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The inequality literature has shown a broad interest in examining how a subsidy or tax credit towards a certain point in the income distribution affects inequality. In this article, we answer the question: whom is it fair to subsidize? We adopt the benchmark income as the criterion of fairness: a subsidy or tax credit will be fair if it contributes to reducing income inequality. This benchmark income allows us to identify the richest (poorest) person who, by receiving a subsidy, leads to a reduction (increase) in inequality. The estimates are based on the Gini coefficient as a measure of inequality. We provide an application for the case of Argentina and its regions (2016–2020). The primary source of information is microdata from the Permanent Household Survey (EPH). The results show that the benchmark income has remained relatively stable between the 71th and 73th percentiles of the per capita income distribution—for the latest period examined (Q3-2020), this implies an income of AR$23,100. This result implies that subsidizing people with incomes above the 73th percentile is unfair since it would increase inequality. Therefore, the benchmark income can be considered an objective and intuitive criterion to determine the convenience of a subsidy or tax credit by policymakers globally. JEL Classifications : D63, N36 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing housing prices in Türkiye have generated substantial public concern due to their potential to disrupt social and economic stability, exacerbate social inequality, and contribute to criminal issues. This study investigates the multifaceted impacts of housing prices on crime rates within the Turkish context. Utilizing annual data encompassing 26 regions in Türkiye from 2016 to 2019, we adopt a sophisticated mediating effect model to analyze the intricate relationships between pertinent variables. Our findings show that housing prices directly and indirectly influence crime rates. Notably, the mediating role of the Gini coefficient is unveiled, shedding light on its function in moderating the relationship between housing price escalation and crime rates in landTürkiye. This study underscores the pivotal role of economic distortion as a mediating factor in understanding the nexus between rising housing costs and the incidence of criminal activities in the Turkish context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the effect of financial development on top-income concentration and income inequality. We conduct a dynamic panel estimation using the GMM method for 138 countries including developed and developing economies from 1970 TO –2017. We find that financial development has a nonlinear U-shaped effect on the top 1% and top 10% income shares and Gini coefficients. Private credit reduces inequality when it is under a threshold value, while it raises income inequality above the threshold value. This suggests that too much finance is beneficial only for the top-income group, but detrimental to income distribution for the entire population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relationship between income inequality, economic growth, and unemployment in Greece from 2003 to 2020, encompassing key economic phases: pre-crisis, crisis, memoranda, and post-memoranda. The aim is to analyze how economic growth (logarithm of GDP-LOGGDP) and unemployment influenced income inequality (GINI coefficient) during periods of economic turmoil and recovery. Using linear regression analysis on 18 years of annual data, this study identifies significant relationships between the variables, with diagnostic tests confirming model robustness. The findings reveal a strong positive and statistically significant relationship between LOGGDP and income inequality, indicating that economic growth, without effective redistributive mechanisms, exacerbated disparities. Unemployment had an even stronger positive effect on inequality, highlighting its role in deepening income disparities, particularly during the crisis years marked by economic contraction and austerity measures. These results underline the critical need for balanced economic policies that promote inclusive growth while addressing structural inequalities and labor market vulnerabilities. This study also employs advanced econometric methods, including Vector Autoregression (VAR), Vector Error Correction Model (VECM), and Granger Causality Test, to analyze the dynamics between GDP (LOGGDP), income inequality (GINI), and unemployment. The Granger Test reveals that unemployment Granger-causes GDP with a two-period lag, highlighting the importance of labor market conditions for economic growth, while no direct causal relationship is found between GDP and inequality. These methods provide deeper insights into the short- and long-term interactions, offering valuable guidance for balanced economic policymaking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical findings suggest a positive correlation between inequality and social immobility, a phenomenon coined the Gatsby curve. This paper answers a simple question: When do Gatsby curves exist? We build a theoretical n-income environment in which parental investment and education improve the economic prospects of children. Gatsbian economies and Gatsby curves are formally defined, and we characterize the conditions under which they arise. A Gatsby curve arises when immobility (Trace of the transition matrix) and inequality (Gini coefficient) both change in the same direction following a change in an exogenous variable (an income level, the level of education).When an exogenous variable changes, the impact on inequality depends on a standard direct effect and on an indirect (composition) effect which accounts for the changes in the proportions of individuals with various incomes. We show that following an increase in some high income, immobility and inequality both increase if the indirect effect goes in the same direction as the direct effect. Thus, in such a case, the economy moves up a Gatsby curve. We also demonstrate that if the indirect effect goes in the same direction as the direct effect, and if education is a substitute to parental investment, then an increase in education leads to the economy moving down a Gatsby curve where it experiences both lower inequality and immobility. Finally, we show that an economy may go from being Gatsbian to non-Gatsbian, and vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sen (1973 and 1997) presents the Gini coefficient of income inequality in a population as follows. "In any pair-wise comparison the man with the lower income can be thought to be suffering from some depression on finding his income to be lower. Let this depression be proportional to the difference in income. The sum total of all such depressions in all possible pair-wise comparisons takes us to the Gini coefficient." (This citation is from Sen 1973, p. 8.) Sen's verbal account is accompanied by a formula (Sen 1997, p. 31, eq. 2.8.1), which is replicated in the text of this note as equation (1). The formula yields a coefficient bounded from above by a number smaller than 1. This creates a difficulty, because the "mission" of a measure of inequality defined on the unit interval is to accord 0 to perfect equality (maximal equality) and 1 to perfect inequality (maximal inequality). In this note we show that when the Gini coefficient is elicited from a neat measure of the aggregate income-related depression of the population that consists of the people who experience income-related depression, then the obtained Gini coefficient is "well behaved" in the sense that it is bounded from above by 1. We conjecture a reason for a drawback of Sen's definition, and we present repercussions of the usage of the "well-behaved" Gini coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Ciencia y Educación (2707-3378) is the property of Duanys Miguel Pena Lopez and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Previous studies on measuring the accessibility and equity of park green spaces (PGSs) often overlook differences in walking speeds across age groups, which may lead to research results that deviate from actual conditions. This study expands the current literature by investigating whether ignoring age-related differences in walking speeds affects the measurement of PGS accessibility and equity. The Gaussian Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (G2SFCA) method, along with the Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient are used to measure and evaluate the accessibility and equity of PGSs in Wuhan, China, taking into account both average walking speed and variations in walking speed across different age groups. This empirical study reveals significant spatial disparities in walking speeds across Wuhan's districts, ranging from 77.2 to 78.55 m per minute (m/min), with urban areas having faster walking speeds than suburban areas. This study finds that ignoring variations in walking speed across age groups leads to an overestimation of PGS accessibility and equity in Wuhan. Furthermore, regardless of whether average walking speeds or age-specific walking speeds are considered, spatial