制度-垄断地租、数据要素与绿色国际分工的重构

This study focuses on the economic cooperation between China and Belarus in the digital field against the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative. Through the panel regression model, multi-dimensional data such as the economic value of scientific and technological innovation output and the level of digitalization in the five Central Asian countries and countries along the Belt and Road are analyzed. The results show that after considering geographical and economic factors, the positive impact of scientific and technological innovation value on promoting innovation has weakened, highlighting the importance of regional cooperation in the Belt and Road Economic Circle. Further analysis confirmed that China is an ideal partner for Belarus in the economic field. The study recommends strengthening cooperation between the two countries in scientific and technological innovation, digital economic levels, and overall economic construction to promote the harmonious and innovative development of green economic digitalization.

In the era of digital transformation and sustainable development, both digitalization and environmental policies are increasingly central to national development strategies, especially in ASEAN. These transitions are reshaping investment environments and influencing the flow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). This study investigates the impact of digital transformation, green policies, and selected macroeconomic factors on FDI inflows in ASEAN countries. Using a balanced panel dataset covering six ASEAN economies from 2008 to 2022, the research applies the Fixed Effects Model (FEM) with robust standard errors to address heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation. Data were collected from six ASEAN countries from 2008 to 2022. Empirical findings show that higher Internet penetration significantly increases FDI inflows, while greater CO2 emission intensity tends to reduce investment attraction. Financial development also promotes FDI, confirming the role of an efficient financial system. Inflation exhibits mixed effects, reflecting diverse macroeconomic conditions among countries. Overall, the findings emphasize that both digital readiness and environmental commitment play vital roles in attracting sustainable and high-quality FDI, providing useful implications for ASEAN governments in fostering digital and green transformation to strengthen long-term investment competitiveness.

In recent years, the concepts of rentiership and intellectual monopoly have gained prominence in discussions about the weakening link between corporate profitability and capital investment in high income countries. However, there have been few if any attempts to construct measures for rentiership and intellectual monopoly using firm-level financial data. The absence of such work, we argue, is symptomatic of challenges in delineating what qualifies as rent—whether it be intangible rent or otherwise. In place of static conceptions of rent and intellectual monopoly, we develop a framework for analyzing rentierization and intellectual monopolization as dynamic and variegated processes that are closely related to financialization. We apply the framework to the analysis of the transformation of non-financial firms in the USA since the mid-twentieth century and show how it helps clarify the linkages between firm-level dynamics and trends associated with household inequality, corporate stratification and secular stagnation.

Understanding the characteristics and behavioral patterns of Internet capital, supporting, regulating and guiding the innovative and healthy development of Internet capital is of great significance for accelerating the development of new productive forces, promoting common prosperity and building new national competitive advantages. Internet capital is an innovative, creative and cohesive emerging capital factor, a social pioneering capital with network externality effects and attributes of both technological monopoly and natural monopoly. The innovation initiated by Internet capital represents a fundamental digital-intelligence technological revolution and industrial transformation, which epitomizes the growing trend of production socialization. It leverages the development of key Internet hardware and software and creates digital stacks to harness the dominant power of data extraction and economic innovation transformation. Internet capital forms digital platform monopolies based on control of cutting-edge technologies and data resources, demonstrating high levels of global mobility and cross-sector expansion tendencies. On the one hand, Internet capital adapts to the needs of new production socialization, drives the technological revolution and industrial transformation of digital intelligence and fosters innovation of sharing models and modern governance, injecting innovative energy, institutional potential and governance effectiveness into the development of new productive forces and human well-being. On the other hand, it has also led to issues such as monopoly infringements, disruption of order and even digital security and ideological concerns resulting from the disorderly expansion of capital. These issues undermine the economic foundation and security assurances necessary for high-quality development and common prosperity. Therefore, it is important to effectively manage the relationship between the development and regulation of Internet capital, placing equal emphasis on support, encouragement, regulation and guidance. It is essential to fully leverage the leading role of Internet capital in innovation while also implementing effective measures against platform monopolies and unchecked capital expansion to establish a new order for the healthy development of Internet capital and shape a new landscape for the growth of China’s digital and intelligent economy.

The conceptual tools of Marxist rent theory, such as absolute and monopoly rent, need clarification. The institution of landed property, alone, is not responsible for absolute rent. The Marxist theory of land rent continues to apply under two contemporary conditions: (1) the agrarian stagnation in developing countries such as India and (2) the urban rents and property prices. Most owner-cultivators in developing countries could be earning negative rents. Furthermore, differential rents and monopoly rentsfueled by speculation and state policies - explain movements in urban rent and property prices if the organic composition of capital is similar across sectors.

No abstract available

The paper discusses how personal data is a crucial resource in the digital age. It explores the complex nature of the economic valorisation of personal data. Recent discussions have focused on the commodification and profit generation from personal data and its role as an asset and a source of rent. Property rights play a significant but contradictory role in each of these cases. From a technical standpoint, personal data does not fall under traditional ownership rights protected by intellectual property laws. It is neither an artistic work covered by copyright nor an outcome of financial investment that could be protected by patents. Instead, the paper focuses on the role of personal data in the capitalist mode of production and digital monopoly conditions. It aims to analyse the successive transformations of everyday activities into machine-readable objects, de facto property, assets, and elements of monopoly capital.

Early periods of history have demonstrated that enhanced economic development is fostered in instances where natural resources are abundant, hence averting the resource curse. In this vein, accelerated economic advancement is driven by a rigorous and proficient financial sector that efficiently utilises and allocates the economy’s natural resources. A strong financial system that transforms resources into advantages rests on an advanced technological innovation base, superior human capital, distinct foreign direct investment, powerful trade, and sustainable energy consumption. While this paper investigates the nexus of these factors, the specific purpose of this research is to examine the interactive impact of financial development and natural resource rents on carbon emissions in the new BRICS economies for the duration of 1990 to 2019. The panel data generalised least squares (GLS) and the panel-corrected standard error (PCSE) techniques are adopted. The Dumitrescu and Hurlin technique is used to establish causality. The study found a U-shaped association between economic growth and emissions. The findings prove that the financial development of financial institutions and the financial development of financial markets’ relationships with emissions are significantly positive. Natural resource rents, energy consumption, and human capital create a significantly positive relationship with emissions (mostly just positive for technological innovation). Conversely, the connection involving trade and carbon emissions is significantly negative (but mostly just negative for FDI). The interaction (s) intervening financial development of financial institutions and financial development of financial markets with natural resource rent significantly lowers emissions, respectively. The interaction parameter (financial development of financial institutions, natural resource rent, and financial development of financial markets) mixed with trade significantly adds emissions (positively insignificant with energy consumption). Contrarily, this factor mixed with human capital and technological innovation, respectively, is significantly negative (just negative for FDI). The Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel Granger causality outcomes are also outlined.

