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In some parts of the world, proprietorship, price incentives, and devolved responsibility for management, accompanied by effective regulation, have increased wildlife and protected habitats, particularly for iconic and valuable species. Elsewhere, market incentives are constrained by policies and laws, and in some places virtually prohibited. In Australia and New Zealand, micro economic reform has enhanced innovation and improved outcomes in many areas of the economy, but economic liberalism and competition are rarely applied to the management of wildlife. This policy perspective examines if commercial value and markets could attract private sector investment to compensate for Government underspend on biodiversity conservation. It proposes trials in which landholders, community groups, and investors would have a form of wildlife ownership by leasing animals on land outside protected areas. They would be able to acquire threatened species from locally overabundant populations, breed them, innovate, and assist further colonization/range expansion while making a profit from the increase. The role of government would be to regulate, as is appropriate in a mixed economy, rather than be the (sole) owner and manager of wildlife. Wide application of the trials would not answer all biodiversity‐loss problems, but it could assist in the restoration of degraded habitat and connectivity.

Voluntary sustainability standards and certification offer a promising mechanism to mitigate the severe negative impacts of agricultural expansion and intensification on tropical biodiversity. From a conservation standpoint, certification of tropical agroforestry crops, especially coffee and cocoa, is of particular interest given the potentially high biodiversity value of agroforestry systems and the substantial market penetration of coffee and cocoa certification in recent years. Here, we review experience with coffee and cocoa certification, summarize evidence on conservation impacts, and explore future needs. While there is much evidence that environmental criteria behind certification support biodiversity conservation, it is less clear to what extent certification is the cause of improved conservation outcomes. Additionally, the farm‐scale focus of current certification models may limit delivery of biodiversity conservation benefits, as maintenance of biodiversity depends on processes at larger landscape scales. To address this scale mismatch, we suggest that investment and innovation in certification over the next decade prioritize landscape conservation outcomes. This may be achieved by (1) linking existing certification mechanisms with broader landscape and ecosystem service management approaches and/or (2) expanding current certification models to consider the landscape itself as the certified unit.

Promoting new energy vehicles (NEVs) is considered to be one of the most effective ways to solve the increasingly serious problems of energy security and environmental pollution. Under the background of a gradual decline in the use of subsidy policy, the dual-credit policy (DCP), as a market-incentive environmental regulation, has been introduced to the process of policy development. This is of great significance in promoting NEVs and upgrading of the automobile industry. Based on data for 56 listed companies related to NEVs from 2012 to 2019, this study investigated the impact of the DCP on total factor productivity (TFP) under the framework of the propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) and further analyzed the mechanisms by how the DCP impacted on TFP. In addition, the heterogenous impacts of different firms were investigated. The results reveal three key findings. (1) After using instrumental variable to overcome endogenous problems and carrying out a series of robustness tests, the DCP can significantly improve firms’ TFP, and this effect is increasing annually. (2) The results of the mechanism analysis show that technological innovation, reputation enhancements, and the reduction of manager motivation have promotional effects on firms’ TFP. Besides, environmental tax can reduce the contribution of research and development (R&D) innovation to TFP. (3) In terms of regional and market structural levels, the promotional effect of the DCP on firms’ TFP in the eastern region is greater than that in the midwestern region. Furthermore, it has no significant effect on competitive firms, but plays a significant role in the improvement of oligopolistic firms’ TFP. This study supported the Porter Hypothesis that flexible market-incentive environmental regulation is likely to trigger positive productivity effects, and provided an empirical basis and latest information for promoting the accuracy and effectiveness of the DCP implementation.

This research analyzed the impact of environmental regulations and their power in suppressing tourism carbon emissions. The results showed that: (1) four types of environmental regulations had significant inhibiting effects on tourism carbon emissions, but different types of regulations had varying effects; and (2) environmental regulations had a significant time lag effect on tourism carbon emissions. The decay rates of the environmental regulation effects were dissimilar for supervisory management, market incentives, command and control, and public participation; and (3) environmental regulations had dissimilar influences on tourism carbon emissions at the regional level. Government agencies should choose differentiated environmental regulation tools, attach great importance to the time-lag effect of environmental regulations on tourism carbon emissions, and establish systems and mechanisms of public participation in environmental matters.

Incentivizing fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases may help address barriers to healthy eating among populations with low income. In a repeated measures natural experiment study, we examined whether participation in the Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program increased F&V consumption among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. Two hundred and twelve participants recruited at baseline through telephone calls were informed about the availability of DUFB at their local farmers’ market (FM). F&V consumption frequency and DUFB use were obtained at baseline, mid FM, and end of FM season approximately 5 months later. Participants (N = 212) were primarily white (76.4%) women (77.3%) with an average age of 43.5 years. Only 34 participants opted to use the DUFB program. A linear mixed model showed a significant main effect of DUFB use (p = 0.001) and of time (p = 0.002), with a decrease in F&V intake over time. Compared to non-users, DUFB users had a significantly higher F&V consumption at baseline and midpoint (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02, respectively). F&V consumption was associated with participation in the DUFB program and higher F&V consumption frequency was observed prior to program use among program participants. Future interventions that specifically target SNAP recipients with low F&V intake to use the DUFB program are needed.