disparities in PGS accessibility remain evident, with urban areas demonstrating significantly better accessibility compared to suburban areas. Additionally, small changes in walking speed differences between age groups (−3% to 3%) have minimal impact on accessibility and equity results, demonstrating low sensitivity to variations in speed differences among groups. Overall, scholars and policymakers should consider differences in walking speeds among various populations when planning public facilities such as PGSs to ensure stronger policy support for vulnerable groups and achieve the goal of social equity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how Free-Floating Bike-Sharing (FFBS) affects the accessibility equity of public transit sytems by serving as a first-mile feeder. To evaluate accessibility improvements for various opportunities within a 30-min travel time, we construct a complete travel chain approach based on multi-source, real-world data from Nanjing, China. The results indicate that FFBS significantly enhances accessibility, particularly for job opportunities and green spaces, with improvements of up to 180.02% and 155.82%, respectively. This integration also enhances the accessibility equity of public transit systems, particularly in green spaces, with a Gini coefficient improvement of 0.0336. Additionally, we find that areas with low housing prices exhibit greater accessibility inequality, while those with moderate housing prices benefit more from FFBS integration. These findings can potentially support transport planners in optimizing and managing FFBS and public transit systems to facilitate sustainable and inclusive transportation networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban densification has heightened residents' demand for equitable access to urban park services, particularly those that support physical activity (PA). This access is crucial for public health and sustainable urban development. We developed the Park-Based Physical Activity Composite Attractiveness Score (PCAS) to assess the supply and service equity of parks at the sub-district scale in the central city of Xianyang, western China. The average PCAS for all parks in the study area was 46, with 69% scoring below the benchmark of 60, indicating that the parks fail to meet residents' PA needs. We found a significant imbalance in park distribution. The 14 sub-districts we measured had an average supply score of 42 and a demand score of 49, demonstrating a clustering of park services in areas with natural resources and higher socioeconomic status. While the overall park service level was found to be reasonably equitable (Gini coefficient of 0.38), a large gap in the sub-dimensional indicators point to inequities in park services. The following scenario optimization suggested that adding new parks could more effectively enhance equity and residents' PA levels than simply increasing park facilities. Our results provide valuable insights for urban park planning and policy-making, and contribute to the development of more equitable and accessible park services to achieve public health objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An environmental assessment is a complex and interrelated entity. A multidimensional and dynamic environmental assessment can directly reflect the effectiveness and capacity of the ecological governance system. Assessing the factors influencing the resource–environment coupling efficiency in the Yellow River Basin is crucial for advancing environmental management and regulation, enhancing public participation and transparency, as well as fostering international exchange and cooperation. This study uses the PSR analysis framework and the Bootstrap-DEA model to measure the resource–environment coupling efficiency. It employs spatial autocorrelation, kernel density estimation, Dagum Gini coefficient analysis, σ-convergence, and spatial beta convergence methods to explore the multi-level spatial pattern and convergence trend of the resource–environment coupling efficiency. The findings indicate that overall resource–environment coupling efficiency exhibits minimal temporal variation characterized by a hierarchy of upstream > downstream > middle reaches, alongside a spatial differentiation trend marked by small agglomeration coupled with significant dispersion. Additionally, regional disparities reveal a distribution pattern of downstream > middle reaches > upstream. Notably, while there are no σ-convergence characteristics, evidence supporting spatial β-convergence suggests that these efficiencies will converge toward a steady-state level over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arid Land Geography is the property of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arid Land Geography is the property of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology & Geography and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the process of implementing innovation-driven strategy, it is of great strategic significance to build a digital innovation ecosystem (DIES) with different characteristics and coordinated development. To scientifically measure the development level of China's DIES, the paper conducts an in-depth study on the distribution dynamics, regional differences, and convergence of the development of DIES in China and the four regions. This paper takes the relevant data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2010 to 2019 as samples, uses the standard deviation ellipse method and Markov chain to characterize their distribution dynamics, uses the Dagum Gini coefficient to analyze their differences, and finally uses the coefficient of variation and spatial panel model to analyze σ convergence and β convergence. This research shows that the development level of China's DIES is generally on the rise, but there is a significant difference between regions, showing a decreasing spatial feature from the core provinces to the peripheral areas that are too far away from the epicenters to compete with the primary economic domain. The differences in the development of the DIES generally show a downward trend, and the differences are mainly regional. However, the DIES development in China and its four regions show both viable and promising convergence characteristics although the convergence speed and trends are different. The innovative contributions of this paper are as follows: quantitatively measure the development level of China's DIES, scientifically reveal the regional characteristics of the development level of DIES, and identify the sources of regional differences, dynamic evolution trends, and convergence characteristics. It not only makes up for the deficiency of quantitative research on DIES, but also helps to grasp the development status of China's DIES accurately, and provides theoretical support and scientific reference for its policy formulation and development direction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address the conservative excavator working device configuration obtained by traditional design methods, a lightweight structure design method was proposed in this study based on automatically generated surrogate model. A finite element model of the working device was first constructed, and its accuracy was verified against experimental results. By incorporating the Gini coefficient to compute the information entropy pertaining to the relationship between variables and responses, the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method has been significantly enhanced. Subsequently, the comprehensive contributions of the boom design parameters to the mass, deformation, and stress responses were calculated, and the parameters exerting significant effects were selected as the design variables through the application of the improved TOPSIS. Next, the working device optimisation model was subsequently established using the minimum mass as the target and the stress and deformation as constraints. And then, a surrogate model of the working device was constructed using 500 sample points. Finally, a genetic algorithm was employed to derive a lightweight design of the excavator boom based on the surrogate model. The results indicate that the proposed method reduced the weight of the considered hydraulic excavator boom by 9.30%; further, a finite element simulation verified that the stress and deformation met the design requirements of the boom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth of timber assortment is related to site conditions and forest management measures. To our knowledge, however, the effects and relative importance of these factors on the growth of different timber assortments of Chinese fir have not yet been explored. Based on data from long-term fixed observation plots in the northwest of the Chinese fir distribution zone, we examined the effects of planting density and the site index on the timber assortment structure of Chinese fir. Furthermore, we quantified the relative importance of stand factors (age, planting density, stand density index, number of living trees, Gini coefficient, and site index) in determining the growth of various timber assortments. The results showed that the wood yield