No abstract available

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to substantiate the place and role of institutional capacity in socio-economic development (SED), taking into account the regional context.   Theoretical framework: To conduct the study, it was highlighted that the SED of society and the state is a process, as a result of which new opportunities are created for the subjects of public relations in obtaining income from the use of the potential of the resource base in the field of rental relations. The effectiveness of such a process is directly related to the process of managing the development of economic potential, which determines its role and place in the SED of society and the state.   Design/methodology/approach: In the study, the following components are classified as structural elements of economic potential: resource and institutional potential. To clarify the methodological approach to assessing the institutional potential of SED, as a category of social relations, the terminological basis of this concept was considered. Institutional potential, as a scientific concept that expresses the development of the most general institutional ties in socially significant relations between subjects of public relations, is studied in the system of socio-economic transformation "resource-potential-capital", in which the institution is a resource. The place of institutional potential is determined by the direction of evolutionary changes in SED aimed at meeting the diverse needs of society. At the same time, the institutional transformation of its resource potential creates opportunities for the subjects of this process to receive income in various areas of social relations.   Findings: As a result of the study of the role of institutional capacity, a scientific rationale was obtained for managing the effectiveness of SED, which is associated with the result of its development. As a result of the process of transformation of institutional potential, it is an institutional rent, that is, the possibility of extracting monopoly income by the subjects of rent relations in the SED process.   Research, Practical & Social implications: The study of the terminological basis of the concept of "institutional potential", as a category of SED, allows us to expand the methodology of exploratory and fundamental research in the field of the influence of institutions on the evolution of social relations in relation to the problems of managing the processes of development of a competitive environment.   Originality/value: Clarification of the institutional potential concept, as well as substantiation of its role and place in the assessment and implementation of SED processes, allows us to propose mechanisms for adjusting institutions operating in society in order to increase the effectiveness of the SED institutional model.

This study examines the impact of global Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) on foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, a region where investment plays a critical role in economic diversification beyond hydrocarbons. The purpose is to assess whether uncertainty discourages foreign investment and whether its effects are symmetric when uncertainty rises versus falls. The analysis uses annual data for the six GCC economies covering the period 1997–2023. Both linear and nonlinear panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) models are employed to capture symmetric and asymmetric long-run dynamics, while controlling for GDP growth, gross fixed capital formation, trade openness, oil rents, and regulatory quality. To complement these econometric estimations, the study applies supervised machine learning methods, Random Forest and Decision Tree regression, to evaluate the predictive importance of macroeconomic and institutional determinants. The results demonstrate that EPU significantly reduces FDI inflows across the GCC, with both increases and decreases in uncertainty exerting negative effects, reflecting persistent investor caution. Gross fixed capital formation and oil rents emerge as positive drivers of FDI, whereas trade openness shows a counterintuitive negative impact. The machine learning analysis reinforces the importance of trade openness, EPU, and GDP growth as dominant predictors, with Random Forest delivering superior predictive performance relative to Decision Trees. The findings highlight the importance of reducing policy uncertainty and strengthening institutional credibility to attract sustainable FDI. For resource-dependent economies like the GCC, enhancing regulatory quality, investing in infrastructure, and diversifying trade strategies are key to mitigating vulnerability to global uncertainty shocks.

This article examines the roles of platform-based distribution and user data in the digital music economy. Drawing on trade press, newspaper coverage, and a consumer privacy complaint, we offer a critical analysis of tech-music partnerships forged between Samsung and Jay-Z (2013), Apple iTunes Store and U2 (2014), Tidal and Kanye West (2016), and Apple Music and Drake (2017). In these cases, information technology (IT) companies supported album releases, and music was used to generate user data and attention: logics of data and attention capture were interwoven. The IT and music industries have adapted their business strategies to what we conceptualize as platform-based capital accumulation or ‘platform accumulation’, and models centred on controlling access and extracting rent have enabled the emergence of new monopolies and IT gatekeepers.

This article examines a pivotal feature of the contemporary digital economy: the multibillion-dollar payments made by Google to Apple to secure default search placement across Apple’s ecosystem and the mounting pressures created by the rapid diffusion of AI-mediated search. Treating the “default” not as a neutral technical setting but as a sociological institution that structures attention, value flows, and competitive outcomes, the paper mobilizes three analytical lenses—Bourdieu’s forms of capital, world-systems theory, and institutional isomorphism—to explain (1) why such payments persist, (2) why Apple has not simply launched (or fully productized) a rival general-purpose search engine, and (3) how generative-AI interfaces destabilize the legacy “pay-for-default” business model. The argument is threefold. First, default status functions as a conversion mechanism among economic, symbolic, and social capital, reproducing platform dominance through habituated user practices and entrenched field relations. Second, the Google–Apple arrangement exemplifies a core–periphery dynamic in digital capitalism: a small number of “core” firms capture outsized rents from control of device ecosystems, data, and ad distribution while peripheral actors confront structural barriers to entry. Third, organizational convergence—explained by institutional isomorphism—helps clarify Apple’s rational non-entry into general search at scale: pursuing search would entail costly capability building, regulatory exposure, and brand repositioning that undercuts its device-centric identity, while the default model already transforms installed-base power into services revenue. Finally, the analysis shows how the rise of answer-centric AI (on-device and cloud-assisted) represents an inflection point: if users increasingly bypass link lists in favor of synthesized responses, the marginal value of “default search” falls. Device makers may thus pivot from exclusive default deals toward plural AI partnerships, threatening search-ad business models premised on traffic intermediation. Policy, competition strategy, and academic research must, therefore, move beyond browser defaults to interrogate AI intermediaries, data access, and interface governance in the next regime of information discovery.

Many researchers have documented the effects of deploying natural resources on gross domestic product (GDP) growth and confirmed the existence of the resource curse phenomenon. Furthermore, several studies have proved that factors such as institutional quality, trade openness, and commodity price volatility can alter the effects of natural resource deployment on economic growth. However, few studies have considered the effect of green transition on the resource curse. While transitioning to a green economy poses the threat of reducing the potential revenues from exporting natural resources in resource-abundant economies, it can contribute to economic growth by reducing fossil fuel dependance, increasing energy efficiency, and increasing green competitiveness. In this study, we analyze how fossil fuel rents affect GDP growth and study the interactive effects of renewable energy and investment in green research and development. By using the data of 109 countries for the period 1990–2020, we conduct a panel analysis. The results confirm the existence of the resource curse effect, whereby fossil fuel rents hinder economic growth. In addition, increasing renewable energy deployment can alleviate the adverse effects of fossil fuel rents. This mitigation can occur through a reduction in the domestic consumption of fossil fuels, increased access to international trade, and infrastructure investments. Lastly, increasing investments in green research and development mitigates the adverse effects of fossil fuel deployment. This result is achieved because of increases in energy efficiency, investment in human capital, and green competitiveness. We conclude that active green transitioning, especially in fossil-fuel-rich economies, can lead countries to sustainable growth.

The article examines the transformation of the energy superpowers of the Persian Gulf using the example of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Based on the strategic documents Vision 2030 and Net Zero 2050, as well as statistical and analytical data, the institutional, technological and financial mechanisms of the “green” transition are analyzed. It is shown that Saudi Arabia combines the policy of largescale deployment of renewable energy with the concept of a cyclical carbon economy and the priority of hydrogen and CCUS projects. The UAE focuses on the early development of solar generation, nuclear energy and the formation of a regional center for trading “green” assets. It has been revealed that in both countries the green transition is closely linked to the task of economic diversification and the expansion of green financing instruments. Comparative analysis shows that despite the general dependence on hydrocarbon rents, transition models differ in the degree of reliance on state institutions, the role of sovereign funds, and the depth of private capital involvement. The conclusion is drawn about the formation of a new type of “oil” energy powers seeking to convert rents into long-term “green” competitive advantages.

Driven by the rapid expansion of the digital economy, digital trade has emerged as a pivotal force restructuring international trade and reconfiguring global production networks. Distinct from traditional models centered on trade in goods, digital trade-facilitated by cross-border data flows, digital services, and platform-based transactions-has profoundly reshaped the international industrial division of labor and Global Value Chain (GVC) governance. Based on a systematic review of existing literature, this paper synthesizes key perspectives on the mechanisms through which digital trade reshapes industrial specialization and the resulting governance transformations. The analysis reveals that by reducing transaction costs, facilitating technology diffusion, and amplifying platform network effects, digital trade drives the evolution of international specialization from inter-industry division toward task-based and functional models. Consequently, GVC governance logic is shifting from control-oriented models centered on ownership and contracts toward digital governance based on rules, platforms, and data factors. However, challenges such as constraints on cross-border data flows, value distribution imbalances under platform dominance, the digital divide, and the fragmentation of international rules pose risks to the stability of digital value chains. Finally, this paper discusses future research directions and policy implications to support digital trade governance and the sustainable development of global value chains.