This study uses the difference-in-difference (DID) method to explore the relative effectiveness and mechanism of the “Ten Measures on Air Pollution Prevention and Control” (TMAPPC) policy and the “carbon trading” pilot (CTP) policy on the digital transformation of enterprises. The research results show that the incentive effect of market-incentive environmental regulation on the digital transformation of enterprises is better than that of command-control environmental regulation. In addition, there are differences in the mechanism of action; the level of digital economy development and market competition can strengthen the incentive effect of market-incentive environmental regulation on the digital transformation of enterprises; the government support and media attention can strengthen the incentive effect of command-control environmental regulation on enterprises’ digital transformation. The results of heterogeneity analysis show that, compared with the TMAPPC policy, the CTP policy can better drive the digital transformation of enterprises in the eastern region, enterprises in regions with low to medium digital development levels, and enterprises in regions with low environmental regulation intensity, as well as high-tech enterprises. Moreover, the two environmental regulation policies have more significant driving effects on large enterprises and enterprises with low financing constraints. Based on the research conclusions, this study puts forward relevant policy recommendations for further improving environmental regulation policies and promoting the digital transformation of enterprises.

Many U.S. nursing homes have serious quality problems, in part, because of inadequate levels of nurse staffing. This commentary focuses on two issues. First, there is a need for higher minimum nurse staffing standards for U.S. nursing homes based on multiple research studies showing a positive relationship between nursing home quality and staffing and the benefits of implementing higher minimum staffing standards. Studies have identified the minimum staffing levels necessary to provide care consistent with the federal regulations, but many U.S. facilities have dangerously low staffing. Second, the barriers to staffing reform are discussed. These include economic concerns about costs and a focus on financial incentives. The enforcement of existing staffing standards has been weak, and strong nursing home industry political opposition has limited efforts to establish higher standards. Researchers should study the ways to improve staffing standards and new payment, regulatory, and political strategies to improve nursing home staffing and quality.

We examined the associations of a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) point-of-purchase financial incentive program at farmers’ markets with produce purchase, consumption, and food security outcomes. We conducted cross-sectional, interviewer-administered intercept surveys with 325 adult SNAP participants at six incentive programs, five comparison farmers’ markets, and nine comparison supermarkets in California in the summer of 2018. The program provided dollar-for-dollar point-of-purchase incentives with$10 or $ 20 maximum at participating farmers’ markets. We measured produce consumption by an NCI screener; food security by the USDA 6-item screener; and program satisfaction with open-ended questions asked of a subsample. The quantitative analysis involved multilevel linear and logistic regression, adjusted for covariates. Qualitative data were coded and analyzed thematically. Shoppers at farmers’ markets offering$20 incentives had significantly higher odds of purchasing most of their produce at farmers’ markets than shoppers at $ 10 incentive (3.1, CI: 1.1, 8.7) or comparison markets (8.1, CI 2.2, 29.7). Incentives were not associated with quantitatively measured produce consumption. Each additional incentive dollar was associated with reduced odds of food insecurity (0.987, CI 0.976, 0.999). Participants appreciated the program; supermarket shoppers lacked awareness. Point-of-purchase incentives are appreciated and underutilized. Further understanding of optimal program design for produce consumption and food security impact is needed.

Weaning age is a critical management decision in beef cattle production, influencing herd productivity, financial outcomes, and overall system sustainability. Commonly practiced in South African beef systems, is where calves are weaned at 6–9 months (conventional weaning), while early weaning (EW) at approximately 90 days remains underutilized. This study presents a farm case study and preliminary financial assessment of EW and CW using a farm calculation model incorporating revenue, weaning costs, supplementation, and labor. Data from 152 Bonsmara cow–calf pairs were analyzed. CW calves achieved higher weaning weights (237 kg) and average daily gains (992 g/day) than EW calves (210 kg; 889 g/day), generating greater revenue (R630,420 vs. R558,600). The Pearson Chi-square test showed an association between weaning system and dam reproductive performance, with EW cows achieving a 94% pregnancy rate compared to 84% under CW. Although CW produced higher short-term gross margins (R6446 per system vs. R3068 for EW), sensitivity analyses indicated that EW becomes financially competitive when price premiums are applied. Simulations showed that an EW price range of R34–R40/kg could yield higher returns despite lower weights. These findings demonstrate that EW, when supported by structured price incentives, can enhance reproductive efficiency and contribute to more sustainable and financially resilient beef production systems in South Africa.

There are obvious differences between different types of environmental regulation, which are manifested in different environmental protection tendencies and goals, and there are also significant differences in policy implementation. Therefore, it is an urgent empirical problem to quantitatively evaluate the impact of heterogeneous environmental regulation on the upgrading of industrial structures. Therefore, on the basis of measuring the level of industrial structure upgrading, this paper empirically tests the impact of heterogeneous environmental regulation on industrial structure upgrading. The results show that the upgrading level of China’s industrial structure increased year by year from 2000 to 2018. The three types of environmental regulatory measures have effectively promoted the upgrading of the industrial structure, and the market-incentive environmental regulation (MER) has a significantly higher role in the advancement of the industrial structure than the command-controlled environmental regulation (CER) and the voluntary public participation environmental regulation (VER). With the improvement of regional economic development level, the three types of environmental regulation have gradually become more prominent in promoting the upgrading of industrial structure. In the mechanism test, it is found that technological innovation has a partial mediating effect in the process of CER affecting the upgrading of industrial structure, MER and public VER have a complete mediating effect, while foreign direct investment (FDI) has only a partial mediating effect in the process of the three types of environmental regulation affecting industrial advancement, and there is no mediating effect in the process of influencing the rationalization of industrial structure.