of all timber assortment types increased as the site quality improved. The outturn and outturn rate of large- and medium-diameter timber were negatively correlated with the planting density. Before the age of 22, planting density had a negative impact on total timber yield and small-diameter timber outturn. After 22 years, planting density had a positive impact on total timber yield and small-diameter timber outturn. SDI (stand density index), age, and SD (stand density) were the most important factors influencing total timber yield and small-diameter timber. The relative importance of age to large-diameter timber was the greatest, followed by SI (site index) and SD. The effects of age, SD, SI, and PD (planting density) on the medium-diameter timber were greater than those of SDI and Gini coefficient. The results indicate small- and medium-diameter timber as the primary target timber assortment types to be cultivated in the study area, while large-diameter timber cannot be effectively produced under the current site conditions. Our findings provide valuable insights for the management of Chinese fir plantations and the directed cultivation of target timber assortments in the northwest of the Chinese fir distribution zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the theory of information imperfections to examine the relationship between income inequality and financial development in a dual financial system comprising traditional finance and microfinance. It uses panel data for 97 developing countries over a period characterized by declining income inequality from 2000 to 2017. Traditional finance is measured through domestic credit relative to GDP and the IMF Financial Development Index. Microfinance is measured through the size of microfinance gross loan portfolio relative to GDP and the number of active microfinance borrowers to the total population. Controlling for various measures of macroeconomic and socioeconomic variables and using different econometric specifications including a random-effects linear regression model with endogenous sample selection, the results show that microfinance consistently predicts a lower income inequality measured by the Gini coefficient, while traditional finance shows no impact. The findings of this paper draw clear policy implications regarding the role of microfinance as a tool for income equality in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous increase of older adults, population ageing has become a public policy issue worldwide. Gaining insight into the current state of population ageing and its impact on income inequality is essential for designing effective and equitable policies that support economic development and social stability. This study, focusing on rural China, explores the relationship between population ageing and Gini coefficient of income, using nationally representative rural household data collected by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China from 2003 to 2020. Results based on the decoupling index and decomposition method reveal that the issue of income inequality in the surveyed rural areas has not intensified with the progression of ageing, which overturns the predominant view in existing research that population ageing exacerbates income inequality. The findings indicate that the inhibitory effect of increasing transfer income on income inequality has become more pronounced as ageing deepens, and the income structural effect of rural residents in China has played a role in reducing the Gini coefficient. Based on these results, some suggestions are proposed such as raising parental allowance, improving rural production and living environment, constrcuting the long-term care system, and implementing multifaceted measures to enhance the income level of rural older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel methodology for measuring and decomposing multidimensional inequality, allowing for the breakdown of overall inequality into contributions from distinct dimensions. This approach offers valuable insights for sustainable business development by identifying economic sectors where Environmental, Social, or Governance (ESG) practices are most unequal and thus may benefit from policy intervention. Additionally, it explores the relationship between company size and sustainability, highlighting that the most concentrated sectors tend to exhibit the greatest ESG inequality. Applying this methodology to a sample of over 1000 small and medium-sized enterprises across various sectors in Italy, our analysis of the multidimensional index for 2022 reveals notable disparities in corporate financial performance and ESG adoption. Specifically, the manufacturing sector exhibited the highest inequality in financial performance, with an index of 0.77, indicating significant variation in financial health and firm size. Conversely, the financial services sector showed lower financial inequality, with an index of 0.23, suggesting more uniform outcomes. On the ESG front, the financial sector demonstrated the highest inequality, particularly in environmental and social dimensions, with an average Gini coefficient of 0.26, while the manufacturing sector displayed a more consistent ESG performance, with an average Gini of 0.19. These findings underscore sector-specific patterns in financial and ESG dimensions, providing a foundation for targeted interventions to reduce disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from 27 OCDE countries from 1990 to 2021, the purpose of this article is to study empirically if the Kuznets' curve hypothesis exists on economic development and health, measuring the latter through tobacco consumption. We examine the relationship between tobacco consumption and income, the Gini coefficient, life expectancy, unemployment rate, and the population's age structure to analyse the research question given the relevance to economic development and costs of tobacco use. We hypothesize that tobacco consumption increases as income levels increase until a certain tipping point, after which tobacco consumption would start to fall. We provide evidence for the existence of a Kuznets Curve for tobacco consumption. Our results also verify that inequality, unemployment rates and life expectancy increase tobacco consumption, although increases in the youth and the elderly population reduce tobacco use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To address the rational use of medicines in healthcare institutions, the Chinese government enacted legislation for pharmacists in 2021, emphasizing the importance of pharmacists in medical services. The allocation and equity of pharmacist human resources in healthcare institutions directly affect people's accessibility to pharmaceutical services. The study aims to analyze the supply and demand of pharmacist human resources in Chinese healthcare institutions and evaluate the equity of their distribution to provide a reference for the rational management of pharmacist resources. Methods: This was a time-series study that was conducted using data obtained from Health and Health Statistical Yearbook that is performed every year by the National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China. The study included 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions and 34,354 medical institutions in mainland China, which were classified into different economic regions based on their level of economic development. The study collected healthcare technicians and pharmacist data from national healthcare institutions between 2016 and 2020. The study evaluated the level of pharmacist human resource allocation using the health resource density index. The study explored the equity of pharmacist human resource allocation from two aspects: population and geographic area, using the Gini coefficient and Theil index. Results: The average annual growth rates of healthcare technical staff and pharmacists in Chinese medical institutions from 2016 to 2020 were 5.67% and 3.03%, respectively. The Gini coefficients of healthcare personnel resources based on population distribution were all below 0.119, while those based on geographical area were all above 0.655. The total Theil indexes of pharmacist human resources based on population distribution were all below 0.010, while those based on geographical area were all above 0.511. In addition, the contribution rates of the within-group Theil indexes of pharmacist human resources based on population and geographical area distributions to the total Theil index were all greater than or equal to 50%. Conclusions: The allocation level of pharmacist human resources in China continues to improve, but there are differences in different economic development areas. Currently, allocation based on population shows equity, but allocation based on geographic area shows inequity. In the future, more attention should be paid to the geographic accessibility of pharmacist human resources, and resource allocation should consider both the population served and geographic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, urban spatial equity has become a research hotspot, but research focuses on the equity of work commuting from different dimensions. This