Search

Background General practitioners (GPs) are gatekeepers of residents' health, the rational allocation of resources is the basic guarantee for achieving fairness in health services. At present, research on the allocation of GPs in China mainly focuses on the whole country and individual provinces, lack of research on the allocation of human resources for general practitioners in the western region as the research object. Objective To comprehensively evaluate the current situation of GPs resource allocation in western China from 2015 to 2020, provide a reference for optimizing the resources distribution of GPs in the western region of China. Methods The data for this study were derived from the China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook (2016-2017), the China Health Statistics Yearbook (2018-2022), and the China Statistical Yearbook (2016-2022). Using Atkinson index and location entropy to calculate and decompose the overall allocation of GPs resources in the western region. Using grey prediction model to predict the demand for GPs in the western region from 2022 to 2025. Results From 2015 to 2020, the number of GPs in the western region increased from 39 290 to 94 652, with an average annual growth rate of 19.23%. The Atkinson Index by population, economy, and geography in 2015 and 2020 respectively were 0.1265 and 0.049 3, 0.124 4 and 0.038 2, 0.786 5 and 0.694 4. The location entropy of population, economy, and geographical indicators in the western provinces in 2020 respectively ranged from 0.794 3 to 1.219 0, 0.697 0 to 1.337 3, and 0.043 2 to 7.7270. The location entropy of geographical allocation in the southwest region is greater than 1, while the location entropy of population allocation in the northwest region is better than geographical allocation.The location entropy of economic indicators in Gansu, Qinghai and Guangxi is greater than 1 during the research period.The grey model predicts that the resources of GPs in the western region will show an increasing trend from 2022 to 2025. Conciusion The allocation level of GPs in the western region is gradually improving, and the structure is gradually optimizing. However, there are still problems such as insufficient total quantity, uneven distribution, low registration rate, and poor fairness. Suggestions should be based on geographical classification as the standard, with the principle of "Adjust increment and optimize inventory", the goal of occupational attractiveness, and the guidance of resource integration and regional collaboration to further optimize the resource allocation of GPs in the western region.

Background: Equity in access to health resources is a fundamental goal of health systems worldwide. Objectives: This study aims to assess the distribution of essential health resources necessary for healthcare provision in Bushehr Province. Methods: This cross-sectional study spans ten years and utilizes several widely recognized indices in health resource distribution equity and equality, including the Gini Coefficient, Concentration Index, Horizontal Inequity, Robin Hood Index, Theil Index, Atkinson Index, and Quantile Ratio. These indices were calculated based on both the population level and the proposed resource allocation model (PRAM) using Excel Software 2018 and Stata version 18. Results: The findings indicate a degree of inequality in the distribution of all health resources examined, with special beds exhibiting much higher levels of inequality than others. The sensitivity of the studied indices varied across the distributed resources. Moreover, the trend of inequality generally decreased for all examined resources. The PRAM results suggest that adopting a different approach to resource distribution can significantly reduce inequality levels. Conclusions: Despite a downward trend in the inequality of health resource distribution, significant disparities persist. Altering the resource distribution system from the conventional geographical division could aid in achieving equity and equality in healthcare. Such changes could also reduce the costs associated with the health system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the conceptualization and quantification of carbon emission inequality and fairness from energy consumption. In order to more accurately measure the carbon emissions generated by electricity consumption in each city, we firstly propose a new method for calculating the carbon emission factor for electricity, and calculates the carbon emissions from energy consumption in 282 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2019. Through the application of the Theil-Kaya decomposition mechanism and the improved Atkinson index, we conducted an in-depth study of the carbon emission inequality and fairness indicators from energy consumption. The results show that (1) Although China's overall inequality has declined, it remains significant in the western region, with its inequality indicator fluctuating from 0.548 in 2003 to 0.683 in 2019.(2) The decomposition of the drivers of inequality indicators shows that the contribution of GDP per capita to inequality is increasingly being replaced by energy intensity and the energy carbon emission factor, with energy intensity emerging as the main driver, contributing more than 40% to inequality in 2019, both overall and in the three regions.(3) The results for the fairness indicator, on the other hand, show a certain degree of divergence. Further Dynamic Time Warping fitting analysis shows that regardless of how the public's sensitivity to carbon emissions varies, the change trends of the fairness and inequality indicators for carbon emissions in the eastern region show a high degree of convergence, even in the two most extreme cases. The fit is poorest in the western region, but improves significantly if public's sensitivity to carbon emissions increases. (4)To sum up, some policies that are consistent with the context of the times, such as the East-West regional counterparts and the construction of a new type of power system, are worthy of priority consideration by the Government.

