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Quantitative analysis of the contribution rate of China’s hydraulic science and technology and analysis of the underlying reasons behind changes provide an important foundation upon which the government can formulate water policies. This paper abandons the assumption of a scale economy and separates the changes of benefits brought about by the scale from scientific and technological progress, thus changing the C-D production function from linear to nonlinear. Based on a feedforward neural network, it calculates the coefficient of the output elasticity, the economic contribution rate of China’s hydraulic science and technology and the scale economies for each year using relevant data from 1981 to 2016. The results show that (1) the average contribution rate of capital investment from 1981 to 2016 was 47.3%, and the average contribution rate of labor from 1981 to 2016 was 9.1%. It is not obvious that the significant increase in the labor force has contributed to the growth of China’s water conservancy industry. (2) The average contribution rate of scale economies in 1981–2016 was 26.7%, and the contribution rate of scale economies is negatively correlated with the capital contribution rate. (3) The average contribution rate of China’s hydraulic science and technology was 43.6% from 1981 to 2016, and the average contribution rate of the total factor productivity after removing scale economies from 1981 to 2016 was 16.9%. During the period of the 6th Five-Year Plan(1981~1985), the contribution rate of water conservancy science and technology was relatively high. Since that time, it has remained at 40%. In recent years, as water conservancy reforms in key areas have made positive progress, scientific and technological progress has increased the growth of water conservancy benefits annually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is facing severe pressure on its water resources and water environments. Calculating the industrial water efficiency of each province is an important index for the central government to evaluate local governments. In the traditional water resources evaluation index, the industrial water use efficiency and pollutant discharge are evaluated separately. In this paper, we collected industrial input data, output data and pollutant discharge data with a four-stage data envelopment analysis to calculate China's industrial water use efficiency with and without considering pollutant discharge, and then analyzed the factors influencing the industrial water use efficiency. The results show that the eastern coastal provinces of China have the highest water use efficiency and are less affected by pollutant discharge than other provinces. The industrial water use efficiency of the central and western provinces is lower than that of the other provinces, and the industrial water use efficiency in the central provinces is greatly affected by pollutant discharge. Factor endowment, economic development level, scientific and technological progress, industrial structure, proportion of foreign investment, water consumption per 10000 yuan of value-added by industry, industrial sewage treatment capacity and educational investment have a significant influence on the industrial water use efficiency of China. We suggest that the government strengthen the construction of sewage plants and other related infrastructure in central provinces when conducting the industrial transfer of heavy polluting enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the heterogeneous effects of exchange rate and stock market on carbon emission allowance price in four emissions trading scheme pilots in China. We employ a panel quantile regression model, which can describe both individual and distributional heterogeneity. The empirical results illustrate that the effects of explanatory variables on carbon emission allowance price is heterogeneous along the whole quantiles. Specifically, exchange rate has a negative effect on carbon emission allowance price at lower quantiles, while becomes a positive effect at higher quantiles. In addition, a negative effect exists between domestic stock market and carbon emission allowance price, and the intensity decreasing along with the increase of quantile. By contrast, an increasing positive effect is discovered between European stock market and domestic carbon emission allowance prices. Finally, heterogeneous effects on carbon emission allowance price can also be proved in European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU-ETS). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourist satisfaction has always been a crucial research issue in the tourism economy. This paper utilizes the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to analyze the impact of urban tourism satisfaction on urban macroeconomics from a macro perspective, using quarterly data on tourist satisfaction in 35 large and medium-sized cities along with major urban macroeconomic variables. This study is quite distinct from previous research that focused on constructing a tourist satisfaction index and analyzing the influence factors of tourism satisfaction from the perspective of the micro-level internal composition of tourism. The empirical results show: Firstly, in respect of the impact of urban tourists' satisfaction on the GDP income of cities, the SDM and the SDM with a lagged first-order dependent variable (SDM_dlag) show that the short-term and long-term indirect effects of log-tourist satisfaction are significantly positive, indicating that city satisfaction has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on GDP growth in other cities; Secondly, in respect of the influence of urban tourist satisfaction on the cost of urban life in the SDM, the long-term direct and indirect effects of logarithmic satisfaction are significantly positive, implying, in the long run, that tourist satisfaction