Insufficient and low public service quality in China has resulted in unfulfilled resident needs, necessitating an examination to improve public service quality. Thus, this study constructs a public service quality index for 29 provinces covering 2004-2020 to explore the relationship between expenditure decentralization and public service quality. Using Fixed effects model, OLS and System Generalized Method of Moments (SYS-GMM) technique, this study reveals that expenditure decentralization has a significantly positive effect on public service quality, with a 1 % increase in expenditure decentralization leading to a 0.287 % improvement in public service quality. Additionally, the impact of expenditure decentralization on public service quality in the eastern and central regions is positively significant, while in the western region, expenditure decentralization does not positively affect public service quality. Furthermore, based on the public service quality theory, this study finds that FDI and fiscal self-sufficiency can enhance the relationship between expenditure decentralization and public service quality. The study provides evidence-based recommendations for policymakers to prioritize expenditure decentralization as a strategy to enhance public service quality, especially when considering attracting FDI and promoting fiscal self-sufficiency.
Against the backdrop of growing public concern about environmental disclosure, and despite this concern, the level of environmental disclosure by high-tech firms remains low, necessitating a heightened emphasis on corporate environmental disclosure. This study delves into the impact of investor attention on the environmental information disclosure of Chinese high-tech firms, analyzing data from 463 firms between 2011 and 2022. Utilizing dynamic panel GMM, our findings highlight a significant negative correlation between investor attention and environmental information disclosure. We also introduced executive green awareness, exploring their moderating role. The results show that improved executive green awareness mitigates the adverse impact of investor attention on environmental information disclosure. However, heterogeneity analysis revealed that this moderating effect does not exist in IT service and non-polluting high-tech enterprises. This research offers policy implications for enhancing transparency and environmental governance through targeted investor engagement and executive training programs. The findings underscore the importance of a comprehensive regulatory framework tailored to sector-specific challenges in high-tech industry.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and related public health intervention measures have been reported to have resulted in the reduction of infections caused by influenza viruses and other common respiratory viruses. However, the influence may be varied in areas that have different ecological, economic, and social conditions. This study investigated the changing epidemiology of 8 common respiratory pathogens, including Influenza A (IFVA), Influenza B (IFVB), Respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), rhinovirus (RV), Human metapneumovirus Adenovirus, Human bocavirus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae, among hospitalized children during spring and early summer in 2019-2021 in two hospitals in Hainan Island, China, in the COVID-19 pandemic era. The results revealed a significant reduction in the prevalence of IFVA and IFVB in 2020 and 2021 than in 2019, whereas the prevalence of HRSV increased, and it became the dominant viral pathogen in 2021. RV was one of the leading pathogens in the 3 year period, where no significant difference was observed. Phylogenetic analysis revealed close relationships among the circulating respiratory viruses. Large scale studies are needed to study the changing epidemiology of seasonal respiratory viruses to inform responses to future respiratory virus pandemics.