The rapid development of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology is profoundly refactoring the Global Industrial Layout and Labor Force Structure and promoting the transformation of the International Division of Labor System from Cost-oriented to Technology-driven. This paper systematically studies the Impact Mechanism of artificial intelligence on the Globalized Division of Labor and reveals the Structural Transformation under Technology Substitution and Data Elements Dual-wheel Drive through Literature Review and Theoretical Analysis. The study finds that AI triggers Industrial Chain Regional Clustering by reducing the Technological Marginal Cost, developed countries strengthen Governance Hegemony through Technical Standards and Data Sovereignty, while developing countries face Technology Embargo, Rule Bundling and Capital Concentration Triple Barriers. Empirical evidence shows that every 1 percentage Industrial Robot Density elevation leads to a 0.8 percentage point decrease in the Manufacturing Global Value Chain Participation Rate, and the reduction of the AI Model Performance Gap between China and the United States to single digits highlights the new trend of Technology Competition. The research proposes that China needs to optimize its Global Division of Labor Position through Foundational Innovation Breakthrough and Governance Rule Construction, providing a Differentiated Path reference for Emerging Economies to cope with Technological Nationalism. This achievement has dual significance for improving the Globalized Division of Labor Theoretical Framework and Policy Design.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have become a global consensus, driving a paradigm shift in the global value chain from one prioritizing efficiency to one prioritizing sustainability, profoundly impacting the logic of the international division of labor and the system of trade rules. Drawing on the latest data from international organizations such as UNCTAD and the WTO, this article systematically examines the inherent coupling between the SDGs and the global value chain, analyzes the triple mechanism by which policy regulation, market demand, and technological innovation drive the reshaping of the value chain, and explores the core directions of regionalization, greening, and digitalization in this reshaping. The results show that this reshaping of the value chain is leading to a dual dynamic of "multipolarization" and "reconstruction of rules" in the international trade landscape: the trade share of BRICS countries has increased to 22%, and emerging economies and low-income countries within developing countries are showing differentiated participation. Emerging economies have significantly strengthened their voice in the rules, but green barriers such as the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) have a more significant impact on low-income countries, exacerbating trade stratification. Based on practical cases such as Midea's overseas lighthouse factories and Jinhua's corporate carbon labeling, it is demonstrated that green technological innovation and regional collaboration are key pathways to overcoming the challenges of this transition. The research conclusions of this article can provide practical reference for countries to participate in the upgrading of the global value chain and adapt to the evolution of the international trade pattern.

With increasing refinement in production, advancements in information technology, and optimized transport, enterprise value chains have become global. This international division of labor based on Global Value Chains (GVCs) has driven economic growth but also caused issues like income disparity and status inequality. Developed countries aim to maintain dominance in GVCs, while developing countries seek greater participation and advancement within them. For developing nations, breaking the “low-end lock” in GVCs is crucial. This paper empirically examines the complex relationship between digital trade and global value chain reconstruction, and explores the moderating effect of institutional environmental factors on the above relationships. This enriches the research perspective and expands the research at the intersection of digital trade and value chain. Findings suggest that digital trade affects China’s position and participation in global value chains, with institutional quality and economic freedom moderating these effects. This research contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of digital trade and value chain reconstruction, highlighting China’s potential to ascend the global value chain through digital trade development.

This article critically examines some key formulations that have shaped the notions of “technofeudalism” and “intellectual monopoly capitalism.” These concepts suggest that global capitalism's development hinges on accumulation processes involving the dispossession and appropriation of intangible goods and intellectual property, which are concentrated as monopoly rent, creating inequality between the core and the periphery. Contrary to this view, and drawing from significant contributions in Latin American political economy, especially the Marxist dependency theory, we argue that the development of global capitalism and the primary difference between core and peripheral countries cannot be fully understood through intellectual dispossession and extraction alone, but in the profound asymmetries in science and technology production within the global system, stemming from the subordinate integration of peripheral economies in the international division of labor. As argued, the structural condition of labor superexploitation in dependent capitalism configures a scenario of technological dependence based on the uprooting of domestic scientific and technological knowledge, and the productive subordination implicit in the chronic importing of innovations from imperialist economies. JEL Classification : J3, O1, P1

The technological revolution and industrial transformation led by digital technologies are driving the shift from global value chains (GVCs) to digital global value chains (DGVCs). To address the challenge of global climate change while achieving economic growth, many countries are prioritizing practical energy-saving and emission reduction measures, while simultaneously seeking greater trade gains through participation in digital GVCs and the international division of labor. This study examines whether participation in DGVCs reduces carbon emissions. Using balanced panel data covering 62 countries from 2007 to 2021, we employ a Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model to investigate the nonlinear relationship between DGVC participation and CO2 emissions embodied in digital exports (EEDE). The empirical results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship, indicating that DGVC participation increases emissions below a digitalization threshold but reduces emissions beyond this threshold. These findings provide new evidence for the dual role of digitalization in shaping trade-related emissions and highlight the importance of stage-specific strategies. Policy implications emphasize that less-digitized economies must prioritize breaking free from carbon lock-in by pursuing green transformation alongside digital expansion. The study deepens the understanding of the trade–environment nexus in the digital era and provides actionable insights for aligning digital economic development with global climate goals.

Abstract Global economies and societies have undergone tremendous change because of the quick development of digital technology, yet these advancements mask ingrained trends in worker exploitation, resource extraction, and geopolitical power relations. This study looks at “digital colonialism,” in which powerful international organizations and multinational corporations, primarily from wealthier countries, attempt to influence the technical environments of less developed states that have a colonial past. The research emphasizes how technical improvements maintain political and economic imbalances. Some academics highlight how multinational firms shape digital infrastructures, while others concentrate on the geopolitical ramifications of labor exploitation and resource extraction in former colonies. Empirical studies that identify the material underpinnings of digital technologies and their neocolonial implications are still lacking, nevertheless. To fill this gap, our study analyzes the extraction of essential raw resources, namely aluminum from Guinea and cobalt from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), to show how digitization contributes to the perpetuation of colonial activities. We examine (1) which former colonies own these vital resources, (2) the volume and direction of resource exports, and (3) the manufacturing and sale of completed technological items using data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) for 2022. We reveal the exploitative circumstances under which these resources are sourced and their wider geopolitical ramifications through document analysis and case studies. Despite supposedly advocating for a more environmentally friendly future, our research shows that the EU’s sustainability and digital objectives mostly depend on exploitative methods that are reminiscent of colonial-era exploitation. Economic dependency and environmental degradation in supplier countries are sustained by the Global South’s ongoing raw material extraction and refining as well as the industrial supremacy of middle-tier powers like China. The moral dilemma of sustainability initiatives that subtly perpetuate past injustices is highlighted by this study. By emphasizing the continued existence of neocolonial dependencies in the digital economy and advocating for a more inclusive approach to global digitalization, this study adds to the current conversations on techno-colonialism. The study also emphasizes the necessity of decolonizing digital infrastructures and ensuring that marginalized voices are included in shaping the future of digital economies.