has a positive intraregional spillover effect and spatial spillover effect on urban living costs; Finally, the SDM_dlag for the regression of urban tourist satisfaction on the cost of urban daily life shows that the short-run direct and indirect effects of city tourist satisfaction are significantly negative, indicating that tourist satisfaction has intra-regional and spatial spillover effects, and its rise will reduce the cost of living expenses in local and other cities in the short term. Overall, we have further elucidated the role of different levels of urban tourist satisfaction in city macroeconomics from the spatial dimension, thereby enriching the existing research on tourist satisfaction to some certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accidents, bad weathers, traffic congestions, etc. led to the uncertainties of travel times in real-life road networks, which greatly affected the quality of individual’s life and the reliability of transportation system. This paper addressed the school bus routing problem in such a stochastic and time-dependent road environment. Firstly, the problem was set based on a single-school configuration, and the students were picked up at their homes, which was in line with the current situation of school bus systems in China. Thus, it could be regarded as an independent problem of school bus route generation in random dynamic networks, which could be solved as a variant of extended Vehicle Routing Problem. However, due to the fluctuation and uncertainty of link travel times, the arrival time at each stop including the destination was varying. Therefore, the selection of optimal path connecting the current service node with the next one was treated as a sub-problem in this study, where the reliability of travel times in the stochastic and time-varying network was highly concerned by such time-rigid commuters. To this end, a Robust Optimal Schedule Times model with a hard time windows constraint was built to generate a most cost-reliable route for school buses. By the use of Robust Optimization method, it was intended to minimize the worst-case total cost which combined the cost of earlier schedule delays with the disutility of travel times. It was also proved that the proposed model could be converted into solving a conventional problem in deterministic dynamic networks for a reduction of computation complexity, which provided the potential of applying to the practical problems. Finally, the validity of the proposed model and its performance evaluation was analyzed through a small-scale computational instance, where all the link travel times in the simulated network were attributed to both time-varying and stochastic. Then, a mathematical programming solver was used to find the exact optimal solution. The results indicated that the model was valid, and the necessity of considering the stochastic and time-dependent nature of transportation networks was also confirmed in the case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deterioration of water quality has become a primary environmental concern worldwide. Understanding the status of water quality and identifying the influencing factors are important for water resources management. However, reported analyses have mostly been conducted in small and focused areas. It is still unclear if factors driving spatial variation in water quality would be different in extended spatial scales. In this paper, we analyzed spatial pattern of inland surface water quality in China using a dataset with four water quality parameters (i.e., pH, DO, NH4+-N and CODMn) and the water quality level. We tested the effects of anthropogenic (i.e., land use and socio-economic) and natural (i.e., climatic and topographic) factors on spatial variation in water quality. The study concluded that the overall inland surface water quality in China was at level III (fair). Water quality level was strongly correlated with CODMn and NH4+-N concentration. In contrast to reported studies that suggested land use patterns were the determinants of inland surface water quality, this study revealed that both anthropogenic and natural factors played important roles in explaining spatial variation of inland surface water quality in China. Among the tested explanatory variables, mean elevation within watershed appeared as the best predictor for pH, while annual precipitation and mean air temperature were the most important explanatory variables for CODMn and DO, respectively. NH4+-N concentration and water quality level were most strongly correlated with the percent of forest cover in watershed. Compared to studies at smaller spatial scales, this study found different influencing factors of surface water quality, suggesting that factors may play different roles at different spatial scales of consideration. Therefore management policies and measures in water quality control must be established and implemented accordingly. Since currently adopted parameters for monitoring of inland surface water quality in China are largely influenced by natural variables, additional physicochemical and biological indicators are needed for a robust assessment of human impacts on water quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the causality between energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth is helpful for policymakers to formulate energy, environmental and economic policies. For the first time, based on nonlinear dynamics, this paper employs multispatial convergent cross mapping (CCM) to revisit the energy-carbon-economy causation for China, India and the G7 countries using both aggregate data and per capita data. The findings indicate that there are significant differences between developing countries and developed countries. A bidirectional nexus between energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth is found in China and India, but various causal relationships are identified in the G7 