paper aims to determine the fairness difference of work commuting in Chengdu from three different dimensions by analyzing job accessibility in Chengdu. Firstly, population residence and employment data are obtained by using mobile phone signaling data, real-time travel data are obtained by using Amap API, and regional housing information is obtained from a real estate website. Secondly, the differences in time and cost of job accessibility in different regions are calculated under different time thresholds. Finally, the equity of job accessibility is evaluated by using the Theil index and the Gini coefficient from three new perspectives: transport mode, house price economy, and spatial region. The experimental results show that (1) when time threshold increases, public transport in Chengdu is more equitable, while car traffic is opposite; (2) regions with higher prices are generally fairer; and (3) Chengdu's equality disparities are more between areas than within areas. In addition to proposing a new accessibility formula based on travel impedance, this study suggests a new method for analyzing equity differences in Chinese cities that can serve as a reference for future researchers. At the same time, the results provide a scientific basis for optimizing the social spatial distribution of public transport services in Chengdu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries, aging is rapid and new towns in suburban and rural districts are emerging. However, the spatial accessibility and equity of healthcare services for older adults in new towns is rarely examined. This study is among the earliest attempts to evaluate the spatial accessibility and equity of public hospitals for older adults, using data from Songjiang District, Shanghai, China. A modified Gaussian Huff-based three-step floating catchment area (GH3SFCA) method was adopted based on the real-time travel costs of public transit, driving, cycling, and walking. The Gini coefficient and Bivariate Moran's Index were integrated to estimate spatial equity. The results showed that the spatial accessibility of high-tier hospitals decreases from the central areas to the outskirts for older adults in Songjiang. Meanwhile, the accessibility of low-tier hospitals varies substantially across areas. Although the low-tier hospitals are distributed evenly, their Gini coefficient showed less equitable spatial accessibility than the high-tier hospitals. Furthermore, driving and cycling lead to more equitable spatial accessibility than public transit or walking. Finally, communities with a low-supply–high-demand mismatch for public hospitals were suggested to be improved preferentially. These findings will facilitate planning strategies for public hospitals for older adults in developing new towns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hospital selection patterns are essential for evaluating medical accessibility and optimizing resource management. In the absence of medical records, early studies primarily used accessibility functions to estimate potential selection probabilities (PSPs). With the advent of travel data, data-driven functions have enabled the calculation of observed selection probabilities (OSPs). Comparing PSP and OSP helps to leverage travel data to understand hospital selection preferences and improve medical service evaluation models. This study proposes a selection probability-based accessibility model for calculating PSP and OSP accessibility. A case study in Shenzhen employed nighttime navigation data to reduce interference from different travel modes. The distance decay function was validated, with exponential and Gaussian functions performing best. For hospitals, the PSP distribution closely aligned with OSP, except in areas with high hospital density. This discrepancy may result from the PSP function overestimating the selection probability for nearby hospitals, a limitation that could be addressed by fitting the distance decay function to actual data. PSP-based accessibility and Gini coefficients differ from those of OSP. However, when parameters are fitted to actual data, the PSP- and OSP-based functions produce nearly identical results. Fitting to actual data can notably improve the accuracy of PSP and the corresponding accessibility outcomes. These findings may provide valuable references for medical service evaluation methodologies and offer insights for planning and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the difficulty in obtaining the eigenfrequency of the vibration component of rolling bearing faults in a strong background noise environment and the problem of extraction efficiency, the adaptive chirp mode decomposition (ACMD) combined with Improved maximum second-order cyclostationary blind deconvolution (ICYCBD) fault feature extraction algorithm is proposed. Firstly, to improve the signal-to-noise ratio, the original signal is adaptively decomposed using the ACMD method, and the optimal components are selected based on the principle of maximizing the correlation gini coefficient index. Secondly, to improve the accuracy of parameter setting and extraction efficiency, an improved CYCBD method is proposed to estimate the cyclic frequency set of CYCBD using the proposed enhanced energy harmonic product spectrum (EEHPS) method for the optimal components, the envelope spectrum peak factor index is improved by proposing the envelope spectral period pulse factor (EPPF) index, and the filtering length of the CYCBD is selected adaptively using the step search to obtain the optimized filtered signal. Finally, the envelope spectrum analysis is carried out to extract the fault information accurately. The simulation signals and experimental data show that the method can quickly and accurately extract the fault characteristics of rolling bearings under strong background noise, and the comparison with other methods shows the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition and cooperation are not always at odds and contributions to public goods are almost never one‐off one‐shot temporally isolated events. We examine voluntary contribution in a new public good experiment where "self‐love" competitive motivations and time dynamic interdependencies are simultaneously considered. The competitive motivations are manipulated via subjects competing in each group (intragroup competition) for higher return factors on their public expenditure, whereas time dynamic interdependencies are modeled by letting returns from previous periods available for future contributions to public goods (CG). We ran two control conditions where intragroup competition (C) and time dynamic interdependencies (G) are separately implemented. Our findings showed that shares of endowment contributed were significantly greater and increasing over time when endowments growth and heterogeneous returns factors were simultaneously introduced. This effect can be attributed to return factors obtained in previous periods. Accordingly, wealth exponential growth has been greatly accelerated relative to our control condition. Distributive equity concerns have been also documented. Although Gini coefficients were significantly lower in the presence of heterogeneous return factors and endowments growth, inequality trends seemed to converge at control condition values in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study explores regional differences, dynamic evolution, and influencing factors of medical service levels in Guangzhou under the Health China Strategy to provide a basis for improving service quality and reducing disparities. Patients and Methods: An evaluation system was constructed using the entropy weight TOPSIS method. The Dagum Gini coefficient analyzed regional differences, Kernel density estimation assessed service levels' distribution, and Tobit regression explored influencing factors. Data were collected from the "Guangzhou Statistical Yearbook", Guangzhou Health Commission reports, and government work reports from 2017 to 2022. Results: The study shows that from 2017 to 2022, there were significant differences in medical service levels among different regions of Guangzhou, with higher service quality in central urban areas compared to remote and peripheral areas. The application of the entropy weight method revealed the importance of indicators such as medical business costs and the number of registered nurses per thousand population in evaluating service quality. According to the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition method, regional differences in medical services in Guangzhou are the main factor causing uneven overall development quality. Kernel density estimation indicates a bimodal distribution of medical service quality, suggesting heterogeneity in service quality and an increasing trend in low-quality service areas. The Tobit model confirms that factors such as medical institution drug costs, bed occupancy rate, and medical human resources have a positive impact on improving service quality. Conclusion: This study uniquely integrates the entropy weight TOPSIS method, Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition, and Kernel density estimation to dissect regional disparities in Guangzhou's medical