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The goal of equity in education in England is damaged by regional disparities in outcomes and a marked social gradient in school exclusion. The most vulnerable groups are disproportionately represented in in-year transfers. Drawing on 24 interviews with school leaders and education decision-makers in a socioeconomically deprived area, this study examined institutional strategies to promote inclusion by reducing pupil mobility in an area-based initiative. The analysis highlights the interaction of administrative, professional and market logics, and the significance of the "middle tier" in mediating inter-local tensions. Further research is needed on "hidden" pupil moves and diverse forms of within-school segregation-reintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Initiated in 1995, Taiwan's National Health Insurance (NHI) programme now covers over 99.6% of its residents, ensuring widespread medical access. Despite this, regional disparities in medical resource allocation persist. This study investigates the potential urban–rural divide in life expectancy and healthcare utilisation. Drawing data from the Ministry of the Interior (population registration records), NHI Research Database (medical utilisation) and Ministry of Health and Welfare (leading causes of death), we employ spatial analysis, visualisation tools and the standardised mortality ratio for assessing regional disparities. Our findings reveal distinct regional mortality differences in Taiwan, with lower rates in northern counties and higher ones in mountainous regions. However, healthcare utilisation shows no significant regional variations. Notably, patterns of overall mortality rates and primary death causes demonstrate spatial clustering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper delves into the Global Peace Index (GPI), a comprehensive metric evaluating global peace through factors like safety, security, ongoing conflict, and militarization. The objective is to dissect the GPI's assessment of global peace, identifying key factors that influence a nation's peace status. Employing statistical analysis alongside data visualization techniques, the study methodically examines the GPI's multifaceted criteria. The findings underscore the critical role of safety and security, alongside the impact of ongoing conflicts, in determining a nation's peace status. Notably, the analysis reveals pronounced regional disparities in peace, illustrating the intricate challenges of bolstering global peace. The paper concludes by proposing targeted peace-building initiatives, advocating for a holistic strategy to foster safer, more secure societies globally. It is recommended to address the underlying issues identified, marking a significant step towards realizing the aspirations of the GPI for enhanced global peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas with an imbalanced vulnerability to disasters have garnered attention. Building an urban resilience index helps to develop a progressively favored instrument for tracking progress toward disaster-resilient cities. However, there remains a lack of empirical studies on measuring urban resilience, with limited focus on the spatial-temporal characteristics of urban resilience to disasters, particularly relevant in developing nations like China. Thus, a refined urban resilience index to disasters based on the subcomponents of infrastructure, environment, socio-economy, and institution is suggested in this study. This index-based assessment framework is applied and validated to measure the spatial-temporal resilience using a real-world case study in Chengdu, China. The main findings of this study indicate that: (1) the overall urban resilience of Chengdu has been growing toward better conditions, with infrastructural resilience accounting for the majority of this growth. (2) The distribution of urban resilience exhibits a regional disparity and a spatially polarized pattern. (3) The agglomeration characteristics of urban resilience are significant. (4) There is a clear regional mismatch in the distribution of urban resilience to disaster risk. The validated model offers a comprehensive and replicable approach for urban resilience assessment and planning, especially for disaster-frequent regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of autonomous trucking demands a sophisticated understanding of the risks associated with the diverse U.S. interstate system. Traditional risk assessment models, while beneficial, do not adequately address the state and regional variations in factors that significantly impact the safety and efficiency of autonomous freight transport. This study addresses the problem by developing a composite risk index that evaluates the safety of U.S. interstate routes for autonomous trucking, considering both state and regional differences in traffic volumes, road conditions, safety records, and weather patterns. The potential for autonomous trucking to transform the freight industry necessitates a risk assessment model that is as dynamic and multifaceted as the system it aims to navigate. This work contributes a regionally sensitive risk index using GIS methodologies, integrating data from national databases, and applying statistical analysis to normalize risk factors. The findings reveal significant state and regional disparities in risk factors, such as the predominance of precipitation-related risks in the Southeast and traffic in the Far West. This work provides a targeted approach to risk assessment for policymakers and infrastructure planners and offers a strategic tool for logistics companies in optimizing autonomous trucking routes. The long-term benefit is a scalable model that can adapt to evolving data inputs and contribute to the broader application of risk assessment strategies in various domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent and is expected to replace a range of human tasks. In this context, this study seeks to identify occupations that are vulnerable to AI, and focuses on their occupational and spatial characteristics. Korean patent data within Google Patents and tasks of occupations based on ISCO-08 were collected and analyzed via dependency parsing to reveal the corresponding tasks and occupations with AI's technical characteristics. Our analysis highlights the vulnerability of tasks that have remained unchanged for a long time, while managerial professions and other occupations involving new and complex tasks based on know-how are less susceptible to the influence of AI. The study also shows significant regional disparities in labor distribution according to AI vulnerability in Korea, forming a strong spatial cluster. While previous waves of automation primarily affected manual labor involving unskilled work and low levels of education, AI is expected to replace various forms of middle and high skilled and educated human work. As such, this study recommends that local governments prepare for the polarization of the labor market by AI based on the understanding of their employment structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the regional disparity of financial inclusion (FI) and its determinants in Turkey from 2004 to 2020. To this end, we first construct an FI index using the principal component analysis. Then, based on the club convergence approach, we test the existence of convergence to show regional disparities in FI. Finally, we examine the main determinants of provincial disparity using ordered logit models. The convergence results strongly reject the full-panel convergence, indicating a regional disparity in FI. Furthermore, our analyses reveal that financial inclusion positively correlates with population, income, and income inequality, while unemployment hinders inclusion. Overall, our results imply that policies focusing on digital financial services, increasing financial literacy, and reducing unemployment should significantly diminish regional disparities and improve FI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the impact of investment incentives in Slovakia on the unemployment rates in districts to which these incentives were targeted as well as potential spatial spillover effects. The results show that incentives directed to the least developed districts (LDDs) of the country are associated with a statistically significant reduction in unemployment rate growth in the targeted districts by about 0.1 percentage point per month over the course of three years following the intervention. By contrast, we estimated a precise zero effect of investment incentives targeted to non-LDDs. These findings are consistent with the standard economic argument of diminishing marginal returns. Estimates of the spillover effects are also centred around zero. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) may have a higher risk of physical disability. This study investigated the incidence of gastric cancer according to physical disability status in elderly patients with T2DM. Methods: The National Health Insurance Service claims data were used. A total of 76,162 participants aged 60 years or above, diagnosed with T2DM, were included. The association between physical disability status and gastric cancer incidence was evaluated using the Cox regression analysis. Additionally, subgroup analysis was performed according to region. Results: A total of 9,154 (12.0%) individuals had physical disability. Gastric cancer incidence was more common in participants with physical disability (3.3%) than those without (2.4%). A higher risk of gastric cancer incidence was found in elderly T2DM patients with physical disability (Hazard Ratio (HR) 1.18, 95% Confidence Interval (95% CI) 1.04–1.34). Such tendencies were maintained regardless of region, although the effect of physical disability status on gastric cancer incidence was particularly significant in individuals residing in non-metropolitan areas (HR: 1.19, 95% CI: 1.01–1.40). Conclusion: Elderly patients with T2DM who had physical disability showed a higher risk of gastric cancer incidence. The findings suggest a need to monitor elderly T2DM patients with disability as they may be susceptible to difficulties in accessing cancer-related healthcare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main problem when discussing cohesion policy is its results are challenging to measure. Even if, for almost thirty years' community action tried to solve regional disparities, considerable differences between certain parts of the European Union still exist nowadays. Therefore, the future purpose of territorial cooperation should be to support joint initiatives that establish cross-border and transnational network cooperation. This paper aims to determine the importance of inter-regional cooperation to increase the Cohesion Policy's performance. We would try to show that the regions facing the most significant difficulties in identifying comparative advantages and generating innovative specialization strategies either lack the historical or traditional basis for regional projects or do not have structures to represent them inter-regional dialogues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The asymmetrical process of industrial development tends to increase regional disparities and result in different patterns of territorial exposure: the amount of support given to activities placed within industrial agglomerates. Spatial Attractiveness towards industrial placement tends to follow such patterns, as places with lower exposure tend to be more attractive, providing more support to productive activities. Spatial models based in economic methods have issues in precising the nature of Spatial Attractiveness disparities, as their interpretation of space as an abstracted parameter, provides insufficient locational precision to demonstrate these patterns and how those are dependent on relations between production, territorial endowments, and industrial agglomerates’ internal organization. Novel spatial-economic models ought to consider and incorporate spatial units reflecting the microfoundations of space while providing an accurate spatialization, crucial aspects to create knowledge useful for decision-making. Hence, the paper showcases spatial models tailored to address the differences in Spatial Attractiveness, based in spatial and economic territorial exposure indexes, to unveil the territorial-imbalances’ spatial logics. Organized in a GIS-based environment and using Tuscany as a proof-of-concept, the index-models identified factors of sensitivity or support to firms placed within industrial agglomerates providing an overview of spatial attractiveness within the territory, useful for supporting decision-making practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Central European Agriculture is the property of Journal of Central European Agriculture 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.)

Global food insecurity has worsened due to COVID-19 and political crises. Persistent regional disparities are evident, with Africa, and specifically sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), bearing the heaviest burden. This study therefore explores the differential effects of macroeconomic variables on both the demand and supply sides of food security and their components, based on cross-country data from 2012 to 2022 for 28 countries, using panelcorrected standard error (PCSE) and system generalized method of moments (SGMM). Descriptive analysis reveals average food security percentages of 48.14% and 44.08% for the demand and supply sides, respectively. The PCSE and SGMM results also show that economic growth, agricultural output, and food trade openness have a similar effect on both the demand and supply sides, while employment in agriculture, population growth, and food price inflation have differential effects. The study recommends enhancing supply-side dimensions due to their lower indices and targeted interventions for short run impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National and international organizations have introduced policies aimed at sustainable development. These policies are designed to encourage sustainable forms of business to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda. Regional inequalities in sustainable development may be exacerbated by disparate levels of innovation. This paper analyzes the variations between clusters of countries according to the degree to which they have achieved the SDGs and their levels of innovation facilitators. Two types of analyses were employed. First, cluster analysis was used to examine changes in groups of regions with similar innovation characteristics between 2015 and 2020. Data for 122 countries were gathered from the World Bank, the SDG Index, and the Global Innovation Index. Second, multiple linear regression analysis was used to assess the power of the variables in the model to explain the level of sustainable development. The results reveal four clusters (low, medium, high, and very high innovative facilitators and sustainable development), as well as movements between those clusters from 2015 to 2020. The multiple linear regression analysis shows that the variables have explanatory power with respect to the dependent variable of sustainable development. This analysis also reveals different degrees of importance of the variables for each cluster. The findings highlight the need to consider the limitations of economic growth in terms of innovation facilitators to promote sustainable development. If policymakers recognize the limitations of economic growth and the physical ecosystem, degradation of the environment can be avoided, even when there is innovation. Global and individual social welfare can thus be ensured. This study offers valuable insights into how to achieve sustainable development through innovation facilitators by providing in-depth knowledge of the individual characteristics of innovation systems and considering the limitations of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Selçuk University Social Sciences Vocational School is the property of Journal of Selcuk University Social Sciences Vocational School 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.)