countries, including bidirectional, unidirectional and neutral nexus. The results confirm that the decoupling phenomenon is common in most G7 countries. By leveraging a variety of samples and a new approach, this study provides new evidence for policy authorities to formulate country-specific policies to obtain better environmental quality while achieving sustainable economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese rare earth export policies currently result in accelerating its depletion. Thus adopting an optimal export trade selection strategy is crucial to determining and ultimately identifying the ideal trading partners. This paper introduces a multi-attribute decision-making methodology which is then used to select the optimal trading partner. In the method, an evaluation criteria system is established to assess the seven top trading partners based on three dimensions: political relationships, economic benefits and industrial security. Specifically, a simple additive weighing model derived from an additive utility function is utilized to calculate, rank and select alternatives. Results show that Japan would be the optimal trading partner for Chinese rare earths. The criteria evaluation method of trading partners for China's rare earth exports provides the Chinese government with a tool to enhance rare earth industrial policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the economic transition, manufacturing in China has undergone profound changes not only in number of enterprises, but also in ownership structure and intra-urban spatial distribution. Investigating the changing manufacturing landscape from the perspective of ownership structure is critical to a deep understanding of the changing role of market and government in re-shaping manufacturing location behavior. Through a case study of Wuxi, a city experiencing comprehensive ownership reform, this paper presents a detailed analysis of the intra-urban spatial shift of manufacturing, identifies the location discrepancies, and examines the underlying forces responsible for the geographical differentiations. Through zone- and district-based analysis, a distinctive trend of decentralization and suburbanization, as well as an uneven distribution of manufacturing, is unveiled. The results of Location Quotient analysis show that the distribution of manufacturing by ownership exhibits distinctive spatial patterns, which is characterized by a historically-based, market-led, and institutionally-created spatial variation. By employing Hot Spot analysis, the role of development zones in attracting manufacturing enterprises of different ownerships is established. Overall, the location behavior of the diversified manufacturing has been increasingly based on the forces of market since the land marketization began. A proactive role played by local governments has also guided the enterprise location decision through spatial planning and regulatory policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The paper examines whether out-of-pocket health care expenditure also has regional discrepancies, comparing to the equity between urban and rural areas, and across households. Method: Sampled data were derived from Urban Household Survey and Rural Household Survey data for 2011/2012 for Anhui Province, and 11049 households were included in this study. The study compared differences in out-of-pocket expenditure on health care between regions (urban vs. rural areas) and years (2011 vs. 2012) using two-sample t-test, and also investigated the degree of inequality using Lorenz and concentration curves. Result: Approximately 5% and 8% of total household consumption expenditure was spent on health care for urban and rural populations, respectively. In 2012, the wealthiest 20% of urban and rural population contributed 49.7% and 55.8% of urban and rural total health expenditure respectively, while the poorest 20% took only 4.7% and 4.4%. The concentration curve for out-of-pocket expenditure in 2012 fell below the corresponding concentration curve for 2011 for both urban and rural areas, and the difference between curves for rural areas was greater than that for urban areas. Conclusion: A substantial and increasing gap in health care expenditures existed between urban and rural areas in Anhui. The health care financing inequality merits ample attention, with need for policymaking to focus on improving the accessibility to essential health care services, particularly for rural and poor residents. This study may provide useful information on low income areas of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective and timely quantification of the spatiotemporal pattern of urban expansion in China is important for the assessment of its environmental effects. However, the dynamics of the most recent urban expansions in China since 2012 have not yet been adequately explained due to a lack of current information. In this paper, our objective was to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015. First, we extracted information on urban expansion in China between 1992 and 2015 by integrating nighttime light data, vegetation index data, and land surface temperature data. Then we analyzed the spatiotemporal patterns of urban expansion at the national and regional scales, as well as at that of urban agglomerations. We found that China experienced a rapid and large-scale process of urban expansion between 1992 and 2015, with urban land increasing from 1.22 × 104 km2 to 7.29 × 104 km2, increasing in size nearly fivefold and with an average annual growth rate of 8.10%, almost 2.5 times as rapid as the global average. We also found that urban land in China expanded mainly by occupying 3.31 × 104 km2 of cropland, which comprised 54.67% of the total area of expanded urban land. Among the three modes of growth—infilling, edge expansion, and leapfrog—edge expansion was the main cause of cropland loss. Cropland loss