services, offering a novel perspective on healthcare evolution under the Health China Strategy. The findings provide an innovative framework for optimizing resource allocation and enhancing service quality, guiding balanced development across regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to investigate the regional disparities in gastric cancer surgery in Japan. Methods: The annual incidence of gastric cancer and number of gastrectomies, board‐certified surgeons in gastroenterology by the Japanese Society of Gastroenterological Surgery, and board‐certified surgeons by the Japan Society for Endoscopic Surgery were evaluated by prefecture in Japan during 2014–2019. Medium‐sized regional disparities were assessed using the Gini coefficient. Gastrectomies were further broken down by site (distal; proximal; total) and approach (open vs laparoscopic). Moreover, we compared the urban and rural regional disparities in all study variables. Results: The annual national average incidence of gastric cancer was 127 466 and the number of gastrectomies was 49 128. Gini coefficients for almost all variables, except for board‐certified surgeons by the Japan Society of Endoscopic Surgery, were <0.2, indicating low inequality. The incidence of gastric cancer, the number of gastrectomies, and the aging rate were significantly higher in rural prefectures than in urban prefectures. Conclusion: Inter‐prefectural regional disparities in gastric cancer surgery were generally small; however, both the incidence of gastric cancer and number of gastrectomies were higher in rural prefectures, where the aging rate was also increased. This study provides an overview of the landscape of gastric cancer care in Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The equalization of marine public services is an effective way to achieve harmonious coexistence of the sea. In this paper, a variable fuzzy recognition model is used to measure the equalization level of marine public services in 11 provinces and cities in China's coastal areas from 2006 to 2019. The Dagum Gini coefficient, kernel density estimation model, and convergence model are used to study their regional differences, distribution dynamics, and convergence characteristics. The results show that the equalization level of marine public services in China's coastal areas increased year by year from 2006 to 2019. In terms of spatial distribution, the equalization level of marine public services in coastal areas presents an unbalanced distribution pattern. The overall regional differences in the equalization level of marine public services in China's coastal areas have narrowed, and the inter-regional differences are the main reasons for the overall differences. The absolute difference in the equalization level of marine public services in China's coastal areas shows an expanding trend. The equalization level of marine public services in China's coastal areas has α convergence and β convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper seeks to measure the influence of personal circumstances and inequality of opportunity on income and employment status in Kazakhstan. It identifies individual effort and circumstances as determinants. The analysis suggests that the higher education variable explains about one-third and one-fifth of the variations in income and employment status, respectively. The paper tests (and rejects) the hypothesis that the final outcomes of income and employment status are not affected by cultural identity with the Russian ethnicity used as a proxy. The analysis is based on the Household Budget Survey conducted by the Agency of Statistics of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2003 and 2005. It applies ordinary least squares and logit models and calculates Gini coefficients for all the regions of Kazakhstan using predicted incomes based on the individual factors affecting the final outcomes. The study shows that the Russian ethnicity variable is associated with higher income and better employment prospects in Kazakhstan, which suggests that there is scope for policy measures to improve opportunities for other language groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Gini coefficient is the most common index for measuring income inequality. Taxes are considered an important instrument for improving income distribution. Calculating the Gini coefficient based on after-tax income can provide a more accurate picture of income distribution and its impact. Increasing investment also requires saving, which is influenced by income distribution. In this study, the impact of relative redistribution on investment in selected OPEC countries between 2001 and 2021 is examined using a generalized method of moments. According to the findings, the relative redistribution index and income inequality have a negative and significant impact on investment. It can be concluded that taxes and transfer payments as instruments of income distribution can stimulate investment. The relative redistribution of the more equitable can lead to higher investment. Therefore, providing an appropriate measure of income inequality can contribute to a better understanding and formulation of efficient policies for social and economic aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing demands of urban populations, achieving a balance between the supply and demand in the spatial allocation of urban green park spaces (UGSs) is essential for effective urban planning and improving residents' quality of life. The study of UGS supply and demand balance has become a research hotspot. However, existing studies of UGS supply and demand balance rarely simultaneously improve the supply side, demand side, and transportation methods that connect the two, nor do they conduct a comprehensive, multi-dimensional supply and demand evaluation. Therefore, this study evaluates the accessibility of UGS within Hefei's built-up areas, focusing on age-specific demands for UGS and incorporating various travel modes, including walking, cycling, driving, and public transportation. An improved two-step floating-catchment area (2SFCA) method is applied to evaluate the accessibility of UGS in Hefei's built-up areas. This evaluation combines assessments using the Gini coefficient, Lorenz curve, location entropy, and local spatial autocorrelation analysis, utilizing the ArcGIS 10.8 and GeoDa 2.1 platforms. Together, these methods enable a supply–demand balance analysis of UGSs to identify areas needing improvement and propose corresponding strategies. The research results indicate the following: (1) from a regional perspective, there are significant disparities in the accessibility of UGS within Hefei's urban center, with the old city showing more imbalance than the new city. Areas with high demand and low supply are primarily concentrated in the old city, which require future improvement; (2) in terms of travel modes, higher-speed travel (such as driving) offers better and more equitable accessibility compared to slower modes (such as walking), highlighting transportation as a critical factor influencing accessibility; (3) regarding population demand, there is an overall balance in the supply of UGS, with local imbalances observed in the needs of residents across different age groups. Due to the high specific demand for UGS among older people and children, the supply and demand levels in these two age groups are more consistent. This study offers valuable insights for achieving the balanced, efficient, and sustainable development of the social benefits of UGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Foreign direct investment (FDI) is a primary vehicle for manufacturing transfer. Middle-income countries can benefit by effectively utilizing FDI to achieve technological development and economic equality and possibly address the middle-income trap issue. This study assessed the FDI performance of ten middle-income countries and examined the statistical relationships between their performance and their contexts: technological development, economic equality, and during the COVID-19 pandemic. For the former, we employed non-radial data envelopment analysis, taking advantage of its translation invariance property to derive efficiency scores; for the latter, we conducted a series of Kruskal–Wallis tests to examine the statistical relationships. According to the analysis results, we found that (a) most countries, except China and India, showed stable efficiency scores over time, (b) their efficiency scores were statistically significantly associated with the level of technological development (indicated by their technology lifecycle-based sigmoid curves) and economic equality (represented by Gini index and poverty indicator); and (c) their efficiency scores were not associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The results imply that to improve their foreign direct investment performance, host countries may need to enhance their absorptive capacity in both the technological and economic domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the theory of resilience governance, this paper utilizes panel data from 30 provinces (cities) in China from 2004 to 2021 to construct evaluation indices