Objective To analyze the allocation efficiency and spatial -temporal difference of health resources in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) hospitals from 2016 to 2021, to provide reference for the rational allocation of health resources in TCM hospitals. Methods Based on the relevant data in National Statistical Almanac of traditional Chinese Medicine, China Health and Family Planning Statistical Yearbook, China Health Statistical Yearbook, and China Statistical Yearbook, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to analyze the efficiency of health resource allocation dynamically and statically, and Atkinson index and location entropy were used to analyze the temporal and spatial differences of resource allocation microscopically and macroscopically. Results The dynamic results showed that the average change of total factor productivity from 2016 to 2021 was 0.971, only the total factor productivity of Guangdong and Guangxi was more than 1, and the input and output efficiency of traditional Chinese medicine health services decreased in most provinces. The static results showed that the average comprehensive efficiency of resource allocation of traditional Chinese medicine hospitals in China was 0.792 in 2021, with only 5 regions reaching DEA efficiency, and the development of resource scale in ineffective areas was uneven. Atkinson index showed that the Atkinson index of population allocation of health resources in TCM hospitals in China from 2016 to 2021 ranged from 0.007 to 0.059, and that of geographical allocation from 0.355 to 0.773. Location entropy showed that the location entropy of geographical indicators of population density and mean was greater than that of population indicators, and the location entropy of population allocation in sparsely populated areas was better than that of geographical allocation. Conclusion There are some problems in the allocation of health resources in TCM hospitals in China, such as poor comprehensive efficiency, lack of technological innovation ability, unbalanced investment in resource scale, and regional di ferences in fairness. The following suggestions are put fonvard: to promote the innovation of TCM medical technology and strengthen the support of medical technology; to comprehensively consider the input-output factors, reasonably plan and regulate the scale of resources; to strengthen the leading position of the government and consider fairness and accessibility; and to strengtlien the cultural construction of TCM and to stimulate the demand for TCM services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis study aims to investigate welfare inequality between households in rural and urban Ethiopia using secondary data obtained from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS) available on the World Bank website. The data was analyzed using the Atkinson Index to identify welfare inequality among households and quantile regression to identify determinants of welfare inequality in rural and urban Ethiopia. The results show that the Atkinson index for the rural group is 0.123006, while it is 0.110899 for the urban group, indicating a higher level of welfare inequality in rural areas. Furthermore, the quantile regression analysis reveals that among the factors measured, the number of assets, access to health services, and saving are important determinants of welfare inequality in rural households. On the other hand, the number of livestock and household size are found to be significant factors contributing to welfare inequality in urban areas. This study provides valuable insights into the specific drivers of welfare inequality in both rural and urban settings and can inform policymakers on how to address these inequalities to promote social and economic development in Ethiopia.

This study aims to investigate welfare inequality between households in rural and urban Ethiopia using secondary data obtained from the Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS) available on the World Bank website. The data was analyzed using the Atkinson Index to identify welfare inequality among households and quantile regression to identify determinants of welfare inequality in rural and urban Ethiopia. The results show that the Atkinson index for the rural group is 0.123006, while it is 0.110899 for the urban group, indicating a higher level of welfare inequality in rural areas. Furthermore, the quantile regression analysis reveals that among the factors measured, the number of assets, access to health services, and saving are important determinants of welfare inequality in rural households. On the other hand, the number of livestock and household size are found to be significant factors contributing to welfare inequality in urban areas. This study provides valuable insights into the specific drivers of welfare inequality in both rural and urban settings and can inform policymakers on how to address these inequalities to promote social and economic development in Ethiopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: Studies of income distributions may focus on describing empirical distributions by theoretical models. This approach can be useful for many reasons. When choosing a statistical model, it is important both to find out a theoretical distribution function that would characterize empirical frequency distribution and to choose suitable methods to calculate the parameters of the model. In the literature, there are proposals for various types of mathematical functions. Very high accuracy with empirical distribution is characteristic for Dagum and log-normal models. In 2010 Zenga proposed a new three-parameter model for economic size distribution which possesses interesting statistical properties.