resulting from edge expansion of urban land totalled 2.51 × 104 km2, accounting for over 75% of total cropland loss. We suggest that effective future management with respect to edge expansion of urban land is needed to protect cropland in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on carbon spot prices selected from seven carbon pilots, we assess the financial performances related to carbon volatility in China on the overall perspective. According to the results, the Chinese carbon market fluctuated severely at the beginning of carbon trading, but has stabilised in general, despite several dramatic changes related to ‘yearly compliance events’. Long-term memory exists in the volatility series. Moreover, asymmetry exists in the Chinese carbon market, and volatility reacts more severely to good news than to bad news. Finally, we discuss our empirical results, and make certain suggestions regarding firms’ awareness, international cooperation and individual investors not only for policy makers in China but also for other developing countries who are contemplating either commencing carbon trading or improving the current market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowhere has the scale and scope of urbanization been larger than in China over the last few decades. We analyze Chinese city development between the years 1996 and 2014 using data for the urbanized components of prefecture-level cities. We show that, despite much variability and fast economic and demographic change, China is undergoing transformations similar to the historical trajectory of other urban systems. We also show that the distinguishing signs of urban economies—superlinear scaling of agglomeration effects in economic productivity and economies of scale in land use—also characterize Chinese cities. We then analyze the structure of economic change in Chinese cities using a variety of metrics, characterizing employment, firms and households. Population size estimates remain a major challenge for Chinese cities, as official numbers are often reported based on the Hukou registration system. We use the information in the residuals to scaling relations for economic quantities to predict actual resident population and show that these estimates agree well with data for a subset of cities for which counts of total resident population exist. We conclude with a list of issues that must be better understood and measured to make sense of present urban development trajectories in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In reality, severe water shortage crisis has made bad impact on the sustainable development of a region. In addition, uncertainties are inevitable in the irrigation system. Therefore, a fully fuzzy fractional programming model for optimization allocation of irrigation water resources, which aimed at not only irrigation water optimization but also improving water use efficiency. And then the developed model applied to a case study in Minqin County, Gansu Province, China, which selected maximum economic benefit of per unit water resources as planning objective. Moreover, surface and underground water are main water sources for irrigation. Thus, conjunctive use of surface and underground water was taken under consideration in this study. By solving the developed model, a series of optimal crop area and planting schemes, which were under different α-cut levels, were offered to the decision makers. The obtained results could be helpful for decision makers to make decision on the optimal use of irrigation water resources under multiple uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature concentrates on the relationship between amenities and migrants or residents. However, only a few studies have focused on the role of city amenities in determining the intentions of rural–urban migrants. Such a relation is a key issue in Chinese urbanisation development. The current study investigates the effects of urban amenities on the settlement intentions of rural–urban migrants in China. We find that medical amenities have a significantly positive effect on rural–urban migrants’ intentions. We also indicate that educational amenities and transportation services attract rural–urban migrants to settle in cities. Furthermore, we explore the heterogeneous effects of amenities on different cohorts by education and age. High- and low-skilled rural–urban migrants focus on transportation amenities, while young and middle–aged migrants are attracted by urban educational amenities. Results suggest that increasing access to urban amenities for rural–urban migrants and improving urban amenities enhance the willingness of rural–urban migrants to stay in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of environmental change on internal migration has received wide attention in recent years. Mass internal migration has been a significant economic and social phenomenon in China, and soil erosion is a major environmental problem that impacts sustainable socioeconomic development. This study aims to identify the impact of soil erosion on internal migration in China at the county level based on gravity model by analyzing related data, such as the sixth national population census data and the soil and water conservation survey data. The results of spatial overlay could not identify an obvious relationship between soil erosion and net outmigration in China. The traditional gravity model of migration is modified to analyze the impact of soil erosion on net outmigration while other variables are controlled. The results indicate that only serious soil erosion increases the possibility of outmigration and that the impact is considerably higher in agricultural counties than in non-agricultural counties. In general, the impact of soil erosion on internal migration is far less than the impact of socioeconomic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to locate the contributing factors of Catastrophic