Zihan Wang

Purpose: Through empirical analysis of Sino-US solar photovoltaic (PV) trade, this paper aims to evaluate the complementarity of Sino-US solar PV trade by adopting trade combination degree (TCD) index, export similarity index (SI) and trade complementarity index (TCI). It also explores the role of trade disputes over Sino-US solar PV trade between China and the USA and important factors affecting the complementarity of the trade. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the comparative advantage theory, this paper selects the TCD, export SI and TCI to evaluate the complementarity of Sino-US solar PV trade comprehensively. Among them, TCD and SI can directly reflect the degree of cooperation and competition of Sino-US solar PV trade. Finally, the authors further analyze the decisive factors affecting the complementarity of Sino-US PV trade by entropy weight method and multiple linear regression analysis on the influencing factors of TCI. Findings: The solar PV trade between China and the USA still has a close relationship, and there is solar PV trade cooperation and competition between the two countries. The factors affecting the complementarity of Sino-US solar PV trade are mainly exchange rate levels rather than trade disputes between China and the USA. The solar PV trade policies of China and the USA will have a great negative impact on the global supply chain of solar PV products. The major solar PV products in China and the USA have a clear division in the global supply chain and still have a strong trade complementarity. Originality/value: This paper conducts an empirical analysis of the Sino-US solar PV trade rather than a policy discussion. This research has important practical significance for the healthy and sustainable development of solar PV trade for both countries. It can also provide references to the current trade disputes between China and the USA in a broader sense.

Motivating the endogenous impetus of the poor to eradicate poverty is an endogenous dilemma that is difficult to solve using the current external poverty alleviation model. In this paper, based on the field survey data of 1112 poor rural households in China, we examine the impact of the poor’s endogenous impetus on their poverty reduction. Firstly, we identify two different components of endogenous impetus: thought impetus and behavior impetus. Secondly, the poverty reduction (livelihood status) of farmers was used as an endogenous variable to construct a partial least squares model to verify our explanation of the role of endogenous impetus of the poor in poverty reduction. The results indicate that (1) both thought impetus and behavior impetus have a positive impact on the livelihood status of the poor; (2) the human capital, physical capital, and social capital of the poor have a positive relationship with the two components of endogenous impetus; and (3) endogenous impetus plays a mediation role between livelihood capital and livelihood status. As expected, human and physical capital have a positive and significant relationship with poverty reduction. The important enlightenment of this study is that it is very important to motivate the poor’s endogenous impetus of escaping poverty in addition to improving external conditions such as livelihood capital owned by farmers in an effort to realize sustainable poverty reduction.