Using the simple random sampling (SRS) for collecting the income data may results poor estimators specially when the sample size is not enough large. Since under this circumstance, it may be difficult to obtain a representative subset from the income population based on SRS. Ranked set sampling (RSS) and its simplified versions overcome to this shortcoming. These sampling schemes work based on judgment ranking of the sample units. Moreover, the judgment post-stratification sampling (JPS) is also another rank-based sampling plan that can be considered as a competitor of RSS. This paper is organized in order to find the most appropriate sampling scheme among the SRS, RSS, JPS and some more, for estimating of some well-known inequality indices. Comparison of the estimators is carried out through a simulation study based on both perfect and imperfect ranking mechanisms. Results show that the suggested scheme is different for each inequality index. Finally, a real data set is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research background: In the distributive analysis, the constant relative inequality aversion utility function is a standard tool for ethical judgements of income distributions. The sole parameter e of this function expresses a society's aversion to inequality. However, the profession has not committed to the range of e. When assessing inequality and other welfare characteristics, analysts assume an arbitrary level of e, common to all countries and years. This assumption seems unjustified. Purpose of the article: This paper aims to estimate the parameter e for each country and year individually using datasets from the Luxembourg Income Study Database in all available years, which dates back to the 1970s. Methods: We utilise the method of estimating e, which assumes the generalised beta of the second kind distribution of incomes. The estimator of e is derived from the mathematical condition of the existence of the social welfare function. Findings & value added: We have elaborated an 'atlas' of 388 estimates of e for 55 countries across time. Inequality aversion is country-year specific, with a minimum of 0.97 and a maximum of 3.8. Ninety per cent of all estimates are less than 2.5. Inequality aversion is negatively correlated with income inequality, but it is independent of economic development. Thus, inequality aversion appears as an additional dimension of the classical inequality-development relationship. This article contributes to solving a fundamental problem of Welfare Economics: directly measuring the social utility of income (welfare) function. The estimates of e for 55 countries imply a complete knowledge of these countries' constant relative inequality aversion utility functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to analyze the effects of zakat distribution on income inequality and welfare aspects of the poor Muslim society in Malaysia. The population of the study is the poor and hardcore poor of the zakat recipients in Selangor. Exploring the cross sectional micro level data of nine districts in Selangor, Malaysia, this study adopted Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient to represent positive measures of income inequality. However, these measures do not take into account the welfare effects of the distribution to the society. Hence, Atkinson index is adopted to represent the normative measures of inequality that takes into account the welfare effects of the zakat distribution to society. Results of the Gini coefficient and Lorenz curve have proven effectiveness of zakat distribution in reducing income inequality of the society. Whilst the theory of zakat says that zakat distribution will improve income inequality and welfare of the society, findings of the normative measures in this research show otherwise. Therefore, this study is extended with zakat distribution simulation model based on had kifayah. Results from the distribution simulation model proved the ability of zakat in narrowing down income inequality, reducing income loss and hence increasing the welfare of the society.