Background: Integration of palliative care in the management of critical illnesses has been linked with a better quality of life for patients and their families. Yet, there is a paucity of data regarding the role of palliative care for acute pulmonary embolism (PE) hospitalizations which is a leading cause of cardiovascular death in the United States. Methods: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample years 2005–2015, acute PE hospitalizations were identified by using ICD-9-codes. The primary outcome was the trends of palliative care penetration during acute PE hospitalizations and the main secondary outcome was the factors associated with palliative care utilization. Results: Among 505,485 acute PE hospitalizations, 15,522 (3.1%) had a palliative care encounter. Hospitalizations with high-risk PE versus non-high-risk PE showed a higher utilization for palliative care (7.6% vs. 2.7%, P < 0.001). The annual trends of palliative care penetration among hospitalizations with PE showed a rising pattern (0.6% in 2005 vs. 5.6% in 2015, Ptrend<0.001). A similar trend was observed among those with high-risk PE (0.8% in 2005 vs. 12.8% in 2015, Ptrend<0.001). The trends of palliative care utilization among cancer and non-cancer admissions increased over time (1.3%in 2005 to 15.5% in 2015 vs. 0.5% in 2005 to 3.9% in 2015, both P-trends<0.001). Some racial and regional disparities were identified among the predictors of palliative care utilization. Conclusions: Palliative care penetration among acute PE hospitalizations remains suboptimal even among high-risk PE, and cancer hospitalizations, but has been increasing in recent years. Future studies are needed to investigate the barriers for palliative care utilization and narrowing this gap among admissions with acute PE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backwardness is a multifaceted term comprising various dimensions that can be quantified with the help of specific representative indicators. This study intends to explore the state of backwardness and identify underdeveloped areas in the districts of Rajouri and Poonch that share a 230-km-long border along the Line of Control (LoC) between India and Pakistan and have always been under the continuous threat of cross-border disturbances and aggressive posturing from both sides, which has primarily affected the region's local communities geo-economically and socio-psychologically. A comprehensive block-level index of backwardness has been employed by applying Principal Component Analysis on 20 indicators across five dimensions—basic amenities, demography, education and health, agriculture, and water resources for mapping and quantifying the backwardness in the region. Here, the relative difference in the degree of development among the blocks measures backwardness. The results reveal that 15 blocks of the study area are the most backward, and only five blocks fall in the low category of backwardness. The results also reflect that most of the backward blocks are on the study area's eastern and south-western margins, as the former is characterized by high altitude, hilly terrain, and dense forests, whereas the latter forms the border between India and Pakistan, affected mainly by ceasefire violations. The findings provide vital insights for policymakers to prioritize targeted development programs and provision of basic amenities, improve education and healthcare, manage water resources sustainably, foster peace building, and involve local communities. This study primarily revolves around the 'contesting' spaces and border geographies and subsequent levels of development geographically, which would help researchers and policymakers worldwide understand the binary of backwardness and border geographies spatially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The main aim of the article is to characterize and analyze the issue of sustainable development in the regional dimension, with particular emphasis on peripherality and innovation as a context of modernization changes in the conditions of globalization. Design/methodology/approach: The article uses a method of analysis of literature in the field of regional studies, referring to the problems of regional development in the perspective of conditions and changes in the macroscale. The thematic scope of the article includes an analysis of the theoretical foundations of regional development, the issue of regional disparities and developmental distances, the characteristics of peripherality and innovation as phenomena determining opportunities and barriers to development in the conditions of the globalization process. Social implications: The impact of the characteristics and analysis contained in the article can mark itself in terms of the goals and directions of regional policies formulated and implemented by public authorities at different levels. It can contribute to increasing the awareness and scope of knowledge of the regional community, especially its decision-making circles, with regard to the main goals and directions of development at the regional level, taking into account the role of innovation in overcoming the state of peripherality and marginalization under the prevailing global development trends. Originality/value: The value of the article is based on a focused analysis of the issue of sustainable regional development and showing its determinants in a new perspective, determined by the phenomena of peripherality and innovation as a context of changes on a global scale. The characteristics and analyses of the issue in question contained in the article are part of the trend of regional studies oriented towards the search for ways to overcome inter27 regional disparities and disparities in order to achieve regional balance and convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The persistently high out-of-pocket health spending (OOPHE) in Africa raise significant concern about the prospect of reaching SDG health targets and UHC. The study examines the convergence hypothesis of OOPHE in 40 African countries from 2000 to 2019. Methods: We exploit the log t , club clustering, and merging methods on a panel of dataset obtained from the World Development Indicators, the World Governance Indicators, and the World Health Organization. Then, we employ the multilevel linear mixed effect model to examine whether countries' macro-level characteristics affect the disparities in OOPHE in the African regional economic communities (RECs). Results: The results show evidence of full panel divergence, indicating persistent disparities in OOPHE over time. However, we found three convergence clubs and a divergent group for the OOPHE per capita and as a share of the total health expenditure. The results also show that convergence does not only occur among countries affiliated with the same regional economic grouping, suggesting disparities within the regional groupings. The findings reveal that countries' improved access to sanitation and quality of governance, increased childhood DPT immunization coverage, increased share of the elderly population, life expectancy at birth, external health expenditure per capita, and ICT (information and communication technology) significantly affect within-regional groupings' disparities in OOPHE per capita. The results also show that an increasing countries' share of elderly and younger populations, access to basic sanitation, ICT, trade GDP per capita, life expectancy at birth, childhood DPT immunization coverage, and antiretroviral therapy coverage have significant impacts on the share of OOPHE to total health expenditure within the regional groupings. Conclusion: Therefore, there is a need to develop policies that vary across the convergence clubs. These countries should increase their health services coverage, adopt planned urbanization, and coordinate trade and ICT access policies. Policymakers should consider hidden costs associated with access to childhood immunization services that may lead to catastrophic health spending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infusion of digital technologies imparts impetus to the development of agricultural circular economy. Study focuses on the nexus of digital rural development, agricultural circular economy growth, employing entropy, Critic, and TOPSIS models to calculate the evolution of agricultural circular economy from 2011 to 2021. Furthermore, the temporal and spatial dynamics of agricultural circular economy development are explored. In addition, spatial Durbin models and threshold models are utilized to explore the spatial spillover effects of digital rural development on agricultural circular economy, and the threshold characteristics of agricultural circular economy with varying levels of digital rural development. The research findings reveal that arable land area, forest coverage, and mechanization play pivotal roles in shaping the trajectory of rural circular economy development. The synthetical index of rural circular economy development shows a consistent yearly increment, yet pronounced regional disparities exist, reflecting an olive-shaped distribution with dual cores in Heilongjiang and Chongqing and a more prominent central. The implementation of digital rural not only elevates the local agricultural circular economy, but also demonstrates conspicuous spatial spillover effects on neighboring regions. The relationship between digital rural development and agricultural circular economy growth is characterized by a singular threshold effect. Pre- and postthreshold, the promotive impact of digital rural development rises from 0.048 to 0.058. Building upon these findings, policy recommendations are formulated to guide future endeavors