Health Expenditure (CHE), evaluate their impacts, and try to propose strategies for reducing the possibilities of CHE in the context of China’s current public health insurance system. The financial data of all hospitalization cases from a sample hospital in 2013 were gathered and used to determine the pattern of household medical costs. A simulation model was constructed based on China’s current public health insurance system to evaluate the financial burden for medical service on Chinese patients, as well as to calculate the possibilities of CHE. Then, by adjusting several parameters, suggestions were made for China’s health insurance system in order to reduce CHE. It’s found with China’s current public health insurance system, the financial aid that a patient may receive depends on whether he is from an urban or rural area and whether he is employed. Due to the different insurance policies and the wide income gap between urban and rural areas, rural residents are much more financially vulnerable during health crisis. The possibility of CHE can be more than 50% for low-income rural families. The CHE ratio can be dramatically lowered by applying different policies for different household income groups. It’s concluded the financial burden for medical services of Chinese patients is quite large currently, especially for those from rural areas. By referencing different healthcare policies in the world, applying different health insurance policies for different income groups can dramatically reduce the possibility of CHE in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employing the fundamental value of real estate determined by the economic fundamentals, a measurement model for real estate bubble size is established based on the panel data analysis. Using this model, real estate bubble sizes in various regions in Japan in the late 1980s and in recent China are examined. Two panel models for Japan provide results, which are consistent with the reality in the 1980s where a commercial land price bubble appeared in most area and was much larger than that of residential land. This provides evidence of the reliability of our model, overcoming the limit of existing literature with this method. The same models for housing prices in China at both the provincial and city levels show that contrary to the concern of serious housing price bubble in China, over-valuing in recent China is much smaller than that in 1980s Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of urban spatial interaction is closely linked to that of economic geography, urban planning, regional development, and so on. Currently, this topic is generating a great deal of interest among researchers who are striving to find accurate ways to measure urban spatial interaction. Classical spatial interaction models lack theoretical guidance and require complicated parameter-adjusting processes. The radiation model, however, as proposed by Simini et al. with rigorous formula derivation, can simulate directional urban spatial interaction. We applied the radiation model in China to simulate the directional migration number among 337 nationwide research units, comprising 4 municipalities and 333 prefecture-level cities. We then analyzed the overall situation in Chinese cities, the interaction intensity hierarchy, and the prime urban agglomerations from the perspective of migration. This was done to ascertain China’s urban spatial interaction and regional development from 2000 to 2010 to reveal ground realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China is reforming and restructuring its health insurance system to achieve the goal of universal coverage. This study aims to understand the determinants of public, private and multiple insurance coverage among people of retirement-age in China. Methods: We used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey 2011 and 2013, a nationally representative survey of Chinese people aged 45 and over. Multinomial logit regression was performed to identify the determinants of public, private and multiple health insurance coverage. We also conducted logit regression to examine the association between public insurance coverage and demand for private insurance. Results: In 2013, 94.5% of this population had at least one type of public insurance, and 12.2% purchased private insurance. In general, we found that rural residents were less likely to be uninsured (Relative Risk Ratio (RRR) = 0.40, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.34–0.47) and were less likely to buy private insurance (RRR = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.16–0.31). But rural-to-urban migrants were more likely to be uninsured (RRR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.24–1.57). Public health insurance coverage may crowd out private insurance market (Odds Ratio = 0.55, 95% CI: 0.48–0.63), particularly among enrollees of Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance. There exists a huge socioeconomic disparity in both public and private insurance coverage. Conclusion: The migrants, the poor and the vulnerable remained in the edge of the system. The growing private insurance market did not provide sufficient financial protection and did not cover the people with the greatest need. To achieve universal coverage and reduce socioeconomic disparity, China should integrate the urban and rural public insurance schemes across regions and remove the barriers for the middle-income and low-income to access private insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Millions of people move from rural areas to urban areas in China to pursue new opportunities while leaving their spouses and children at rural homes. Little is known about the impact of migration-related separation on mental health of these rural migrants in urban China. Methods: Survey data from a random sample of rural-to-urban migrants (n = 1113, aged 18–45) from Wuhan were