Despite the efforts to reduce poverty in rural municipalities income inequality persists in Mexico. This study presents an analysis on rural household income distribution in the country, since it is argued that conditional federal transfers fail on improving income distribution among rural households. The hypothesis stated that, because of local public goods are also part of individual budget constraints, it is rational to think that an expansion in the provision of local public goods will increase total income and, if such public goods are financed with conditional grants that target low-income groups, it is expected that income inequality may decrease. Thus, the objective was to classify rural municipalities in order to observe which among them have benefited from federal grants and those that did not, finding the reasons why assuming grants are accepted as an instrument contributing to reduce poverty and income inequality in recent years. Each group was analysed as a cluster to observe the effect of federal transfers on rural household income distribution. Main results showed that municipalities with rural low incomeinequality and better economic development indicators improve income distribution when obtaining unconditional grants. This means that, in such cases, those transfers designed to reduce poverty also reduce rural income inequality. But that was not the case for the high income-inequality groups, where conditional grants did not have any effect on inequality and, in some cases, inequality increased. For the rural high income-inequality group, unconditional grants showed not to have a positive effect on reducing inequality. The clustering and regression analyses revealed large heterogeneity in the rural areas in terms of income and economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suppose that a population, composed of a minority and a majority group, is allocated into units, which can be neighborhoods, firms, classrooms, etc. Qualitatively, there is some segregation whenever allocation leads to the concentration of minority individuals in some units more than in others. Quantitative measures of segregation have struggled with the small-unit bias. When units contain few individuals, indices based on the minority shares in units are upward biased. For instance, they would point to a positive amount of segregation even when allocation is strictly random. The command segregsmall implements three recent methods correcting for such bias: the nonparametric, partial identification approach of D'Haultfœuille and Rathelot (2017, Quantitative Economics 8: 39–73); the parametric model of Rathelot (2012, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 30: 546–553); and the linear correction of Carrington and Troske (1997, Journal of Business & Economic Statistics 15: 402–409). The package also allows for conditional analyses, namely, measures of segregation accounting for characteristics of the individuals or the units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides an overview of the trend in the concentration of the total assets of banks in Croatia for the period from 2007 to 2016 with the aim of analysing and presenting the changes that occurred in the system. Also, the paper shows the theoretical framework of the indicators used in the research as well as the comparison of their obtained values. The data used to calculate the total assets concentration are taken from the Croatian National Bank. The concentration indices used in the study include the entropy measure, the Theil entropy, the Gini coefficient, the Pietra index, the Atkinson index and the coefficient of variation. The results indicate a very slight decrease in concentration over the past several years, while the coefficient of variation points to the heterogeneity of the system, as well as to inequalities among the banks, which are most evident in the size of banks assets.

• Carbon emissions from energy consumption of 282 prefecture-level cities in China were calculated. • A new method for calculating carbon emission factors for electricity is proposed. • Extending the Atkinson Index to the application of Carbon Fairness. • Measured the inequality and fairness indicators of carbon emissions from energy consumption at the prefecture-level city level in China. This paper focuses on the conceptualization and quantification of carbon emission inequality and fairness from energy consumption. In order to more accurately measure the carbon emissions generated by electricity consumption in each city, we firstly propose a new method for calculating the carbon emission factor for electricity, and calculates the carbon emissions from energy consumption in 282 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2019. Through the application of the Theil-Kaya decomposition mechanism and the improved Atkinson index, we conducted an in-depth study of the carbon emission inequality and fairness indicators from energy consumption. The results show that (1) Although China's overall inequality has declined, it remains significant in the western region, with its inequality indicator fluctuating from 0.548 in 2003 to 0.683 in 2019.(2) The decomposition of the drivers of inequality indicators shows that the contribution of GDP per capita to inequality is increasingly being replaced by energy intensity and the energy carbon emission factor, with energy intensity emerging as the main driver, contributing more than 40% to inequality in 2019, both overall and in the three regions.