from the pressure, state, and response dimensions. It objectively measures and systematically portrays the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of China's rural ecological resilience, employing the spatial Durbin model to empirically explore the factors influencing rural ecological resilience. The findings indicate that: (1) Although the overall ecological resilience of rural areas nationwide shows an upward trend, it remains at a low level, exhibiting the pattern of main grain marketing areas> main grain producing areas>areas with balanced grain production and marketing. (2) The rural ecological resilience scores display the characteristics of "the curve shifts rightward, the right tail extends, and the width broadens" during the study period. Decomposition of regional disparities using the Dagum Gini coefficient reveals that overall regional differences are not severe and show a persistent trend of narrowing. (3) Analysis of spatial spillover effects indicates that the intensity of environmental regulation significantly and positively influences rural ecological resilience, accompanied by a significant negative spillover effect. Conversely, the urbanization rate significantly and negatively impacts rural ecological resilience, with a significant positive spillover effect. The levels of rural economic growth and government financial support for agriculture also influence rural ecological resilience positively and negatively, respectively, though these effects are not statistically significant. Both factors exhibit significant negative spillover effects in terms of indirect influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper surveys Nordic historic studies on the distribution of income to highlight similarities and differences between Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden in the evolution of income concentration and income inequality over more than 140 years. Our descriptive analysis allows for a decomposition where we identify the contribution of the income share of the richest 1 per cent and the distribution of income among the other 99 per cent to overall inequality as measured by the Gini coefficient. The results show that the evolution of income concentration and inequality can be characterised by episodes rather than by secular cycles, which means that the evolution can neither be summarised by Kuznets' inverse U nor by a U. The evidence on the role played by the share of the top 1 per cent for overall income inequality shows to be mixed and to vary across time and countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By using the WHU‐YC meteor radar observations (2019.11–2021.10) in Yinchuan (38.8°N, 106.8°E), we studied the winds, tides, and gravity waves (GWs) in the Mesosphere and Lower Thermosphere (MLT) over northwestern China for the first time. Distinct annual and semi‐annual oscillations (AO and SAO) appeared in the background winds, showed maximum and minimum in summer (∼40 m/s) and spring (∼−14 m/s), respectively, and exhibited wind shear in summer and winter. Affected by the background winds, GW activity similarly exhibited AO, with maximum kinetic energy density (KED) in May (∼4.0 × 10−3 J/m³). KEDs consistently declined with altitude, indicating severe GW dissipation in the MLT. GW's momentum fluxes (MFs) are predominantly positive below ∼88 km and reverse negative above. MFs reached ∼10−4 J/m³ in summer and autumn, while weaker in winter and spring. The GW drag reached ∼443.8 m/s/d in zonal, closely correlated with the tendency, highlighting the substantial GW impact on the mean flow. The intense GW activities here approached some hot spots, possibly due to Yinchuan's characteristic topography, resulting in more terrain‐excited GWs. Despite no discernible seasonal variation in GW's intermittency, the Gini coefficient steadily increased with altitude, implying GWs upward with smaller MF are easier to dissipate. The diurnal tide (DT) significantly modulated GWs at almost all heights. Despite comparable amplitudes of the semidiurnal tide (SDT) to DT, the weaker SDT modulation only concentrated in 84–86 km because of its longer vertical wavelength, emphasizing tides' vertical wavelengths are crucial parameters in GW's modulation. Key Points: Gravity wave (GW) activity in the Yinchuan region is more intense than in many other sites, approaching some hotspotsThe intermittency of GWs shows no discernible seasonal variation, but the Gini coefficient monotonically increases with altitudeDT with shorter vertical wavelengths, despite its amplitudes comparable to semidiurnal tide, exhibits a more pronounced modulation of GWs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population migration brings about many problems in villages. The Ji (...)-shape bend of the Yellow River is an important ecological sensitivity study area, and some progress exists in the study of villages, still has many problems. This article addresses the inadequacy of the existing research and mainly solves the problems in three areas. It primarily used the research method of Arc GIS10.8, the big data research methods such as imbalance index, Gini coefficient, geographic concentration index, Geodetector, and other methods were used, laying the groundwork for additional analysis of various factors. Hence, the subsequent study findings were attained. 1) The distribution pattern in the village system around the Ji-shape bend of the Yellow River seems to be a positive spatial correlation, with the characteristics of random distribution, uneven spatial distribution, and low concentration, with Hohhot-Baotou serving as a center. 2) Natural factors are the most important factors in the distribution of villages. 3) Among the natural factors, elevation (0.244619), the value of slope (0.319805), and the aspect of slope (0.074089) appear to be the strongest explanatory power. Among the social factors, the rate of urbanization (0.019082), highway density (0.019082), and percentage of tertiary industry (0.018422) show the strongest explanatory power on socioeconomic factors. The natural and social characteristics of villages are important for the siting of villages. This paper put forward some suggestions for the protection and development of villages in ecologically sensitive areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agroforestry practices (AFPs) play a critical role in enhancing income and reducing poverty. This study assessed the effect of AFPs on income and poverty status of farmers in Lay Armachiho (LA), Bahir Dar Zuria (BDR), and Banja districts of Northwestern Ethiopia. 387 households, and 63 key informants were interviewed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, FGT index, Gini coefficient, and multiple linear regression. About 49.35% of the respondents are categorized poor with a poverty gap of 18.93 and a poverty severity level of 9.7. Banja was the greatest with persons below poverty level (59.2%), followed by BDR (49.72%). Agroforestry practices contribute 28.43% to household income. Income from AFPs lowered the poverty ratio, poverty gap index, and poverty severity level of households by 13%, 9%, and 7%, respectively. Income from AFPs lowered the area between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve, as well as the Gini coefficient, by 7.97%. AFPs also lowered the income disparity of households in all districts. Age, AFPs land size, road accessibility, irrigation, AFPs experience, and AFPs types affect households AFPs income positively. Family size and membership to credit institutions had a negative effect. Thus, in order to lower poverty and raise household income, labor productivity, the credit service system, the road and irrigation infrastructure, and AFPs all need to be improved and scaled up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial inequality erodes social cohesion and political stability, impacting global sustainable development and human well-being. This study examines spatial inequality in China across economic, social, environmental, infrastructural, and innovation dimensions, exploring how these inequalities evolve with economic development. Drawing on the Sustainable Development Goals and Chinese planning goals, we selected 13 indicators pertinent to human well-being. We employed the population-weighted coefficient of variation, Gini coefficient, and Moran's I to assess spatial inequalities and analyzed their relationship with economic growth. The findings reveal that China currently exhibits the highest spatial inequality in innovation and the lowest in the social dimension. Since 1990, most indicators have trended towards decreasing spatial inequality, except for unemployment rates and carbon emissions, which have increased. The economic and innovation gap between the eastern coastal regions and the central and western regions has widened, whereas disparities in housing, healthcare, roads, and digitalization have narrowed. China's experience demonstrates that Williamson's inverted U-shaped hypothesis extends beyond the economic domain to encompass education, healthcare, infrastructure, and digitalization, providing policy insights for addressing regional inequalities in China in the post-pandemic