analyzed. The Domestic Migration Stress Questionnaire (DMSQ), an instrument with four subconstructs, was used to measure migration-related stress. The relationship between spouse/child separation and stress was assessed using survey estimation methods to account for the multi-level sampling design. Results: 16.46% of couples were separated from their spouses (spouse-separation only), 25.81% of parents were separated from their children (child separation only). Among the participants who married and had children, 5.97% were separated from both their spouses and children (double separation). Spouse-separation only and double separation did not scored significantly higher on DMSQ than those with no separation. Compared to parents without child separation, parents with child separation scored significantly higher on DMSQ (mean score = 2.88, 95% CI: [2.81, 2.95] vs. 2.60 [2.53, 2.67], p < .05). Stratified analysis by separation type and by gender indicated that the association was stronger for child-separation only and for female participants. Conclusion: Child-separation is an important source of migration-related stress, and the effect is particularly strong for migrant women. Public policies and intervention programs should consider these factors to encourage and facilitate the co-migration of parents with their children to mitigate migration-related stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand the disease burden due to Herpes Zoster (HZ) among people aged ≥50 years old in China and provide baseline data for future similar studies, and provide evidence for development of herpes zoster vaccination strategy. Methods: Retrospective cohort study was conducted in 4 townships and one community. A questionnaire was used to collect information on incidence and cost of HZ among people aged ≥ 50 years old. Results: The cumulative incidence rate was 22.6/1,000 among people aged ≥ 50 years old. The average annual incidence rate of HZ was 3.43/1,000 among people aged ≥ 50 years old in 2010–2012. Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate increased with age: the cumulative incidence of HZ among people aged ≥ 80 years old was 3.34 times of that among 50- years old (52.3/1000vs15.7/1,000); average annual incidence rate rises from 2.66/1,000 among 50- years old to 8.55/1,000 among 80- year old. Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate for females were higher than that for males (cumulative incidence, 26.5/1000vs18.7/1,000; annual incidence rate, 3.95/1000vs2.89/1,000). Cumulative incidence and average annual incidence rate in urban were higher than in rural (cumulative incidence, 39.5/1000vs 17.2/1,000; annual incidence rate, 7.65/1000vs2.06/1,000). The hospitalization rate of HZ was 4.53%. And with the increase of age, the rate has an increasing trend. HZ costs 945,709.5 RMB in total, corresponding to 840.6 RMB per patient with a median cost of 385 RMB (interquartile range 171.7–795.6). Factors associated with cost included the first onset year, area, whether hospitalized and whether sequelae left. Conclusion: Incidence rate, complications, hospitalization rate and average cost of HZ increase with age. We recommend that the HZ vaccinations should target people aged ≥50 years old if Zoster vaccine is licensed in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the economic development of China, air pollutants are also growing rapidly in recent decades, especially in big cities of the country. To understand the relationship between economic condition and air pollutants in big cities, we analysed the socioeconomic indictorssuch as Gross Regional Product per capita (GRP per capita), the concentration of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, NO2) and the air pollution index (API) from 2003 to 2012 in 31 provincial capitals of mainland China. The three main industries had a quadratic correlation with NO2, but a negative relationship with PM10 and SO2. The concentration of air pollutants per ten thousand yuan decreased with the multiplying of GRP in the provinical cities. The concentration of air pollutants and API in the provincial capital cities showed a declining trend or inverted-U trend with the rise of GRP per capita, which provided a strong evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), that the environmental quality first declines, then improves, with the income growth. The results of this research improved our understanding of the alteration of atmospheric quality with the increase of social economy and demonstrated the feasibility of sustainable development for China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the economic hubs and authorities of the world trade network (WTN) from to , an era of rapid economic globalization. Using a well-defined weighted hyperlink-induced topic search (HITS) algorithm, we can calculate the values of the weighted HITS hub and authority for each country in a conjugate way. In the context of the WTN, authority values are large for countries with significant imports from large hub countries, and hub values are large for countries with significant exports to high-authority countries. The United States was the largest economic authority in the WTN from to . The authority value of the United States has declined since , and China has now become the largest hub in the WTN. At the same time, China's authority value has grown as China is transforming itself from the “factory of the world” to the “market of the world.” European countries show a tendency to trade mostly within the European Union, which has decreased Europe's hub and authority values. Japan's authority value has increased slowly, while its hub value has declined. These changes are consistent with Japan's transition from being an export-driven economy in its high economic growth era in the latter half of the twentieth century to being a more mature, economically balanced nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]