(3) The results for the fairness indicator, on the other hand, show a certain degree of divergence. Further Dynamic Time Warping fitting analysis shows that regardless of how the public's sensitivity to carbon emissions varies, the change trends of the fairness and inequality indicators for carbon emissions in the eastern region show a high degree of convergence, even in the two most extreme cases. The fit is poorest in the western region, but improves significantly if public's sensitivity to carbon emissions increases. (4)To sum up, some policies that are consistent with the context of the times, such as the East-West regional counterparts and the construction of a new type of power system, are worthy of priority consideration by the Government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We characterize social welfare functions, which, under ceteris paribus assumptions, rank income distributions in exactly the same way as the negative of the Atkinson, Kolm–Pollak, and Theil mean logarithmic deviation indices of inequality of income distributions. While the first two characterizations rely on a general social welfare function, the third employs the symmetric utilitarian structure of the welfare function. Implications of several subsets of the set of axioms considered in the paper are also investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multi-decade decline in the concentrations of fine particles (PM2.5) has benefited public health greatly by reducing the incidence of premature death and illnesses. A large body of literature has examined the change over time in this burden among the US population. However, less is known about these changes have affected subgroups most vulnerable and susceptible to poor air quality. In this study, we applied the results of an air quality prediction model that estimated changes in PM2.5 between 1980 and 2010 across all counties in the contiguous US. For the year 1980, we defined groups of vulnerable and susceptible populations according to attributes including county-level educational attainment, income, urbanicity, and all-cause death rate. Using a health impact function, we quantified PM2.5-attributable premature deaths for 1980 and 2010 among the overall US population as well as these subgroups. We then used the Atkinson index to explore the inequality in the absolute level and change in PM2.5 mortality among and between these subgroups. Between 1980 and 2010, total PM2.5 mortality risk declined for all groups. Risk inequality fell across all population groups and the risk experienced among each vulnerable and susceptible group became more equitably distributed. These results suggest that falling ambient PM2.5 concentrations over a 30-year period yield significant benefits among populations most susceptible and vulnerable to poor air quality. Furthermore, our results imply that policies including the Clean Air Act were effective at reducing health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the evolution of multidimensional inequality of well-being in Vietnam in the period 2002–2012 using household survey data. Our study focuses on four crucial dimensions of human welfare: consumption, education, health and housing. We measure inequality by means of the multidimensional Atkinson index, which belongs to the Atkinson family of relative inequality indices. The choice of the values of two crucial parameters, with respect to the aversion to inequality on the one hand and the degree of substitutability between dimensions on the other hand, has a significant influence on the perceived trends of inequality. We consider different combinations of dimensions (two, three and four dimensions) and a wide variety of values of the parameters, with the aim of arriving at a robust understanding of the extent of inequality in Vietnam. Our results suggest that the level of multidimensional inequality in Vietnam has decreased, albeit that this is not the case for all combinations of the parameter values. Our study shows that looking at multidimensional rather than one-dimensional inequality leads to a richer understanding of the evolution of inequality, and indicates that it is important to be aware of the influence of value judgments on the assessment of inequality.

In the paper the authors address three research topics. First, the authors show that inequality of the distribution of gross and net wages in Croatia has increased during the period examined in this paper, thus showing that the First stylized fact about the increase of inequality recognized in the literature is present in Croatia. Second, they show the same is true for the Second stylized fact that concerns changes in the top end of the distribution. Third, that the changes in the Atkinson index and the relationships of the top and bottom tails of the distribution also conform to the stylized facts. The analysis in the paper is limited to changes in the inequality of the distribution of net (take home) and gross wages in Croatia after 2000. Inequality is measured by standard measures of economic inequality. The analysis of the paper contributes to the relatively poor understanding of levels and changes in economic inequality in Croatia generally and wage inequality specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Utilization of health care services and food influence the health status. The food and health care expenditure ratios determine the importance level of them in household's consumption expenditures. We aimed to investigate the Iranian rural and urban food and health expenditure ratios inequality during 1998 to 2012. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive longitudinal study, which conducted based on Iranian Statistics Centre and Central Bank annual surveys. Firstly we calculated the households food and health expenditure ratios. Then we calculated the Gini coefficients and Atkinson index by using STATA version 12. Results: The mean of rural households food and health expenditure ratios were 0.53 and 0.37 respectively. Also these were 0.53 and 0.22 for urban households. All above inequality levels are based on Gini coefficients. Conclusion: There is a high level of inequality between Iranian rural and urban income deciles for health expenditure ratio, but the food expenditure ratio inequality were less and lower.