in this domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomerations are the centers of carbon emissions. However, research on sector-specific carbon emissions in different urban agglomerations is still limited. Drawing on the data of China's six urban agglomerations in 2005, 2010, and 2015, this study investigates the spatio-temporal patterns, regional inequalities, and driving forces of total, industrial, transportation, and residential carbon emissions. The study found that Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei was the total and sectoral emission center among the studied urban agglomerations. Additionally, regional carbon inequalities gradually decreased, implying a growing regional synergistic carbon pattern. The driving forces of carbon emissions, including population, GDP, energy intensity, secondary industry, tertiary industry, foreign investment, urbanization, and green coverage, varied across sectors and regions. Notably, foreign investment could lead to lower carbon emissions in less developed agglomerations like Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Central Plains, and the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, whereas more developed agglomerations like the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta benefited less from foreign investment. Besides, ChengYu has good ecological conditions and sustainable development modes, which linked urbanization and green space to reduced carbon emissions in the industrial sector. The findings can help formulate differentiated carbon policy and support sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the benefits of school meals, their provision is often not universal, being it an on-demand, pay-for-service, with the risk of creating significant disparities in their accessibility across schools, regions and social groups. In this paper, we explore food school food policies in Italy from this perspective, analysing the unequal distribution of the service and reflecting upon the implications. Our findings reveal huge disparities that reflect and exacerbate wider social, economic, territorial, employment and gender inequalities. We argue that the current regulatory approach contributes to exacerbating those disparities, and present policy recommendations aimed at extending the service. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new index that measures the development level of public services for people with disabilities. Based on the framework of territorial justice, the measure examines the equity in the spatial allocation of public service resources for disadvantaged groups. Taking China as a case, this study uses principal component analysis to construct the Public Service Facility Coverage Index for persons with disabilities. It also employs cluster analysis and spatial econometrics methods to analyze the spatial characteristics of public service facilities for persons with disabilities. Findings reveal that public service facilities for persons with disabilities can be divided into four coverage clusters—very high, high, medium, and low—with significant regional disparities among them. This article also found a significant regional spatial variation in public service facilities for persons with disabilities. Specifically, public service facilities for persons with disabilities in eastern regions were obviously higher than in other regions, mainly due to regional differences in financial autonomy, the density of the disabled population, and urbanization. The above shows that the opportunities for accessing public services still differ within a territorial entity. The realization of territorial justice requires strengthening the government's governance capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Addressing South Asia's poverty, this research presents an exhaustive case study of Pakistan, exploring poverty dynamics at national and provincial levels, emphasizing the urban–rural divide. The study uses the most recent income and expenditure surveys from 2013 and 2015 and applies the Cost of Basic Needs methodology based on strong theoretical and empirical grounds. The research adjusts for price variation within and among provinces. It uses traditional Foster-Greer-Thorbecke measures and innovative measures like the Watts and Sen indices. Findings reveal a poverty decline in Pakistan between 2013 and 2015, with significant provincial variations in this decline. Despite a minor decline in the headcount ratio of the larger provinces, their poverty shares increased in 2013–15, showing a regional convergence trend with growing disparities in poverty headcount and depth. Using indices like Watts and Sen gives a more complete, nuanced poverty understanding, highlighting the need for their adoption alongside traditional measures. The research ends with policy implications, emphasizing the importance of targeted poverty reduction strategies to address regional disparities effectively. This research offers insights into South Asia's poverty dynamics and contributes significantly to SDG 1—ending poverty. The Pakistan case study is a valuable reference for other countries, guiding accurate poverty measurement, effective policy-making, and efficient SDGs performance tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's tourism economy has experienced significant regional disparities. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the intricate mechanisms through which the interplay of influential factors gives rise to such disparities. Utilizing statistical data from the tourism economy of 31 provinces in mainland China, this study investigates regional tourism economic disparity through the asymmetric modeling of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The findings reveal that the causes of regional tourism economic disparity exhibit asymmetry; varying approaches contribute to the formation of high and low levels of tourism economy; the functioning of the most influential factors is impacted by other antecedent conditions, presenting an asymmetric non-linear effect; favorable transportation convenience is a necessary condition for a high level of tourism economy, while poor tourism attraction is a necessary condition for a low level of tourism economy. This research not only introduces a fresh perspective on regional tourism economic disparities, enabling an in-depth comprehension of the complex interactions and nonlinear functional mechanisms of influential factors, but also explores a region-based tourism development model, offering valuable practical guidance for policymakers in the tourism sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The river and lake chief system offers a valuable policy toolkit to mitigate the degradation of water ecology, thereby bolstering water resource management for sustainable water development in China. To evaluate the effects of implementation and improve policy, this study took Beijing as a typical case and conducted a quantitative assessment using multidimensional data. The findings suggest that while the river and lake chief system in Beijing is effective and has significantly contributed to the ecological management of rivers and lakes, there are also notable regional disparities and urban–rural divergences. In addition, human activities are the main sources of environmental pollution in rivers and lakes, which should be the focus of the river and lake chief system. The river and lake chief system needs to embed more public participation and cooperative governance. This research aids in better understanding China's river and lake chief system for both researchers and practitioners, facilitating the advancement of the knowledge body of global water policy and governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, the water network project plays a pivotal role in optimizing water resources allocation, enhancing regional water resources carrying capacity, and bolstering high-quality economic development. This study is grounded in the spatial interconnection of water resources, serving as the foundation for constructing a spatial measurement model. Leveraging data from 558 panel samples encompassing 31 provinces (including municipalities and districts) in China between 2003 and 2020, this research unveils the inherent correlation between the establishment of the water network and economic as well as social development. The findings indicate the following: (1) Considering inputs, outputs, and nonconsensual outputs, regional disparities in the SBM (slacks-based measure) value of the water network exist, demonstrating an overall increasing trend annually. In 2020, the nationwide