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China introduced the value-added tax (VAT) rate reform in 2017 to reduce the burden on firms and stimulate the economy. This study builds a simple theoretical framework and employs the 2017 VAT rate reform as a quasi-natural experiment to evaluate the effects of the VAT rate reform on the corporate tax burden. We find that the VAT rate reform significantly reduces the corporate total tax burden by 9.1% (an effect mainly driven by the decrease in the VAT burden), while the reform has no significant impact on enterprise income tax burden. Furthermore, the effects of VAT reduction on the corporate tax burden are primarily significant in firms with lower intermediate input ratios, firms facing lower market monopolies, firms from eastern China and firms with high-fixed assets.

Environmental pollution and energy shortage are prominent global issues that severely hinder high-quality economic development (HQED). This not only concerns the common interests of the international community, but also relates to the planet’s future. Although scholars have studied the impact of the New Energy Demonstration City (NEDC) on environmental pollution and energy efficiency, empirical evidence on the impact of this policy on HQED is insufficient. Therefore, we propose three research hypotheses based on theoretical analysis and test them using a series of models. First, we use a difference-in-differences (DID) model to test the effect of NEDC on HQED. Second, we group the observed objects to verify the heterogeneity of policy effects among characteristic subjects. Finally, we adopt a moderating effect model to explore the mechanism of technological innovation. The empirical tests confirm our three hypotheses. This study identifies not only the contribution of NEDC to HQED at the theoretical and empirical levels, revealing the positive moderating effect of technological innovation, but also provides a theoretical framework for new energy utilization and high-quality economic growth in China.

China’s domestic aviation industry has undergone price liberalization reform via the deregulation of airfare since 2004. However, the impact of this policy has not been scientifically evaluated. This paper aims to analyze the effect of the 2017 price liberalization reform on airfares and identify the primary cause of this effect from the perspective of competition within the industry. Empirical results show that the liberalization of airfares leads to a significant increase in the average price of tickets. And the concentration of route markets plays a role in raising fares above the equilibrium level, which diminishes social welfare. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the liberalization policy has a greater impact on fares for long-haul routes, nonleisure routes and routes operated by carriers other than low-cost carriers (LCCs).

This study investigates the capacity of unconventional monetary policy (UMP) to facilitate enterprises’ transition towards environmentally sustainable practices. It posits that UMP can enhance financing conditions, support the economic viability of green activities and promote investments with a long-term environmental focus. We assess green transitions by measuring enterprises’ green total factor productivity (GTFP) using the slacks-based model. Additionally, we leverage the expansion of the collateral framework in China as a quasi-natural experiment to explore the nuanced effects of UMP on green transitions. Employing a difference-in-differences (DID) approach, our findings reveal that UMP significantly encourages enterprises, especially non-state-owned ones, to adopt greener practices. However, its impact is less pronounced for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and those in capital-intensive sectors. To ensure the robustness of our results, we conducted various tests, confirming the reliability of our findings. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of UMP in green transitions, emphasizing its role in guiding enterprises toward preventive environmental strategies and offering key insights for policymakers.