PurposeThis study explores whether and how financial agglomeration affects enterprise specialization, and whether it weakens the division effects of logistics accessibility.Design/methodology/approachUsing the panel data of A-share listed companies in the Chinese manufacturing industry from 2010 to 2018, the authors test the hypotheses of the research framework by constructing a double fixed effect model.FindingsFirst, for every 1% increase in financial agglomeration and logistics accessibility, enterprise specialization will increase by 1.8% and 5.6%. Meanwhile, financial agglomeration weakens the division effects of logistics accessibility. After a multiple robustness test, the above conclusions still hold. Second, the mechanism test shows that financial agglomeration can promote enterprise specialization through cost saving effect, scale expansion effect and technological progress effect. Third, financial agglomeration has a stronger positive impact and negative moderating effect on enterprise specialization in periphery areas and small-scale enterprises, but logistics accessibility is more likely to increase enterprise specialization in core regions and small-scale firms.Practical implicationsIn the context of the global value chain (GVC) reshaping caused by the transformation of the international situation, exploring the relationship among financial agglomeration, logistics accessibility and enterprise specialization based on China’s experience can be an important insight for other emerging economies to enhance their position in the GVC.Originality/valueThe above findings enrich the literature on the division of labor among firms and contribute to the further improvement of GVC theory and division theory.

This paper reconsiders the roles of China and some developed countries in the network of carbon emission transfers via international trade in value added from a new perspective of network governance. Network search intensity (NSI) and the extended gravity model are used with cross‐country panel data to analyze the mechanism of China's engagement in network governance of carbon emission transfers. The results show that from 2000 to 2009, China was a net exporter of carbon emissions, even though it shifted from the semi‐periphery to the core in the network of carbon emissions embodied in imports. Meanwhile, NSI had a significant positive impact on carbon emissions embodied in exports. Given China's important role in the global production network and division of labor, NSI may also affect industrial structure and the quality of the ecological environment to a large extent. This study analyses the network governance mechanism of China's participation in global carbon transfers. The results suggest that the technical complexity of export products and product heterogeneity do not change the positive impact of NSI on carbon emissions.

Export quality improvement is a crucial path for a country or region to climb up the advanced division of labor in the global value chain. For developing countries that have long been at the lower end of the global value chain division of labor, the dominance of agricultural trade is often controlled by international retailers, leading to higher costs of agricultural trade and hindering the upgrading of the quality of agricultural exports. As a traditional agricultural exporting country, China still needs a competitive advantage despite the large scale of its agricultural exports. Currently, e-commerce can provide buyers and sellers with comprehensive transaction information and technical support, allowing them to realize rational allocation of resources and export upgrading. Therefore, studying how e-commerce can promote the quality upgrade of agricultural exports is crucial for China to build a trade power.This paper clarifies the mechanism of e-commerce’s theoretical impact on the quality of agricultural exports and then empirically tests it using a high-dimensional fixed-effects model with Chinese customs data from 2000 to 2020 as a sample.The results show that e-commerce significantly promotes the quality of agricultural exports in all regions of China, and this conclusion still holds after various robustness tests; the heterogeneity test shows that e-commerce fosters the quality of agricultural exports in eastern China, densely populated regions, and economically underdeveloped regions, especially in the case of heterogeneous products; the mechanism analysis confirms that e-commerce promotes the quality of agricultural exports mainly through the optimization of the agricultural industry chain and supply chain, and the enhancement of the level of servicing. Mechanism analysis confirms that e-commerce improves agricultural export quality mainly through optimizing the agricultural industry chain and supply chain, improving the level of servitization, and docking the demand information of the consumer market, etc. Expanded analysis shows that constructing cross-border e-commerce platforms also significantly improves the quality of micro enterprises’ agricultural exports. This paper enriches the research on e-commerce and agricultural trade.This paper provides an essential reference for constructing a robust agricultural trade country and developing high-quality agriculture. Despite encompassing data up to 2020, in the context of today’s global economic volatility directly affecting agricultural trade, future investigations will broaden the scope to delve deeper into how e-commerce can help countries cope with global economic uncertainty.

Green and digital transitions represent a dual strategic objective for the European Union (EU), requiring behavioral changes from citizens, markets, and state institutions. To support these transformations, the EU has developed an extensive policy framework that is backed by significant financial instruments. However, the existing research suggests that these transitions may exacerbate both spatial and socioeconomic inequalities, depending on country-specific conditions and institutional capacities. This paper investigates how environmental and technological contexts, alongside EU-transition-related policies, influence regional and income inequalities within the selected EU countries. Using panel data covering the period 2007–2020 and employing a Generalized Least Squares (GLS) estimator, the present study reveals the complex relationship between structural conditions, policy designs, and inequality outcomes. The results show that smart and green policies tend to mitigate spatial inequalities, though they are found to be less effective in addressing income inequalities. By contrast, the contextual dynamics of the twin transition, such as skill intensity, digital adoption, and emissions, exhibit mixed effects, sometimes reinforcing inequality. The findings underline the urgency of designing inclusive EU policies that combine green and smart transition measures while accounting for country- and region-specific challenges. Such an integrated approach is essential for ensuring that the twin transition strengthens social cohesion in Europe, rather than undermining it.

Abstract The rise of digital capitalism was marked by significant changes in the processes of value generation and capture in the economy. However, its impact on competition has only been recently explored. Taking a Law and Political Economy perspective we analyse four central developments challenging the traditional competition law framework and raising important questions regarding the broader institutional environment for the protection of competition: the transition towards financialisation and the logic of futurity, in particular in the digital economy, which gives rise to new competitive strategies of undertakings, structured around the ‘shareholder value’ principle; the extraction of economic value through new types of labour, which fall outside traditional employment relationships and hence affect the scope of competition law in the digital economy; the emergence of digital value chains that rely on multi-sided platforms and the formation of digital ecosystems, which challenge the usual focus of competition law on markets; the generation and extraction of value in the digital economy through new types of commodities and natural and artificial scarcities, that shape new social relations of production in accordance with the logic of futurity and lead to the emergence of competitive bottlenecks. Based on this analysis, we emphasize the need for a comprehensive theory-building for competition law and regulation that engages with these new processes of value generation and capture. We highlight how the underlying theories of ‘value’ and the institutional set-up have led to inequality and reduced competition. Existing institutions could not respond to these changes, which led to the initiation of significant institutional reforms. The prevailing conception of competition law had to evolve in congruence with different regulatory alternatives (a ‘toolkit’ approach). The article concludes by analysing how the emerging competition and regulatory compass for the digital economy in the European Union (EU) contributes to this dialectic between value generation/capture and institutional choice.

ABSTRACT Can a transition to a green capitalism remain within the planet’s ecological and environmental capacities and could such a transition prove socially just? A transition to new sources of energy and new green technologies depend upon the appropriation of new sources of materials from the planetary ecosystem. Reserves and the capacity to process them are highly concentrated spatially in the Global South and in large corporations leading to inter-imperialist struggle as Global North countries seek to develop secure supplies and processing capacity. The demand for these materials and processed outputs is expected to explode. Spatial concentration is a source of strategic risks. The ability of renewable energy sources to provide sufficient stable supplies is questionable, especially given the energy-intensity of equipment and infrastructure industries. All pose challenges. As a capitalist transition run by and for major corporations an energy transition will be subject to the same contradictory socio-spatial relations that marked carbon-based capitalisms, exacerbating social and spatial inequalities, delivering relatively few benefits to places that see growth and generating unjust transitions rather than responsible disengagement from carbon-based economies.