average benefit level of input–output in water network construction reached 0.603. (2) Moran's I test, predicated on the weight matrix of spatial water transfer information, reveals a spatial positive autocorrelation. All tests pass the significance threshold of 5%, affirming the presence of spatial agglomeration due to project construction, operation, and the interconnectedness of water resources. (3) SDM (spatial Durbin model) regression analysis elucidates that per capita GDP, resource endowment, technological innovation level, consumption index, and average wage significantly influence the growth of water network efficiency. Specifically, per capita GDP and the consumption index exert negative influences. Moreover, aspects such as regional resource endowment, technological innovation level, industrial and agricultural water demand, average wage, and other spatial dependencies exhibit a notable positive spatial spillover effect. (4) The SDM model suggests that per capita GDP growth fails to yield a significant spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions. Instead, it highlights a substantial indirect effect and spatial dependence of government attention among regions. These analyses are instrumental in optimizing the water resources allocation network system and enhancing investment efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in the power industry have neglected concerns related to regional heterogeneity and the integer character of certain indicators. In response to these issues, this study proposes a meta-frontier DEA model that integrates integer constraints for evaluating the CEE of China's provincial power industry from 2011 to 2021. This study also proposes to apply the Theil, technology gap ratio, and inefficiency decomposition indexes to analyze regional disparities, technological gaps, and strategies for enhancing CEE within China's provincial power industry. The research findings highlight several key points. First, China's power industry exhibits inefficiencies in CEE. The central region mainly contributes to the overall CEE decline, and approximately 70% of provinces demonstrate an average CEE below 0.70. Second, the technological level of the western region is leading, while that of the central region is the worst. Specifically, Ningxia, Hainan, and Jiangsu have the most advanced production technology levels. Third, substantial disparities in CEE within China's power industry primarily stem from regional imbalances in development. Fourth, technical inefficiency contributed 68.24% of the CEE in the central region, and management inefficiency contributed 96.91% and 65.42% in the western and eastern regions, respectively. Overall, China's power industry still has 37% potential for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study recalculates the carbon emissions of urban and rural residents in China, analyzing the dynamic evolution trends of urban and rural carbon emissions. It explores the spatial spillover effects centered around the inequality in carbon emissions between urban and rural areas. Methods: The study calculates the carbon emissions of urban and rural residents in each province based on the IPCC method. Non- parametric kernel density estimation is employed to depict the dynamic evolution characteristics of national, urban, and rural carbon emissions. The Theil Index is used to measure the disparities in urban and rural carbon emissions in major strategic regions, further applying the Theil Index to evaluate the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions across provinces. This helps identify the driving factors affecting the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions and their spatiotemporal effects. Finding: Carbon emissions from urban and rural residents in China present a divergent development pattern. Urban emissions have increased, with interprovincial disparities widening; rural emissions tend to stabilize, with slight growth in inter-provincial gaps. The overall inequality of carbon emissions in various regions of China experiences a three-phase journey of rise, decline, and stabilization. Urban inequality first increases then decreases, while rural inequality gradually lessens, showing clear regional and urban-rural differences. Market and government factors significantly impact the inequality of urban and rural carbon emissions. The development of the digital economy aids in reducing inequality and generates significant spatial spillover effects. The relationship between economic development level and carbon emission inequality is U-shaped. Industrial structure optimization can reduce urban-rural inequality, but its spatial spillover effect is not significant. Government intervention has limited effects, while environmental regulations may increase inequality. Opening up to the outside world helps reduce inequality, and the impact of population density is complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To establish an online predictive model for the prediction of cervical lymph node metastasis (CLNM) in children and adolescents with differentiated thyroid cancer (caDTC). And analyze the impact between socioeconomic disparities, regional environment and CLNM. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed clinicopathological and sociodemographic data of caDTC from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database from 2000 to 2019. Risk factors for CLNM in caDTC were analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression (LR). And use the extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) algorithm and other commonly used ML algorithms to build CLNM prediction models. Model performance assessment and visualization were performed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve and SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). Results: In addition to common risk factors, our study found that median household income and living regional were strongly associated with CLNM. Whether in the training set or the validation set, among the ML models constructed based on these variables, the XGBoost model has the best predictive performance. After 10-fold cross-validation, the prediction performance of the model can reach the best, and its best AUROC value is 0.766 (95%CI: 0.745-0.786) in the training set, 0.736 (95%CI: 0.670-0.802) in the validation set, and 0.733 (95%CI: 0.683-0.783) in the test set. Based on this XGBoost model combined with SHAP method, we constructed a web-base predictive system. Conclusion: The online prediction model based on the XGBoost algorithm can dynamically estimate the risk probability of CLNM in caDTC, so as to provide patients with personalized treatment advice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study establishes an indicator system encompassing economic, social, and environmental dimensions to assess the level of green development in animal husbandry from 2010 to 2020. It further examines the coupling coordination degree within each dimension. The Dagum Gini coefficient is employed to scrutinize the regional disparities in coupling coordination degree of the economic benefit, social benefit, and environmental benefit of the green development in Chinese animal husbandry. Additionally, Moran's I is utilized to identify the degree of spatial autocorrelation and aggregation types. The results demonstrate the following: (1) From 2010 to 2020, the level of green development in the animal husbandry in China has steadily improved. Among the three dimensions, economic benefits exhibit the highest performance, followed by environmental benefits and social benefits. There are obvious regional disparities in the green development of animal husbandry, which are "strong in north and weak in south" and "strong in west and weak in east." The Gini coefficient for green development in the animal husbandry in China experienced a fluctuating upward trend. (2) From 2010 to 2020, the overall coupling coordination degree of the economic benefit, social benefit, and environmental benefit of green development in the animal husbandry in China remains at a rudimentary level and demonstrates a steady upward trend. Spatially, it manifests an agglomeration pattern primarily centered around Beijing, with the northeastern region being the main focus. (3) The Gini coefficient for the coupling coordination degree experienced a slight fluctuating upward trend. In terms of inter-regional disparities, significant differences are observed between the northeastern region and the central region, as well as between the northeastern region and the eastern region. In terms of contribution to disparities, inter-regional