era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Object: Promoting the accessibility and equity of healthcare services, as well as enhancing service capacity, are crucial for building a sound healthcare system. Particularly in the past two years of the normalized COVID-19 situation, this issue has garnered widespread attention in the academic community. This study aims to investigate and analyze the characteristics and trends of the spatial-temporal evolution of healthcare service supply levels in China. It also seeks to explore the influencing factors and pathways for development, with the goal of optimizing the allocation of healthcare resources. Methods: This article uses the entropy weight TOPSIS method combined with Dagum Gini coefficient and Kernel density to evaluate the supply level of healthcare services in 31 provinces and cities in China from 2012 to 2020, and explores its development and spatial pattern characteristics. Then, through Moran index, panel regression model and spatial econometric testing, the spatial correlation problem and its influencing factors are further analyzed, and targeted policy recommendations are proposed based on it, laying the foundation for further promoting the balanced development of healthcare service supply capacity. Results: (1) Healthcare services supply levels in various provinces and cities in China have significantly increased, with a shift in spatial distribution from 'higher in the east and lower in the west' to 'convergence between east and west, with lower levels in the central regions.' (2) Relative differences among regions are narrowing annually, primarily due to interactions between the four regions rather than within each region, with expanding impact of overlapping regions. (3) Absolute differences among regions are also decreasing, moving towards uniformity with a contraction of extension and a restraint on the trend towards multipolarization. (4) Spatial correlation between adjacent regions is weakening, eventually becoming non-significant, with fading spatial effects. (5) The correlation between local economic development, population factors, institutional arrangements, and the current state of supply is significant, and the research design and conclusions remain robust even after thorough consideration of spatial effects. The study explores the development pathways based on the objective existence of regional development and the controllable government actions. Conclusion: The overall level of healthcare service supply in China has improved, but regional differences still exist. The objective level of regional development and the subjective behavior of local governments have a significant impact on the supply of healthcare services. Therefore, it is recommended that each region adapt to local conditions, identify its own strengths and weaknesses, coordinate resource supply and demand, consider the impact of key factors, and optimize the allocation of healthcare development resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For coordinated regional growth and the development of high-quality manufacturing, China must narrow its regional energy efficiency gap and catch up inter-regionally. This paper focuses on whether China's inter-provincial manufacturing energy efficiency has technological diffusion and a catch-up effect and explores its possible influencing factors, which are important for narrowing the differences in China's manufacturing energy efficiency and promoting the improvement of the overall level of efficiency. Between 2011 and 2020, 30 Chinese manufacturing industries will be evaluated using a non-radial distance function model under environmental conditions. By employing the Dagum Gini coefficient method, regional disparities were analyzed, with hyper-variable density and efficiency discrepancies between regions making a noteworthy contribution. This paper evaluated a catch-up effect by constructing a frontier productivity model that considered the influence of China's manufacturing energy efficiency. Results show a general rise in energy efficiency, particularly in coastal regions, higher than inland ones. The Gini coefficient of energy efficiency in manufacturing experienced a slight increase; however, when comparing it to the regional efficiency frontier, the catch-up effect and technology diffusion effect of China's provincial manufacturing energy efficiency become more pronounced when taking into account the national efficiency frontier; the sub-regional manufacturing energy efficiency catch-up effect has different performances; the catch-up and technology diffusion effect is more evident after controlling for Economic development, innovation levels, the environmental regulation, and the proportion of high-energy-consumption output value and other influencing factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: As the second most populous country in the world, China has a huge demand for health human resources. Over the past decade, the Chinese government has continuously increased investment in the health sector and implemented relevant policies and systems in an attempt to enhance the overall quantity and equity of health human resources. This study aims to analyze the equity and developmental trends in the allocation of health human resources in China from 2012 to 2021, providing reference and theoretical support for the government's further optimization of health human resources allocation. Methods: This study collected health human resources data from 31 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China from 2012 to 2021. The methods employed included Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients, and agglomeration degree analysis, which examined the developmental trends and equity of health human resources from the perspectives of population and geographical. Results: This study found that over the past decade, there has been a significant increase in the total quantity of health human resources in China, accompanied by an improvement in equity, although disparities still exist. There are notable variations in the distribution of health human resources based on geographical area, with disparities between different regions. Relative shortages of health human resources are observed in western regions, while some areas in the eastern and central regions exhibit an abundance or surplus of health human resources. Conclusion: Overall, health human resources in China have experienced stable development, with an incremental improvement in allocation equity, yet there remains considerable room for progress. It is imperative to continue strengthening policy guidance and regulation to facilitate the rational flow of health human resources, narrow regional disparities, and achieve the goal of universal health coverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Structural income inequality – the uneven income distribution across regions or countries – could affect brain structure and function, beyond individual differences. However, the impact of structural income inequality on the brain dynamics and the roles of demographics and cognition in these associations remains unexplored. Methods: Here, we assessed the impact of structural income inequality, as measured by the Gini coefficient on multiple EEG metrics, while considering the subject‐level effects of demographic (age, sex, education) and cognitive factors. Resting‐state EEG signals were collected from a diverse sample (countries = 10; healthy individuals = 1394 from Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Cuba, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Turkey and United Kingdom). Complexity (fractal dimension, permutation entropy, Wiener entropy, spectral structure variability), power spectral and aperiodic components (1/f slope, knee, offset), as well as graph‐theoretic measures were analysed. Findings: Despite variability in samples, data collection methods, and EEG acquisition parameters, structural inequality systematically predicted electrophysiological brain dynamics, proving to be a more crucial determinant of brain dynamics than individual‐level factors. Complexity and aperiodic activity metrics captured better the effects of structural inequality on brain function. Following inequality, age and cognition emerged as the most influential predictors. The overall results provided convergent multimodal metrics of biologic embedding of structural income inequality characterised by less complex signals, increased random asynchronous neural activity, and reduced alpha and beta power, particularly over temporoposterior regions. Conclusion: These findings might challenge conventional neuroscience approaches that tend to overemphasise the influence of individual‐level factors, while neglecting structural factors. Results pave the way for neuroscience‐informed public policies aimed at tackling structural inequalities in diverse populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the largest developing country, China has accumulated enormous material wealth since its reform and opening-up policy. How to effectively evaluate the level of well-being in China has become a meaningful research endeavor. Using the entropy method, Dagum Gini coefficient