Entering 2020, the Covid-19 epidemic struck the lives of all people across borders of nation-states mercilessly and this triggered a global economic recession. Pandemic brought various unforeseen crises, including for Creative Industry workers. Although the last two decades show a positive trend of Creative Industry’s financial contribution for Indonesia's GDP, but, long before the outbreak of the Pandemic, the seeds of the crisis of the Creative Industries have been around for a long time, starting from the transition phase of the era of Industrial Capitalism to Digital Capitalism. Using the approach of the Analysis of Political Economy of the Media, the author will show the genealogy of the crisis by outlining the conceptual dimension of 'structural violence' refering to the Structural Theory of Galtung's Cultural Imperialism (1971). A brief history of the term Digital Capitalism is also discussed in order to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the crisis. Furthermore, a number of political economy issues that emerged in Digital Capitalism were identified to indicate the locus problematicus of the ongoing crisis. The core argument of this paper will show why the problems of political economy concerning the dualism of Data as Capital and Data as Labor are serious problems in Digital Capitalism, which escapes the attention of the public. The Author offers solution by combining a more equitable pro-Structural input from Galtung analysis, Marxist perspectives, and the collective pro-agency approach from Arrieta-Ibarra, et al. (2018). Analysis of the problem of commodification of Digital Media Workers in the framework of Data as Labor is expected to increase the reader's awareness that the relationship of inequality and exploitation of workers in the era of Industrial Capitalism actually continues in Digital Capitalism when Big Data becomes the logic of new capital accumulation (within the framework of Data as Capital) with The Big Five Internet Corporations as the responsible actors. When Covid-19 hit, material conditions and the survival of creative industry workers as free labor were made even worse.

ABSTRACT The second digital wave has positioned artificial intelligence and digital platforms as new general purpose technologies, has driven the emergence of new value sources: prediction and circulation values, and has created a new explanatory phase into the relationship between digitalisation and economy: the digital transition. The governance of the digital transition, fully inserted in globalised capitalism, are not being able to reduce polarisation, economic inequalities, or the worsening environment. The article argues that failure in economic policy is closely linked to failure in political economy. The prevailing neoclassical approach is not being able to comprehensively explain the foundations, behaviour and results of digital economic life. To overcome this limitation, the article proposes a new narrative, the emergence of a new explanatory figure of economic behaviour and exchange. Homo digitalis extends the egotistical, isolated, and rational precepts of Homo economicus, and incorporates the scope of social welfare and environmental sustainability as enabling goals. The main components of Homo digitalis are the emergence of multiple biological, social and virtual identities and worlds; the integration of new forms of artificial and intelligent life into our bodies and minds (transhumanism); and the consolidation of a new egalitarian rule based on the access-platform-collaboration identity.

Private finance has become the dominant monetary response to climate change, growing nearly twice as fast as public finance between 2018 and 2023 and surpassing $1 trillion annually. This introduction to the theme issue “Sustainability Capitalism: Investing in Climate Transitions” situates this expansion within the longer trajectory of sustainability capitalism, defined as the subsumption of sustainability principles under capitalist logics. We argue that the rise of private finance for climate transitions functions as a socioecological fix, stabilizing capital accumulation while alleviating certain harms, yet frequently reproducing or displacing others. Contributions to the issue examine how climate finance operates across diverse sites—from carbon markets and mangrove conservation to agri-tech, hydrogen economies, and urban housing—revealing both the hegemony and limits of private finance. These cases show that investment remains uneven and fraught with technological, political, and profitability barriers, while producing new socionatures that reshape relations between capital and nature. By mobilizing the concept of sustainability capitalism, we highlight the contradictions of climate finance: it can generate material transformations with some benefits, but often reproduces existing inequalities. Understanding these tensions is crucial for assessing how climate finance is remaking socioecological relations today.

This paper examines the transformative impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs) and their role in advancing the European Union’s triple transition—green, digital, and social. It explores how technological disruption interacts with structural inequalities, institutional frameworks, and human capabilities, drawing on heterodox economic perspectives to provide a comprehensive analysis. The study adopts a qualitative and exploratory approach, combining theoretical synthesis with sectoral evidence from European CCIs. The findings indicate that while 4IR technologies offer unprecedented opportunities for creative expression, global reach, and new forms of collaboration, they also reinforce digital dependency, structural heterogeneity, and capability trade-offs. Concentrated platform power, algorithmic gatekeeping, and data extraction reproduce historical centre–periphery dynamics, while productivity gaps between high-tech and traditional creative sectors deepen social inequalities. At the same time, digital tools expand access to resources and audiences, opening new avenues for participation and innovation. The analysis suggests that technological progress alone cannot secure inclusive development; instead, institutional reform, capability enhancement, and alternative economic models are essential to align CCIs with Europe’s wider social and environmental objectives. By synthesising insights from structuralist economics, dependency theory, capability approaches, and institutional analysis, the paper develops an integrated model for understanding CCIs as both vulnerable and as drivers of transformative change. The results provide policy guidance on promoting creative autonomy, technological sovereignty, and cultural diversity within the EU’s triple transition.

In the modern world, fundamental changes in the form and specifics of labor are taking place: automation, digitalization, precarization, the transition to remote forms of work, etc. Particular attention is drawn to the prospect of the so-called post-labor society, in which the labor participation of the individual will be significantly reduced. In the article, the author refers to the concepts of late digital capitalism, in which the main market share is occupied by digital platform companies that use the “digital activity” of users as a source of additional income, in order to analyze the social characteristics of "digital employment", which, on the one hand, is a pastime in the network, which today is called “digital leisure”, and on the other hand, activities aimed at earning money, which creates terminological difficulties and semantic confusion in the discourse about the post-labor society. As a result of the analysis, the author defines such activities as “paid leisure” or “nudging-compulsory” leisure in the form of exploitation. The author shows that “paid leisure”, acquiring economic grounds, can become the main activity that appropriates the free time of an individual. The article discusses the possible social risks of spreading the practice of “paid leisure”. The author analyzes the possible reasons that may affect just such a preference of individuals in choosing activities to fill their free time, and finds them in the inherent socio-economic inequality of the “post-labor society”, due to its functioning and organization, ideology and culture. As a result, the author comes to the conclusion that the imposition of paid digital leisure (nudging) will eventually lead to the fact that leisure itself, as a form of employment, will become a full-fledged digital labor. Under such conditions, a person is increasingly losing his freedom, becoming involved in new forms of dependence, which leads to the emergence of a new type of labor and economic slavery.

The EU has implemented a whole array of industrial policy programmes over the past decade to bolster the competitiveness of selected knowledge-intensive industries and to induce a digital and green transition. Responding to shifting competitive challenges in global capitalism, and the adoption of industrial strategies by other major economies, the new EU industrial policy seeks to onshore manufacturing capacity in sectors of geoeconomic importance, and simultaneously reduce dependencies on global value chains. Drawing on a historical materialist perspective, this article historizes and contextualises the financing strategies adopted within EU industrial policy. Faced with tight budgetary constraints, and deficit spending not being an option at the EU level, unlocking private investment takes centre stage, such as by tapping into capital markets or using member state aid or EU structural funds as a precursor, as well as by incentivising private investments through risk-absorbing financial instruments that rely on the EU budgetary resources. As will be shown, the EU has been experimenting with such risk-absorbing financial gimmicks for industrial policy purposes since the 1990s; yet, their usage has reached unprecedented levels with the heightened geoeconomic tensions since the 2008 and Covid-19 crises. The article demonstrates moreover that organised factions within financial and industrial capital have actively advocated for public safeguards, and that their deployment thus is not merely a functionalist response to shifting power dynamics or a desperate last resort in the absence of a supranational fiscal policy.