contributions were the most substantial, followed by super-variable density, with intra-regional contributions being the smallest. (4) The coupling coordination degree displayed spatial autocorrelation, with "high-high" aggregation areas predominantly concentrated in the northeastern region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/Aim: Maxillofacial trauma resulting from intimate partner violence (IPV) represents an important oral health problem. In this sense, the aim of this study was to investigate the spatial–temporal distribution of maxillofacial trauma resulting from IPV against women, using a geostatistical approach. Materials and Methods: An ecological study was carried out including the analysis of confirmed IPV cases against women treated at a Center for Forensic Medicine and Dentistry over a four‐year observation period, as well as the evaluation of population data from the victims' places of residence extracted from the last demographic census of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. Statistical analysis included: (i) finite mixture modeling to establish incidence trajectory patterns; (ii) Getis‐Ord indicator (Gi*) for spatial autocorrelation; (iii) spatial regression analysis (p <.05). Results: Two distinct trajectory patterns (TP1 and TP2) related to IPV incidence were identified using finite mixture modeling, suggesting spatial–temporal disparities at the regional level. In TP1, it was observed that IPV incidence was relatively low and remained stable over time, covering almost two‐thirds (62.0%) of investigated spatial units. TP2 was characterized by higher IPV incidence with a tendency to increase in the last year, including more than one‐third of neighborhoods (38.0%). Autocorrelation analysis showed a predominance of hot areas (hotspots) in the Eastern zone (p <.05) and in the Western zone (p <.05); and cold areas (coldspots) in the Northern zone (p <.05). In addition, statistically significant association was observed among neighborhoods with higher percentage of households with family householder without income and higher incidence of maxillofacial trauma resulting from IPV against women (β = 5.305; SE = 1.741; p =.002). Conclusions: The findings indicate an association between higher IPV incidence against women, maxillofacial trauma, and socio‐spatial vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycentric urban regions have been advocated for, and justified as enhancing both economic growth and overall competitiveness while also creating more equitable and balanced metropolitan regions. We examine the role of regional polycentricity in effectuating certain desirable outcomes, specifically enhancing economic productivity and minimizing spatial disparities simultaneously in German urban regions (Großstadtregionen) as a case study. Using econometric analysis of both functional and morphological polycentricity measures, our results indicate that polycentric development can effectively reduce regional disparities in urban regions, but not simultaneously promote economic productivity. These findings confirm previous studies that progress toward one goal hampers progress toward another. Further investigation at a finer scale suggests that the borrowed size effect is essentially a "win-loss" game between peripheries and urban core(s) within the same urban region. Peripheries benefit from the spillovers generated by nearby urban core(s), thereby narrowing regional economic gaps and leading to more equitable regions. However, the gains of the peripheries are canceled out by the losses of the urban cores, and polycentric development has an insignificant overall effect on regional economic productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying a spatialized data envelopment analysis, this paper estimates and analyzes the efficiency of European Union NUTS‐2 regions during the period 2000–2014. The space‐dependent efficiency scores estimated with the proposed model show a bimodal distribution that is not detected by the aspatial approach. The results confirm the crucial role of location of production units, offering important new insights on both the causes of regional disparities in labor productivity and the observed polarization of the European distribution of per capita income. The findings further suggest significant differences for the two subgroups (spatial clusters) of regional economies found in the correlation analysis between the efficiency scores and the components of the EU Regional Competitiveness Index. Consequently, policies suitable for one group of regions may not be suitable or appropriate for the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situated in China's arid and semi-arid zones, the Xinjiang region heavily relies on groundwater for its freshwater supply. This study utilizes data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission, covering the years 2003 to 2021, to quantitatively evaluate the temporal and spatial changes in groundwater storage anomalies (GWSA) in the Xinjiang region. Furthermore, we incorporate the HydroSHEDS dataset to examine the spatial variations in groundwater storage anomalies across watersheds of varying scales. Based on our findings, the GWSA decreased during the study period at a mean rate of −0.381 mm/month, marked by a consistent trend and notable interannual variability. In addition, significant regional disparities are observed; while groundwater storage in the southeastern watersheds is on an upward trend, a general decline is noted in the northern and central regions. The most pronounced depletion is detected in the northwest, especially in the Ili River basin and along the western slopes of the Tianshan Mountains. These changes are intricately linked to anthropogenic factors, including population growth and escalating water demands. In response, the study advocates for the development and enforcement of more rigorous and scientifically informed groundwater management strategies to promote sustainable water use in Xinjiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the digital revolution deepens, the digital economy (DE) is reshaping the global industrial structure (IS). This paper utilizes data from 280 Chinese cities between 2007 and 2020 to conduct an in-depth analysis of how DE propels the upgrading of IS and explores the role of human capital (HC) in this process. The research indicates that DE significantly fosters the optimization of IS. Additionally, it was discovered that the growth of HC plays a pivotal mediating role in this evolution, complementing existing research on the relationship between higher education and industrial upgrading. By adopting spatial econometric methods, this study unveils the spillover effects of DE in geographical space, identifying a positive influence on the industrial upgrading of surrounding regions. The paper also confirms the nonlinear characteristics of DE's impact on IS upgrading, which manifests as a pronounced inverted U-shaped trend, marking a novel discovery. Further findings suggest that in regions with more advanced artificial intelligence technologies, the impact of DE on industrial optimization is more significant, highlighting the role of regional disparities in the digital transformation. In conclusion, the paper proposes policy recommendations based on the research findings to facilitate the development of DE and the elevation of IS levels, thereby promoting high-quality economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the spatiotemporal evolution of economic development in 23 cities across Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, and Macau from 1990 to 2022. The results indicated a general growth trend in overall economic development, with substantial fluctuations in absolute differences and a significant reduction in relative differences. The economic development appeared to be balanced both within and between cities. Spatially, the study revealed an increasing agglomeration effect, evident polarization in economic levels, and a distinct core–periphery structure, with central cities in the Greater Bay Area exerting a growing influence on their peripheries. Nevertheless, the peripheral cities, despite their economic strides, necessitate augmented policy interventions and capital influx to bridge regional chasms. The study's outcomes serve as a foundational reference for sharpening policy decisions, fostering regional amalgamation, and invigorating urban blueprinting and city-to-city synergies. This research provides an in-depth analysis of economic development trends across 23 cities in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau over 32 