The development of a difference-in-differences estimator is a new move in patent policy evaluation research. However, such an estimator neglects the possibility that academic patent activities follow a spatial autoregressive process with respect to the dependent variable. The objective of this study was to propose a spatial difference-in-differences estimator accounting for possible spatial spillover effects. In this study, an empirical analysis of a sample of 31 Chinese provinces from 2010 to 2019 indicates that an incentive patent policy has a positive impact on the output and commercialization of academic patents, with positive effects also spilling over into neighboring provinces. This study further found that incentive patent policies play a placebo role in academic patent activities. Provincial patent policies are merely a proxy for other variables that characterize the systemic differences between provinces that implement patent policies and those that do not. Therefore, the promotion of academic patent activities cannot be attributed to policy incentives.

Despite growing attention to living conditions as a social determinant of health, few studies have focused on its diverse impacts on self-rated health. Using data from the China Family Panel Study in 2018, this study used logistic regression analysis to examine how living conditions affect self-rated health in China, finding that people cooking with sanitary water and clean fuel were more likely to report good health, and that homeownership was associated with higher self-rated health. The self-rated health of people living in high-quality housing was lower than that of people living in ordinary housing, and people living in tidy homes were more likely to report good health. The findings suggest that the link between multiple living conditions and self-rated health is dynamic. Public health policies and housing subsidy programs should therefore be designed based on a comprehensive account of not only housing grade or income status, but also whole dwelling conditions.

Traditional studies of firm performance typically focus on the effect of market structure and rarely consider the impact of the spatiotemporal context in industrial competition.Using a sample of 1,555 listed companies from 2015 to 2018 in China, this study shows that the profit center of gravity tends to move from southeast to northwest, and that there are negative effects on firm performance with distance from the profit center of gravity. Moreover, when controlling for organizational variables, strategic interaction at the local level significantly mediates the relationship between spatiotemporal context at the global level and firm performance at the microlevel. This investigation provides preliminary support for strategic interaction as a significant mediator between spatiotemporal context and firm performance, and further highlights the relevance of spatiotemporal context and strategic interaction in determining firm performance. The results of this study contribute to our understanding of the dynamic mechanism of spatiotemporal context affecting firm performance and the role of strategic interaction at the local level in this relationship, which can improve the existing insights into new economic geography.

Corporate environmental responsibility (CER) is increasingly gaining interest among researchers and practitioners. Despite this extensive interest, systematic research regarding the effect of sales on environmental performance remains scarce. In this study, an empirical analysis on a sample of 909 Chinese listed companies from 2010 to 2016 showed that sales positively impact environmental performance. This study also showed that corporate innovation mediates the relationship between sales and environmental performance. Furthermore, this study showed that environmental performance has a positive spatial spillover effect. Enterprises appear to promote their own environmental performance as a response to a rise in the environmental performance of their neighbors. The external control theory of organization has important reference significance and explanatory power for CER behavior in emerging economies.

The purpose of this study was to examine the daily social pressure and socioeconomic factors related to women’s alcohol consumption in China. Cross-sectional data were obtained from the 2012 China Family Panel Studies. A multivariate logistic regression analysis of a sample of 16 339 female adults with the mean age of 45.3 years was used to examine the relationships between dependent and independent variables. According to the results, first, the greater the daily social pressure, the more likely women were to engage in general alcohol consumption (odds ratio = 1.061) and risk drinking (odds ratio = 1.057). Second, while there is a positive relationship between the general level of social pressure and women’s alcohol consumption, the relationship between the severe level of social pressure and women’s alcohol consumption was not significant. Finally, women in the Central region were less likely to engage in risk drinking than women in the Western region; women with secondary school education were more likely to engage in risk drinking than women with primary school education or below; and age was significantly positively associated with both general and risk drinking. In conclusion, increasing alcohol consumption among women may be due to increased social pressure.

The spatiotemporal context a ects corporate behavior because any corporate activity is carried out in a speci c time and space. Based on an examination on the research and development (R&D) expenditures of 284 listed biopharmaceutical companies in China, this study nds that the innovation space of the biopharmaceutical industry presents a spa- tial “North–South” pattern. The spatial gravity center of the biopharmaceutical industry’s R&D investment has been shifting to the eastern coastal region. This spatiotemporal con- text will impact the R&D investment of biopharmaceutical companies. Research shows that the distance between biopharmaceutical companies and the gravity center has a direct impact on the R&D expenditures of biopharmaceutical companies. This study supports the context-sensitive thesis and shows how the spatiotemporal context a ects the R&D invest- ment of biopharmaceutical companies while controlling rm-level factors.

This study is an exploration of the digital divide between urban and rural areas, and it was conducted to assess the impact of the minimum living guarantee system on online education in China. The results of the research showed that 83.38% of students in low-income families have been able to participate in online education at home during the pandemic, while 16.62% of students in low-income families have been unable to do so. The absence of computers, smartphones, and broadband Internet access in low-income households reduces the likelihood of children being able to participate in online education at home. In terms of accessing online education at home, students from urban areas have obvious advantages over those from rural ones, and students from minimum living guarantee families have obvious advantages over those from marginal minimum living guarantee ones. This study also showed that the presence of online education-related amenities, including computers, smartphones, and Internet access, mediates the relationship between the subsistence allowance system, Hukou, and accessibility of online education. To address this issue, this paper includes suggestions for bridging the digital divide in online education.