Energy transition relies on integrating renewable energy sources and end-use electrification. These pose operational, economic and regulatory challenges on the energy sector's stakeholders. Through smart metering, digitalisation enables suppliers to implement innovative dynamic tariffs and bundling services, while consumers are incentivised to adopt these bundled services and increase their demand flexibilities. Investments in grid digitalisation and real-time monitoring are crucial to achieve efficient, fast and fair integration of renewables. In this paper we discuss the challenges posed by the implementation of digital solutions in the power sector and discuss the mapping from technological solutions to economic incentives, needed to examine their economic implications and trade-offs. This is needed to overcome unintended consequences and incentives posing obstacles to the green transition and 'future-proofing' of the energy systems. We build this mapping by exploring some key economic issues emerging from the diffusion of smart meter granular data, focusing on the impact of data interoperability, standardisation and centralised vs decentralised solutions on efficiency, inequality and market competition. Finally, we derive regulatory recommendations for a successful energy systems' digitalisation.

Since its inception, the capitalist economic system has undergone significant transformations, evolving from primitive accumulation to expansion and high development. While capital effects have driven productivity growth, they have also been accompanied by exploitation. According to Marx’s theory of surplus value, the pursuit of profit inherently involves the extraction of surplus labor, leading to systemic social inequalities. In Capital Volume III, Marx famously states, “The law of the tendency of the rate of profit to fall is, in every respect, the most important law of modern political economy,” arguing that the declining rate of profit is an inevitable consequence of the development of social productive forces under capitalism. This law suggests that as capital intensifies its investment in machinery and technology to enhance productivity, the organic composition of capital rises, ultimately leading to a falling profit rate. This gives rise to a critical question: in today’s era dominated by digital capital, does Marx’s law of the falling rate of profit still hold explanatory power? Has its self-abolition mechanism been delayed by financial speculation?Within the framework of Marx’s critique of political economy, the logic of capital effects and their inherent contradictions are revealed. The contradiction between the infinite expansion demands of capital and the finite nature of markets ultimately leads to the self-negation of capital. With declining average profit rates, overproduction, and automation replacing labor, the capitalist system is gradually disintegrating, creating conditions for a new mode of production. In the future, humanity is expected to transition towards a “society of labor,” achieving true freedom and development.

The Third and Fourth Industrial Revolutions have changed the world economy dramatically as there is a high rate of integration of the new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, big data, and digital automation. As much as these innovations have significantly increased productivity, efficiency has increased as well as economic growth, serious concerns have been raised on the replacement of jobs, income inequality, and structural impacts in the work markets. The fiscal policy, in this sense, is a significant factor to ensure that the technological developments do not undermine the stability of the employment and a holistic growth of the economy. In this paper, the writer will discuss how the fiscal policy will change its status to strike a balance between the opportunities and threats of automation as a Fourth Industrial Revolution. The study is concerned with the way that the governments might structure their fiscal policies in such a way that they would be able not only to facilitate the improvement of technology but also to safeguard the job market and social well-being. This paper evaluates policy solutions, including government spending on digital infrastructure, innovation taxation, reskilling and upskilling, and social insurance to reduce the negative impact of automation on the vulnerable employees. The study is based on secondary data and policy frameworks that exist to assess how fiscal measures can enhance the adoption of the workforce and provide sustainable economic development. Particular emphasis is placed on the necessity of governments to change taxation systems and especially in areas that are extremely dependent on digital technologies and automated production. Also, the paper examines how specific fiscal expenditure can be used to spur the creation of jobs in emerging industries including digital services, green technologies, and knowledge-based industries. The results indicate that a moderate fiscal policy unit is necessary to ensure that the benefits of innovations in technology are realized and that the social and economic impacts are reduced to a minimum. The paper concludes that the economies can successfully make the transition into the digital age with proactive fiscal policies, investment in the development of human capital as well as inclusive labor markets.

Indeed, the very latest expansion that has ushered in this new form of ultra-media with hyperspeed content production, platform convergence, algorithmic amplification, and data-intensive media products has changed the way we communicate in modern-day societies, and at the same time raised challenges regarding sustainability in rather immense depths. This article conceptualizes and interrogates the sustainability paradox of ultra-media, which is where sudden media growth has found itself in environments of deteriorating social, cultural, economic, and ecological sustainability. Based on this, a critical political economy of communication is studies by bringing forth an account of how media products increasingly assume development through platform capitalism, profit maximization, attention extraction, and labor precariat as increasingly eroding the foundation of sustainable media ecosystems in the long term. Using Bangladesh as a Global South case empirically grounded in reality, qualitative document analysis, secondary data, and critical discourse analysis on digital media platforms, news industries, and content economies are utilized. Ultra-media indeed spikes the resource consumption cycle, initiates an accelerated pace of misinformation flooding, commodifies user data, and degrades ethical journalism while the regulatory and institutional frameworks do not keep pace with the technological escalation. Bangladesh nonetheless stands testament to larger, global patterns of asymmetrical power relations between transnational platforms and local media industries. The article has conceptual advance in linking debates on the sustainability of the media with political economy and media ecology: sustainability, it follows, cannot merely be made synonymous with technological efficiency or green above narrations but must also have to do with structural inequalities in ownership, governance, labor, and algorithmic control. The study foregrounds a Global South perspective that undermines dominant sustainability models that are predominantly Global North-centric by calling for a rethinking of media development beyond scale. It ends with a critical framework for sustainable media futures emphasizing accountability, cultural resilience, and social justice in ultra-media levels.

Accurate carbon emission data serve as the foundation for the effective functioning of carbon markets. However, strategic collusion driven by perceived utility values among market participants can systematically erode governance efficacy. In response to the vulnerability of shipping carbon governance systems caused by rent-seeking behavior, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving shipping companies, carbon verification agencies, and governments based on prospect theory. Using system dynamics modeling and numerical simulation, we validate the equilibrium constraints and analyze the impact of basic parameters and perceived value coefficient. The results indicate that shipping carbon governance evolves dynamically in stages across its lifecycle, driven by the formation of self-sustaining in shipping companies. Moreover, stakeholder decisions predominantly determined by cost-benefit structures, wherein ESGs’ green premiums effectively drive low-carbon transition, while the anticipated rent-seeking gains incentivize such collusion. Additionally, perceived coefficients exert differentiated moderating effects. Shipping companies’ transition decisions show negative correlations with the risk attitude and loss aversion coefficients, whereas carbon verification agencies and governments demonstrate overall positive correlations with these coefficients. Consequently, we propose a systematic governance framework to provide decision support for solving the rent-seeking dilemma and promoting a carbon governance in shipping industry.

The paper explores the structural evolution of global value chains (GVCs) in the era of intelligent transformation driven by artificial intelligence, big data, and digital platforms. It argues that intelligentization has shifted GVCs from linear, hierarchical production systems toward adaptive, data-driven, and platform-based networks. The study develops a triadic analytical framework integrating technology, organization, and governance dimensions to explain this evolution. By comparing China’s platform-driven model and Central Asia’s digital integration pathway, the research highlights how regional diversity shapes the global restructuring process. The findings indicate that technological capability, institutional readiness, and policy coordination jointly determine the pace of intelligent GVC integration. The paper further proposes a multi-level policy synergy framework linking national, regional, and global governance for sustainable digital globalization. Overall, the study contributes to understanding GVC 4.0 as a new paradigm of algorithmic coordination and intelligent value creation

: Data, as a key production factor in the digital economy era, has a profound impact on global value chain (GVC) resilience. Based on measures of data-factor penetration and GVC resilience for 60 countries over 2007 -2017, this paper conducts an empirical analysis. The results indicate that higher data-factor penetration significantly enhances GVC resilience, primarily by optimizing upstream-downstream linkages and lengthening cross-border production chains. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that data factors mainly reinforce upstream resilience, while the effects vary across regions due to differences in GVC positions. Moreover, domestic and foreign data sources exert opposite influences, and allocating data inputs to digital services yields larger resilience gains than allocating them to digital products. The findings offer theoretical support and policy implications for developing countries seeking to raise data penetration and industry digitalization to strengthen GVC stability and security amid deglobalization.