years. For policymakers, urban planners, and business leaders, the findings present a clearer picture of the region's economic landscape. Notably, while central cities within the Greater Bay Area have become influential economic hubs, surrounding cities still face challenges. These insights suggest a need for more targeted policies and investments, especially in peripheral cities, to promote more uniform growth across the region. By understanding these dynamics, governments and businesses can make more informed decisions that foster city-to-city collaborations and develop better urban and regional strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STEAM education system is largely being incorporated within different countries to develop creativity and problemsolving skills among the students. This study has also focused on sustaining regional equality and interdisciplinary integration of arts and sciences via creativity research in STEAM education systems. For this study, the qualitative data was collected from 12 science teachers working in different Chinese high schools. Thematic analysis was used for analyzing the collected interview transcripts. Four important themes were formulated which include (a) STEAM Education System, (b) Creativity in STEAM Education System, (c) STEAM Education System Issues and (d) Recommendations for STEAM Education System. The results obtained from this study showed that STEAM education system helps in encouraging student engagement, following interdisciplinary integration of arts and sciences. However, regional inequality in China prevents effective accessibility and quality of STEAM education in rural regions of the country, emphasizing the development and implementation of effective educational and regional policies. This study has also provided different practical and theoretical implications within the context of STEAM education systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This editorial is intended to provide a brief overview of the evolution of a selection of European space economies and policies introduced to mitigate the devastating effects of at least five crises most have faced in the past decade or more. In a time of great fragility in economy, politics and society, concatenations of the five crises and more have challenged planners to come up with new solutions to long-standing urban and regional problems (otherwise 'opportunities'). The five crises focused on here are: Green Transition; Great Financial Crisis; Euro Crisis; Migration and Refugee Asylum Crisis; COVID-19 Crisis. Occasional papers in the Special Issue that follows refer to other crisis effects such as; Ukraine resistance to its war against the Russian invasion; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict of October 2023; Austerity policies and associated urban and regional disparities with inter-regional tensions; and the socio-economic effects of liberalization of Eastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on income inequality in developing economies has scarcely looked at the regional dimension. This is important, as progress in reducing income inequality at national level can only be partially successful if a country consists of very unequal regions alongside relatively equal ones. Using newly assembled Luxembourg Income Study data, we study the evolution of income inequality within Egyptian regions during 1999–2015. The analysis offers three findings. First, income inequality has generally increased. Second, regional differences in income inequality tended to decrease, but less unequal regions are converging to similar levels of inequality of more unequal regions. Third, there has been a decrease in the income share of the bottom 40% and an increase in the proportion of people living below 50% of median income. Hence, geographically diffused progress on the first two targets of SDG 10 depends on reversing these trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study is to show the regional differences in Hungary in terms of economic determination and tourism performance. The overdominance of Budapest can be identified in most socio-economic indicators. The consequence of the capital's "hydrocephalus" is that Hungary's peripheral regions have developed serious economic challenges, and reducing regional disparities in these areas is key. From a tourism perspective in particular, the capital's hydrocephalus is also an opportunity, as the spill-over effect can increase the popularity of other destinations in the country. The Balaton and Western Transdanubia regions are the main beneficiaries of this effect. In addition to the analysis of regional disparities, the study also looks at the impact on tourism of the crisis periods caused by the 2008 global economic crisis and the pandemic that unfolded in 2020-2021, which led to a historic low in the tourism sector, notably the pandemic, by analysing longer time series data. The balance between international and domestic tourism is key to the resilience of tourism to the crisis. Multi-directional tourism can reduce exposure to external factors and contribute to the stability of the tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The objective of this paper is to examine crop yield predictions and their implications on MPCI in Ghana. Farmers in developing countries struggle with their ability to deal with agricultural risks. Providing aid for farmers and their households remains instrumental in combatting poverty in Africa. Several studies have shown that correctly understanding and implementing risk management strategies will help in the poverty alleviation agenda. Design/methodology/approach: This study examines the importance of crop yield distributions in Ghana and its implication on multiperil crop insurance (MPCI) rating using the Lasso regression model. A Bonferroni test was employed to test the independence of crop yields across the regions while the Kruskal-Wallis H test was conducted to examine statistical differences in mean yields of crops across the ten regions. The Bayesian information criteria and k-fold cross-validation methods are used to select an appropriate Lasso regression model for the prediction of crop yields. The study focuses on the variability of the threshold yields across regions based on the chosen model. Findings: It is revealed that threshold yields differ significantly across the regions in the country. This implies that the payment of claims will not be evenly distributed across the regions, and hence regional disparities need to be considered when pricing MPCI products. In other words, policymakers may choose to assign respective weights across regions based on their threshold yields. Research limitations/implications: The primary limitation is the unavailability of regional climate data which could have helped in a better explanation of the variation across the regions. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the implications of regional crop yield variations on multiperil crop insurance rating in Ghana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Constructs an evaluation system for the quality of economic development (QED) in China based on the new development philosophy. • Employs relational data model to examine the impact of digital financial inclusion (DFI) on regional QED disparities. • Regional DFI disparities positively affect regional QED disparities, driven by coverage breadth and usage depth of DFI. • The impact differs across regions - positive in the east and west, insignificant in the central region. • The intensity of DFI's impact on reducing regional QED disparities shows an increasing trend over time. This study constructs a multi-dimensional evaluation system for the quality of economic development (QED) and measures the QED in 30 provinces of China from 2012 to 2021. The results show that both QED and digital financial inclusion (DFI) exhibit significant differences across space and time. Specifically, QED and the development level of DFI are higher in eastern regions compared to central and western regions of China. Additionally, while regional disparities in DFI show an upward tendency, they are trending downward in QED. Based on the analytical paradigm of relational data, this research investigates the influence of DFI on regional disparities in QED using econometric models of relational data and the quadratic assignment procedure. This research finds that: (1) Regional differences in DFI, including breadth of coverage and depth of usage, positively impact regional disparities in QED when looking at the full sample. (2) Analyzed by region, DFI's regional disparities positively influence