and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) decomposition methods, the study examines the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, spatial differences and driving effects of provincial well-being levels from 2007 to 2020. The results of this study suggest that the level of well-being as a whole, as well as in the eastern, central and western regions increased significantly over the period, with an "east-to-west decreasing" distribution in China. In terms of the pattern of inter-provincial distribution, although the level of well-being in the central and western regions has improved at a faster rate, most provinces in the eastern region have always been among the leading teams on the path of livelihood development. There is still enormous room for improvement in the level of well-being in the central and western provinces. The overall differences in the development of well-being in China, as well as intra-regional and inter-regional differences among the three major regions, showed a narrowing trend. Intra-regional differences in the development of well-being are greatest in the western region, and inter-regional differences in the development of well-being are greatest in the eastern and western regions. Inter-regional differences are the main reason for the spatial differences in well-being among China's provinces. The combination of economic, social, ecological and technological effects has led to a gradual increase in the level of well-being over the sample period. Among them, economic, social and technological effects have a clear positive driving effect on the increase of well-being levels, while ecological effect have a certain negative driving influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-quality development is the primary task of comprehensively building a socialist, modern country, as well as the primary task of building urban agglomerations in China. Based on the five development concepts, this paper used the entropy method to measure the High Quality Development Index (HQDI) of the five major urban agglomerations. The results showed that the HQDI of the five major urban agglomerations shows a fluctuating upward trend. First, using the Dagum Gini coefficient to explore the sources of HQDI development differences in urban agglomerations, we found that the main source of HQDI differences in urban agglomerations was interregional differences, while intra-regional differences were not important. Second, kernel density estimation was used to test the dynamic evolution trend of HQDI within urban agglomerations. There was a polarisation phenomenon in the HQDI of urban agglomerations, such as the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. But overall, the degree of imbalance had decreased. Third, using geographic detectors to examine the driving factors of HQDI in urban agglomerations, we found that the main driving forces for improving HQDI in urban agglomerations were economic growth, artificial intelligence technology and fiscal decentralisation. All the interaction factors had greater explanatory power for the spatial differentiation of HQDI, which can be divided into two types: two-factor improvement and non-linear improvement. This study is conducive to improving and enriching the theoretical system for evaluating the high quality development of urban agglomerations, and provides policy references for promoting the high quality development of urban agglomerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the price difference method, the scale of residential natural gas subsidies in China from 2009 to 2019 was estimated. The Dagum Gini coefficient and LMDI decomposition method were used to explore the spatial differences of subsidies and their inherent evolutionary mechanism. The results show that: (1) Residential natural gas subsidies showed a two-stage feature of "first increase and then decrease", subsidies peaked in 2012. The proportion of subsidies in the eastern, central and northeast regions showed an increasing trend, while that in the western region decreased. The scale of subsidies in all provinces increased to varying degrees, and the provinces with the highest average subsidies were those with large natural gas production and consumption, and provinces along the west-east gas transmission route and coastal economically developed areas. (2) Residential natural gas subsidies showed a spatial distribution feature of "high in the west and low in the east", and the overall regional gap narrowed, and super-variable density gradually became the main source of subsidy differences. In order of magnitude, the differences between regions are west-northeast, East-West, middle-west, east-northeast, middlenortheast, and East-middle. From the perspective of intra-regional differences, the western region had the largest difference, and the northeast region had the smallest difference, the eastern and central regions of the subsidy difference is increasing, the degree of subsidy imbalance is increasing, and the western and northeast regions of the subsidy tend to be balanced. (3) On the whole, the population effect and consumption effect have positive contributions to residential gas subsidies and their effects have been increasing,. The price effect, technology effect and economic effect showed negative contributions to subsidies. There are significant spatial differences in the influencing factors of residents' natural gas subsidies in eastern, central, western and northeast regions, and they change before and after the natural gas price reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How fairly national income is shared is as important as the increase and continuity of national income in ensuring social welfare. Income distribution, which occurs in the market and is described as primary distribution, is often criticized as being unfair. For this reason, the state redistributes income in order to ensure justice in income distribution. One of the most effective tools in redistributing income by the state is transfer expenditures. However, transfer expenditures are carried out in different ways depending on their subtypes, and not all of them have an improving effect on income distribution. Today, ensuring justice in income distribution is a very important goal in both developed and developing countries, and transfer expenditures are among the basic tools used in this direction. The purpose of the study is to determine the effect of transfer expenditures on income distribution on a country group basis, based on the Gini coefficient. In this context, it is seen that the share of transfer expenditures in total public expenditures is higher in developed countries than in developing countries. It has also been determined that the share of social aid in transfer expenditures is higher in developed countries than in developing countries. It is seen that the transfer expenditures of countries and the shares allocated to their subtypes are reflected in the Gini coefficients. Accordingly, income distribution in developed countries has a more egalitarian structure than in developing countries. In country-specific evaluations, the reflection of the share of social expenditures on the Gini coefficients is directly proportional to what is expected in theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies the Dagum Type III model to measure household net wealth inequality in Indonesia utilising data from the Indonesian Family Life Survey (IFLS) 1993–2014. The results are the distribution of household net wealth in Indonesia is right-skewed, with long-and sparse-hand tails that reflect a large proportion of households that have very low net wealth and a small proportion of households that have very high net wealth. Further, the inequality of household net wealth in Indonesia declined, as shown by the decrease in the Gini coefficient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a major social and economic problem in the world. Governments and policymakers aim to eliminate this problem in all its forms and everywhere. However, when we look at the literature on poverty, it is known that it is not a new concept and that poverty exists even in very old communities. In other words, escaping poverty is still at the top of the world's development agenda. The effects of the tourism sector on the economy have been revealed by different studies. However, the role of tourism in eliminating poverty is still being discussed in different aspects all over the world. The study conducted revealed the relationship between tourism revenues and poverty risk. In this context, France and Spain, which have the highest tourism revenues in Europe, were focused on. As a result of the research, it was seen that there was no causality between France's tourism revenue and the gini coefficient, poverty risk and per capita gross domestic product. However, when the variables belonging to Spain were examined, it was seen that there was causality between tourism revenue and the per capita gross domestic product variable. However, it was determined that there was no causality between tourism revenue and the gini coefficient and the poverty risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]