No abstract available

ABSTRACT This article explores the growing importance of data in global value chains (GVC) and its impact on power relations. We ask (1) how data becomes valuable in GVC, (2) how different types of data are used and (3) how this affects power relations among actors in GVC. We conceptualise data as increasingly important for the development of intangible assets, combining the literatures on intangible assets in GVC and the political economy of data. Based on 88 interviews with practitioners and experts involved in digital business models in Germany, we propose a data typology as an instrument to analyse the effects of data use in GVC based on the origin of data: transactions, product use and processes. We then apply the typology to three case studies of data use in GVC, analysing what kind of intangibles data contribute to and how this leads to upgrading and changes in value chain governance. We argue that data use in industrial value chains does not lead to the concentration of power in the hands of data monopolies. Instead, the creation of value from data rests on a division of labour, with various actors competing for shares of the captured value.

Under the background of the digitalization of the global economy, the trend of global value chain dominated by services has become increasingly prominent, and the restrictive measures of data flow have increasingly become one of the most important institutional variables affecting the development of service trade. Based on ADB, UIBE, TAPED and OECD databases, this paper studies the mechanism and effect of cross-border data flow restrictions on global value chain participation of 18 service industries in 48 countries from 2014 to 2021. It is found that the increase of cross-border data flow restrictions will significantly inhibit the increase of service industry participation in the global value chain by increasing the cost of service trade, and is regulated by Internet penetration and value chain length. Further heterogeneity analysis of economies with different levels of development, producer and consumer services, and participation in trade agreements shows that cross-border data flow restrictions have a more significant inhibitory effect on participation in GVC of service industries, consumer services and Chinese model GVC participation, which are to some extent affected by the depth of cross-border data flow rules. The robustness test is also carried out by means of instrumental variable, alternative variable method and shortening research interval. The above research conclusions provide a certain theoretical basis and factual basis for promoting China’s active participation in global digital governance and rule-making, improving the quality and efficiency of the service industry, promoting the digital transformation and upgrading of the service industry, and enhancing the global value chain of the service industry, which has important practical significance.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed deep-seated structural vulnerabilities within global value chains (GVCs), severely disrupting cross-border production networks, logistics systems, and trade flows. These disruptions have intensified the imperative to reconfigure GVCs to enhance resilience, adaptability, and long-term sustainability. This theoretical study examines the role of digital trade including e-commerce platforms, blockchain technologies, artificial intelligence (AI), and data-driven logistics in transforming GVCs within a post-pandemic, data-intensive global economy. Drawing upon interdisciplinary insights from international trade theory, supply chain management, and digital governance literature, the paper develops a conceptual framework that links digital trade enablers with adaptive supply chain strategies. The study underscores the critical role of digital infrastructure, institutional capacity, and regulatory harmonisation in building resilient and inclusive trade ecosystems. The proposed framework incorporates key constructs such as predictive analytics, smart contracts, real time supply chain visibility, and paperless customs procedures to demonstrate how digital technologies enhance transparency, operational agility, and risk mitigation across GVCs. Furthermore, the paper analyses emerging policy instruments including the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA), ongoing WTO e-commerce negotiations, and ESG aligned trade metrics under global reporting frameworks such as GRI and ISSB that increasingly shape the governance of digital trade. Special emphasis is placed on the integration of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and public sector enterprises in developing economies, with particular reference to India’s digital public infrastructure. The study also critically examines persistent challenges, including the digital divide, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and fragmented data governance regimes, highlighting the necessity for coordinated international policy responses. The paper concludes by outlining future research avenues for empirical testing, sector-specific investigations, and comparative regional analysis, thereby contributing to the theoretical discourse on digital trade and post-pandemic economic resilience.

Global value chain (GVC) analysis gives insights into how powerful lead firms coordinate inter-firm relations in global industries. Yet, GVC research so far has predominantly focused on theorizing power exercised by buyer lead firms—those which select suppliers, place orders, or set requirements. In this paper, I instead advance the theorization of what I argue to constitute a particular form of power exercised by input supplier firms in agri-food industries. Focusing on feed suppliers, I examine how in the Chilean farmed salmon value chain, suppliers of inputs derive power from intangible assets like feed technologies, digital tools, knowledge about optimal input use, and control over aggregated farm-level data. I show how these intangible assets feed into a sort of bipolar governance structure, in which two power centers at the retail and input node reinforce each other. I term this phenomenon a “double-lead firm dynamic” and suggest this dynamic may be a core driver for contemporary value squeezes present in many agri-food GVCs.

No abstract available

This study investigates how artificial intelligence (AI)-driven endogenous innovation enables Chinese manufacturing firms to upgrade their positions in global value chains (GVCs). Based on survey data from 287 firms, we identify a core mechanism through which AI alleviates resource constraints by improving technical efficiency, supporting data-driven decision-making, and facilitating knowledge recombination. This mechanism helps firms overcome low-end lock-in and move toward higher value activities. Our analysis reveals two key findings that contrast with established views. First, the primary internal driver of innovation is organizational innovation culture rather than individual entrepreneurship, refining the traditional Schumpeterian paradigm’s emphasis on the entrepreneur. Second, while absorptive capacity strengthens process and product upgrading, it does not support functional upgrading, revealing a disconnect between technological capability and governance power. The study contributes theoretically by clarifying the linkages among AI capabilities, endogenous innovation, and GVC upgrading. For managers, it underscores the importance of cultivating an innovation-oriented culture within the organization, while leveraging external market pressures and policy support to build a robust foundation in data, algorithms, and computing power. All findings are validated through structural equation modeling and robustness checks, providing reliable insights for both research and practice.

No abstract available

Present-day supply-side structural reform in China places an abundance of emphasis on environmental protection. In this paper, we re-measure the upstreamness of Chinese enterprises in global value chains as described by Ni Hongfu (2022). Subsequently, the impact of environmental regulations on the global value chain position of Chinese firms is studied in depth, using the cleaner production standards promulgated and implemented by the Chinese government in 2003 as a quasi-natural experiment, taking a time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) approach. The data sources employed include the Cleaner Production Standard Implementation Industry Directory, the World Input–Output Database (WIOD), the China Industrial Enterprise Database, and the China Customs Import and Export Database. This research discovered the following: First, adopting cleaner production standards significantly improves Chinese enterprises’ positions in the global value chain—a conclusion that holds up to a number of robustness tests. Second, in terms of firm size, capital intensity, ownership characteristics, and government subsidies, there exists a noticeable heterogeneity in the promotion of the adoption of cleaner production standards for the improvement of Chinese enterprises’ global value chain position. Third, the implementation of cleaner production standards stimulates the upgrading of Chinese enterprises’ global value chain position, primarily through the entry and exit impacts, product-switching effect, and innovation compensation effect. The following proposals for policy can be implemented in light of the findings of this paper: “upstream prevention” strategies in the development of future environmental protection and trade policies should be advocated; nuanced and stratified environmental policies should be meticulously constructed; a mix of policies should be employed to bolster the institutional support for green environmental regulations; the integration of environmental governance into the evaluation framework should be emphasized; the creation of an innovation-oriented environmental governance system should be expedited. In conclusion, the findings of this research provide empirical evidence on the role of environmental regulations in coordinating ecological development and strengthening the position of Chinese enterprises in global value chains, which may assist other developing nations in making the transition to a path of high-quality growth.