QED's regional disparities in the eastern and western regions of China. (3) Compared across years, the impact intensity of DFI on regional disparities in QED exhibits an overall rising trend, with depth of usage rising the most, while the impacts of coverage breadth and digitization degree weaken. This study not only promotes the understanding of the relationship between DFI and QED, but also provides a policy reference for narrowing regional development disparities, promoting coordinated development, and improving the quality of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU Cohesion Policy is one of the European Union's key policy instruments for reducing economic and social disparities among its regions. The paper evaluates the policy contribution to regional economic growth in V4 (Visegrad Four) countries. The study establishes a significant variation in ESIF (European Structural and Investment Funds) distribution at the NUTS2 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) level within the V4 regions over 2000-2018. It suggests that ESIF absorption was not evenly distributed across regions within the V4 countries. This finding indicates that regional disparities in ESIF distribution may have contributed to economic imbalances within the countries. Secondly, a causal link between regional growth and ESIF absorption is identified. Along with other covariates, the use of the ESIF shows a statistically significant, although very modest, effect on the economic growth of V4 countries. Finally, the assumption of cross-country growth dispersion is investigated. The research results suggest statistically significant regional growth differences between Czechia and Slovakia on the one hand and Poland and Hungary on the other. It implies that the impact of ESIF absorption on economic growth may have varied among these V4 countries, potentially due to differences in policy implementation, economic structures or other factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the gender wage gap in Kazakhstan over the period 2011–2019. It was found to be persistent and stable during this period at around 30%; however, the decomposition suggests the increasing negative effect of growing industrial segregation which is not compensated for by a relatively better and improving human capital of females. Unsurprisingly, the highest gender gap is documented in more industrialised and economically successful provinces and the lowest gap, that is, in the poorest and predominantly agricultural ones. In the two largest cities with the most advanced economies, our findings suggest the existence of vertical segregation and discrimination. Thus, the policy aimed at narrowing down gender inequalities in Kazakhstan's labour market should seek to equalise industrial disparities and segregation and account for regional disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) are important precursors to ozone and secondary organic aerosols in the atmosphere, affecting air quality, clouds, and climate. However, the trend in BVOC emissions and driving factors for the emission changes in different geographic regions over the past 2 decades has remained unclear. Here, regional to global changes in BVOC emissions during 2001–2020 are simulated using the latest Model of Emission of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGANv3.2) with the input of time-varying satellite-retrieved vegetation and reanalysis meteorology data. Comparison of model simulations with the site observations shows that the model can reasonably reproduce the magnitude of isoprene and monoterpene emission fluxes. The spatial distribution of the modeled isoprene emissions is generally comparable to the satellite retrievals. The estimated annual average global BVOC emissions are 835.4 Tg yr -1 with the emissions from isoprene, monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and other BVOC comprised of 347.7, 184.8, 23.3, and 279.6 Tg yr -1 , respectively. We find that the decrease in global isoprene emissions (-0.07 % per year) caused by the increase in CO 2 concentrations (-0.20 % per year) is stronger than that caused by changes in vegetation (-0.03 % per year) and meteorological factors (0.15 % per year). However, regional disparities are large. Isoprene emissions increase significantly in Europe, East Asia, and South Asia (0.37 % per year–0.66 % per year). Half of the increasing trend is contributed by increased leaf area index (LAI) (maximum over 0.02 m 2 m -2 yr -1) and tree cover. Changes in meteorological factors contribute to another half, with elevated temperature dominating in Europe and increased soil moisture dominating in East and South Asia. In contrast, in South America and Southeast Asia, shifts in vegetation type associated with the BVOC emission capacity, which partly results from the deforestation and agricultural expansion, decrease the BVOC emission and offset nearly half of the emission increase caused by changes in meteorological factors. Overall, isoprene emission increases by 0.35 % per year and 0.25 % per year in South America and Southeast Asia, respectively. In Central Africa, a decrease in temperature dominates the negative emission trend (-0.74 % per year). Global monoterpene emissions show a significantly increasing trend (0.34 % per year, 0.6 Tg yr -1) compared to that of isoprene (-0.07 % per year, -0.2 Tg yr -1) , especially in strong greening hotspots. This is mainly because the monoterpene emissions are more sensitive to changes in LAI and are not subject to the inhibition effect of CO 2. The findings highlight the important roles of vegetation cover and biomass, temperature, and soil moisture in modulating the temporal variations of global BVOC emissions in the past 2 decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to discuss left behind places in Brazil in the early 21st century. We conceptually debate the left behind places' approach in dialogue with other contemporary theoretical perspectives. To evaluate regional inequalities in Brazil, we used the coefficient of variation, calculated at two different scales from 2002 to 2019 for GDP per capita, also considering social indicators. The results indicated a slow decline in regional inequalities. We debate the role of recently implemented public policies in this process, as well as the potentiality of these policies to identify left behind places and deal with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing interest in subjective inequality, little is known about the relation between this and more objective measures of inequality, especially in the light of regional disparities. This study focuses on the patterns of actual income inequality and two subjective measures in NUTS 2 EU regions. By accounting for multiple indicators of economic (under)performance, we show that actual inequality is positively related to people's perceptions in left behind places, but not in more developed regions. Furthermore, both residents of less developed or—'left behind'—regions and those of more developed regions exhibit a preference for lower levels of income inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides an overview of the state of identification of left behind regions and proposes a new methodology for identifying them. Despite increased interest in rising regional inequality, the identification of left behind regions differs greatly, complicating policymaking aimed at addressing these regional challenges. Based on the substantial literature that has emerged in recent years on left behind regions, the paper argues for the importance of both time and space as key elements when identifying left behind regions. This paper applies the proposed identification method to Denmark; it uses longitudinal data from 1980 to 2018 and includes the current wave of interregional inequality and typically adopted variables for identifying left behind regions across the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is considerable debate in the literature as to the precise definition of 'left-behind' places, and the appropriate metrics for identifying them, and for successfully targeting regional policy interventions. We propose an evaluation structure for 'left-behindness' based on Amartya Sen's capability approach, and argue that the diversity of criteria should not be seen as a shortcoming, but rather as a richness to be explored. We show, through the use of 'posets' and Hasse diagrams, that there are several distinct 'structures of left-behindness' across European NUTS 2 regions, revealing spatial imbalances that do not conform to a 'one size fits all' narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]