particularly pronounced among non-stateowned enterprises, firms with lower degrees of internationalization, and smaller firms. Regionally, the impact is most substantial in the central regions, followed by the eastern regions, while the western regions show limited effects due to structural challenges. Industry-level analysis reveals a hierarchical impact, with high-tech manufacturing deriving the greatest benefit, followed by medium-tech and traditional manufacturing sectors. This study contributes theoretical insights and offers actionable policy recommendations to maximize the CRE’s potential in fostering green innovation, addressing regional inequalities, and advancing sustainable international trade and logistics.

Purpose: In the contemporary landscape, where digital transformation and macroeconomic volatility converge, delineating strategies to augment financial flexibility has become a salient concern for both the corporate and academic realms. This article takes manufacturing firms listed on China’s A-share market as the research object and explores how digital transformation enhances financial flexibility through improving supply chain efficiency, considering digital transformation potential both as an enabler of financial flexibility and a formidable challenge.Design/methodology/approach: Utilising an empirical framework that assesses manufacturing firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets over the period from 2007 to 2022, we deploy a two-way fixed effects model to dissect the interplay between the magnitude of digital transformation and financial flexibility. Robustness checks, including propensity score matching (PSM), the system generalised method of moments (system GMM) and alternative specifications for key variables, ensure empirical validity.Findings/results: Our analysis yields evidence of a positive correlation between digital transformation and financial flexibility, particularly pronounced through enhancements in supply chain efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the beneficial effects are more markedly felt in non-state-owned enterprises.Practical implications: This study provides empirical evidence to guide corporate managers and policymakers in leveraging digital transformation to fortify financial flexibility, particularly by enhancing supply chain efficiency and addressing challenges faced by non-state-owned enterprises.Originality/value: This research contributes novel insights into the role of digital transformation in enhancing financial flexibility, offering empirical foundations to inform the development of targeted policy initiatives.

The rise of digital trade offers new avenues to overcome traditional constraints in energy access and cognition, fostering the adoption of clean energy. Yet, its micro-level mechanisms remain insufficiently explored. Drawing on data from the 2014–2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study matches household-level data with provincial digital trade development metrics and employs a Logit fixed-effects model to assess the impact of digital trade on clean energy usage. Results reveal that digital trade significantly increases the likelihood of households adopting clean energy, primarily through enhanced accessibility, improved cognition, and technological diffusion. These findings remain robust across a suite of tests, including hierarchical linear model, fixed-effect adjustments, province-year interaction terms, random-effects models, and double machine learning. Heterogeneity analysis further shows the effect is more pronounced among households with higher social status, lower regional economic development, and those in rural areas. This study empirically uncovers the behavioral transmission channels through which digital trade advances green transitions, offering theoretical insight and policy guidance for integrating digital economies with clean energy agendas.

This study empirically analyzes the impact of gender imbalance on the labor force participation rate of urban married women, utilizing data from the 2012–2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and matched provincial-level gender imbalance data. A probit model is employed, with particular focus on households with unmarried sons. The results show that gender imbalances significantly encourage urban married women with unmarried sons to re-enter the labor market, enhancing their sons’ competitiveness in the marriage market by helping to accumulate family wealth. In contrast, while the effect is also significant for households with unmarried daughters, its intensity is weaker. No significant effect is found in households without children or with daughters only. Further analysis indicates that as children age, the demand for caregiving within the household gradually decreases, while competition in the marriage market intensifies, thereby increasing married women’s labor force participation. Additionally, gender imbalance triggers a significant wealth accumulation effect within families. In regions with more severe gender imbalances, urban married women with unmarried sons significantly increase the household savings rate (positive effect), while reducing overall household consumption levels (negative effect). Moderation tests reveal that the widespread use of the internet and advances in information technology, by facilitating flexible employment, enable women to balance family and work responsibilities, further boosting their participation in the labor market. Robustness checks, including multilevel modeling, adjusted age ranges for the sample, logit regressions, and double machine learning, all support the study’s conclusions. This research highlights the profound influence of gender imbalance on household economic decisions and women’s labor behaviors, enriching the theoretical frameworks of the marriage market and labor economics. It also provides valuable policy implications for addressing gender imbalances and promoting balanced socio-economic development.

1. Accelerated urbanization, increasing resource limitations, and the accumulation of environmental externalities have compelled cities to reevaluate their waste and land-use management practices. ...