Team Led by Prof. Guo Lu Published Multiple Research Findings on Key Domestic and International Journals

Since the start of this year, the team led by Professor Guo Lu from the School of Statistics and Data Science has conducted continuous research on topics including coordinated regional development, technology transfer and corporate innovation. A number of its research outputs have been successively published in major domestic and international journals.

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Among them, the paper titled ”Does the Construction of National Urban Agglomerations Stimulate Economic Vitality in Provincial Administrative Border Areas?” was published in Statistical Research, Issue 5, 2026. Based on multi-source data such as satellite nighttime light and point-of-interest (POI) data of counties along provincial administrative borders from 2010 to 2020, the paper evaluates the policy effects of national urban agglomeration construction. The study finds that urban agglomeration development can boost economic vitality in provincial border regions by facilitating the flow of production factors, strengthening regional economic linkages and promoting technology diffusion. The findings offer references for breaking administrative barriers and advancing coordinated regional development.

The research paper ”Regional Technology Transfer and High-Quality Corporate Innovation: Evidence from Technology Transfer Networks” was published in Finance & Trade Economics, Issue 9, 2026. Constructing a national technology transfer network based on patent transfer data, the paper examines the impact of cross-regional technology transfer on high-quality corporate innovation. Technology transfer improves corporate innovation quality through mechanisms including optimizing the allocation of innovation resources, mitigating intellectual property constraints and weakening technological path dependence. The findings provide empirical evidence for building a unified national technology market and advancing the efficient transformation of scientific and technological achievements.

The paper “Investigating the impact of corporate digital transformation on ESG performance: empirical evidence derived from large language models”was published in Journal of Innovation & Knowledge (a Q1 journal in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Journal Partition Table, Volume 17, 2026. Using data of A-share listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges from 2010 to 2023, the study adopts large language models to measure the level of corporate digital transformation. Corporate digital transformation can improve firms’ ESG performance by boosting R&D investment and raising the efficiency of R&D achievement commercialization.

The paper ”The High-Quality Employment Effects of Digital-Intelligent Economy: Evidence from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey”was published in Social Indicators Research (Q2 in the Chinese Academy of Sciences Journal Partition Table and Q1 in JCR), Volume 181, 2026. The study shows that the digital-intelligent economy can improve employment quality by reducing labor intensity and enhancing skill matching. This effect is more pronounced among young population, in regions with high fiscal input, and in skill-intensive industries. The research provides a basis for formulating differentiated employment policies and promoting high-quality and full employment.

All four papers are phased research outcomes of the Major Project of the National Social Science Fund of China “Statistical Measurement Research on the Overall Efficiency of the National Innovation System” (Project No.: 24&ZD069), presided over by Professor Guo Lu. Rooted in China’s economic and social development practice, this series of findings focuses on important topics such as regional economy, corporate innovation, and digital-intelligent transformation. They reflect the academic accumulation of Professor Guo Lu’s team in continuously serving national strategic needs and advancing interdisciplinary and integrated research, and also demonstrate the new achievements made by the School in scientific research innovation and talent cultivation.