This research analyzes the conditioning relationships of the competitiveness of vegetable producers in the Mexican state of Sinaloa within the context of the relationships between fresh vegetable-producing companies and leading companies in the value chain in the segments of technology, inputs, and marketing. The hypothesis establishes that the integration of the producing segment implies the adoption of "technology packages" as a condition for meeting the requirements and norms, both public and private, necessary for the integration of the chain and competitiveness. The research was conducted considering the description of the work process and identifying the technical and productive structure of the requirements of the leading segments based on documentary research and fieldwork through interviews with actors and stakeholders. The result is the identification of oligopolistic/monopsonistic governance that ensures the formation and appropriation of "rents" of a technological, commercial, and financial type from the producing segment towards the leading or dominant links while exacerbating dependence on structural heterogeneity and extraversion in the central node, as historical features of underdevelopment. This condition is not exclusive to this enclave but expresses a modality of capital accumulation in the Mexican agro-export sector.

The advancement of the big data industry is playing a pivotal role in urban land management refinement. Recently, China initiated a big data strategy, establishing national big data comprehensive pilot zones (NBDCPZs) across diverse regions. These initiatives present substantial opportunities for enhancing the urban land green use efficiency (ULGUE). Consequently, in this study, we utilized the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model with undesirable outputs to assess the ULGUEs across 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2021. Subsequently, leveraging the NBDCPZ establishment as a quasi-natural experiment, we employed the difference-in-differences (DID) method to empirically explore the impact of the NBDCPZ policy on the ULGUE for the first time. The findings revealed the following: (1) The implementation of the NBDCPZ policy significantly enhances the ULGUE; (2) the effects are mediated through mechanisms such as fostering technological innovation, mitigating resource misallocation, and promoting industrial agglomeration; (3) the heterogeneity analysis emphasizes the increased policy effectiveness in cities characterized by fewer natural resources, lower economic growth pressures, stable development stages, and moderate digital infrastructure and human capital levels; and (4) further analysis demonstrates the significant positive spillover effects of the NBDCPZ policy on the ULGUEs of neighboring non-pilot cities, with a diminishing impact as the proximity between pilot and non-pilot cities decreases. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on the relationship between the digital economy and land utilization, offering valuable insights for achieving sustainable urban development.

Intelligent analysis of the correlation between the manufacturing industry upgrading and international trade under large-scale Internet of Things in China is presented in this article. According to the fuzzy neural network, after having input and output the data of the Internet of Things, a fuzzy set of the data of the Internet of Things can be constructed by the logic of the fuzzy system. On this basis, the article suggests the 2 aspects of the inventions. (1) Considering maximization and also capacity as the main target, using statistical channel information along with the dustering with greedy algorithm. (2) Considering manufacturing value as an output indicator to highlight the role of factor distribution. Here, the data excluding production tax as manufacturing value and designed the novel standard for the accurate estimation. The experimental results have given us the support for the analysis.

How the structure of the international economic cooperation network among the G20 countries has evolved over the past quarter century, and what are the roles and power levels of different countries in the network? We collect big data on economic cooperation events among the G20 countries from 2000 to 2024, and divide the 25 years into four periods using structure changepoint detection algorithms to separately construct international economic cooperation networks. We calculate and compare the multifaceted characteristics of the G20 economic cooperation network and trade network based on network analysis. At the macrolevel of network structure, we find that even when trade relations among the G20 countries became closer, economic cooperation among them became more distant. At the mesolevel of group classification, the result of community detection and the disparity of edge weight of the G20 economic cooperation network and trade network show clear but different regional characters. At the microlevel of power distribution, we measure and compare the power levels of the G20 countries in the economic cooperation network and their dynamics over time using weighted centrality indices based on current flow and random walks. By combining network analysis and event big data, we study economic interactions between countries in a unique approach that differs from traditional approaches employing trade volume or institutional data (e.g. free trade agreements).

This study explores the institutional tensions between Russia’s policies for developing its creative industries and its push for digital sovereignty. On one hand, the Russian government aims to promote creative industries as a key sector for economic diversification and soft power expansion. On the other hand, it enforces strict digital sovereignty measures designed to control digital infrastructure, data flows, and online content. These two policy directions are fundamentally at odds and risk creating institutional collision. Creative industries thrive on openness, freedom of expression, and the exchange of diverse ideas. However, Russia’s digital sovereignty strategy—centered on information control, protection of domestic platforms, and data localization—imposes structural barriers to content creation and distribution. Censorship, the promotion of state-sanctioned “traditional values,” and restrictions on foreign platforms have significantly curtailed creative freedom and limited access to global markets for Russian creators. Domestic platforms, many of which are state-controlled, further restrict content through algorithmic filtering, reinforcing a closed and tightly controlled digital environment. Beyond stifling the growth of its own creative industries, Russia’s digital sovereignty policies also act as major obstacles to its participation in international digital trade. Requirements like mandatory data localization, bans on foreign software, and strict content regulations serve as non-tariff barriers in the global digital economy. These policies may hinder Russia’s engagement in WTO e-commerce negotiations and complicate bilateral digital trade agreements, further isolating the country technologically and culturally. The study concludes that without addressing the fundamental conflict between state control and industry openness, Russia’s creative industries are likely to face prolonged stagnation and a decline in global competitiveness.

In recent years, the Chinese government has actively pursued the implementation of its 'dual-carbon' strategy, concurrently establishing a national carbon emissions trading market. Accurate carbon price forecasts have become essential for policymakers and investors involved in related initiatives. Nevertheless, influenced by the interaction of various information sources, carbon trading prices exhibit non-linear and non-stationary characteristics, posing challenges for accurate prediction. Current research, centered around deep learning models, predominantly emphasizes intricate network structures, optimisation algorithms, and data decomposition. However, these models face a developmental bottleneck in extracting carbon price features and efficiently leveraging multi-source information. Consequently, novel ideas and methodologies are imperative. This study focuses on the Hubei and Guangdong regional carbon markets as research subjects. It develops a prediction framework based on a generative adversarial network model to capture the time-series change characteristics of carbon trading prices and the condition matrix. First, a generator prediction model is used to obtain the input matrix features and extract the time series features through a complex network to predict the carbon price data at the next moment using a fully connected layer. Second, a discriminator is utilised to distinguish between the actual values and the predicted values. The generator and the discriminator undergo continuous iterative training and alternate optimisation. This process aims to bring the generated prediction distributions closer to the actual sample data, resulting in more accurate final predictions. The empirical results convincingly show that the proposed model achieves unparalleled forecasting precision in both markets. The proposed model demonstrates the lowest MAE (0.804 and 0.839), lowest MAPE (0.023 and 0.018), lowest RMSE (1.174 and 1.383), and highest R2 (0.971 and 0.989) across both markets, indicating superior predictive accuracy. Additionally, the proposed model consistently outshines traditional forecasting approaches across one-step, five-step, and ten-step forecasts, affirming its robustness and universal applicability in modelling carbon trading price series. The findings suggest that this study can aid policymakers in optimizing the carbon pricing system. Furthermore, it offers a reference for policymakers to comprehensively leverage external factors, such as regulating traditional energy prices, leveraging international carbon market experiences, and monitoring economic dynamics. This comprehensive strategy can streamline the exploration and management of carbon price fluctuations, ultimately strengthening the carbon market's risk control system.