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education is currently receiving much attention from governments and educational institutions. Our work is based on active learning and video-based learning approaches to support STEM education. Here, we aimed to increase student's engagement through reflective processes that embrace video film-making, and subsequent on-line discussion and evaluation of those videos. We propose a group engagement score that takes into account both individual activity and similarity of participation, thus allowing corrective actions to be taken when unengaged students or groups are identified. We tested these ideas using our own social learning platform that combines the principal features of Social Networks with tools that facilitate collaborative learning design. This platform stimulates students’ learning by means of two main reflective processes: participatory production and peer-review. We evaluated this platform and the learning approach it supports in an Object Oriented Programming course and identified interesting differences between group engagement and video ratings. Our principal conclusion is that greater teacher and student awareness of the ongoing activities and group engagement are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Background: We analyse Gordon's trade-off by adapting Thurow's approach of pure public good using the example of the German energy sector which is in a transition process to a low-carbon sustainable energy system (Energiewende). The income distribution and the energy expenditures of households are interpreted as public goods. Their distribution is measured with the Atkinson index, which determines how the quality of life, as measured in income and energy expenditures, is distributed among society. Methods: We use the disaggregated consumption and income for 39.409 million German households. Our socio-economic analysis focuses on six household types. Results: Our analysis shows that among German households, energy expenditures are more equally distributed than private consumption in general and income. The rather (but by far not completely) equal distribution of energy expenditures confirms Smil's finding that energy is the universal currency (Sen, On Economic Inequality, 1973) for people's welfare and can be seen as an indicator of the basic needs of households irrespective of household income. Nevertheless, low-income households have to spend a higher share of their income on energy to avoid energy poverty. Further price increases could lead to an unequal distribution and rising energy poverty. Conclusions: The socio-economic conditions of society and its energy sector have to be addressed in a transition processes. Energy poverty constitutes an infringement of the sustainability concept. If society does not take distributional effects into account, the transition process itself could be jeopardized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In data mining or machine learning clustering is very broad area. Clustering is a technique which decomposes the data set into different cluster. There are many clustering algorithms but k-mean algorithm is most popular and widely used in many fields such as image processing, machine learning, pattern reorganization etc.; but it has a major drawback that is; its output is really sensitive to the random selection of initial centroids or its final output is totally depends on initial selection of centroids. Because of this drawback many techniques were introduced for K-mean algorithm. This paper introduces an initial centroid selection method for K-mean algorithm by using Atkinson Index. Atkinson index is a technique for measuring the inequality here. It is used for initial seed selection; experimental result shows that the proposed technique, which we applying on liver patient data set gives more accurate result than the original K-mean algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Research Journal of Politics, Economics & Management / Siyaset, Ekonomi ve Yönetim Araştırmaları Dergisi is the property of Research Journal of Politics, Economics & Management 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 a population consisting of heterogeneous types, whose income factors are indicated by nonnegative vectors, policies aggregating different factors can be represented by coalitions in a cooperative game, whose characteristic function is a multi-factor inequality index. When it is not possible to form all coalitions, the feasible ones can be indicated by a graph. We redefine Shapley and Banzhaf values on graph games to deduce some properties involving the degrees of the graph vertices and marginal contributions to overall inequality. An example is finally provided based on a modified multi-factor Atkinson index. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generalized Beta distribution of the first kind is an important distribution that is properly flexible as an income distribution in economics. In this paper, a new class of weighted generalized beta distribution of the first kind is introduced. Besides the common statistical properties, we intend to focus on the economic properties of the distribution, including the measures of inequality such as generalized entropy indices (Theil index and the mean log deviation), Gini index, Pietra index and Atkinson index. The maximum likelihood estimation of the parameters of the size-biased generalized Beta distribution of the first kind in both grouped and individual data are also included. Finally, the weighted generalized Beta distribution of the first kind is fitted to the real gross domestic product per capita of 172 countries in 2012 and some its inequality indices are estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese households make up approximately a quarter of the world’s total. Compared with its size of population, China’s reserves of natural resources are relatively limited. With the actual concerns about sustainable development in China, we should pay more attention to the unequal distribution of energy, which may result low efficiency and wasting of energy. Therefore, how to best allocate the scarce public utility products (PUPs) for the household usage should be closely addressed in terms of equity and efficiency. Based on the micro household-level data from CRECS which investigated in 2013 in different scales’ city all over the country, we measure the distribution of PUPs consumption quantitatively and evaluate the inequality of household income, expenditures on electricity, gas, and water in the China’s residential sector by using the Atkinson index. The results show that, the Atkinson index of households’ total PUPs consumption in medium-scale city is equal to 0.0261, which is 83.0% higher than that of large-scale city, and 35.6% higher than that of small-scale city. It indicates that the inequalities of PUPs and income are greater in medium-scale cities than in large-scale and small-scale cities. Considering the sustainability of PUPs, we suggest further reform in China’s public utility sectors. The government should take more consideration on equality and efficiency of distribution, and ensure that people have equal living standards, especially for the low-income households who serve as the main anchor for the sustainable development of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving equality and efficiency of household energy distribution is the primary concern of China’s policy makers in their effort to reform the energy pricing system. In this paper, we use Atkinson Index as an analytical tool to quantitatively and systematically evaluate the equality and efficiency of household energy distribution. The result shows that the Atkinson index of electricity expenditure is much smaller than that of transportation expenditure, which indicates that transportation expenditure responds better to income differences. Furthermore, a geographical distribution analysis indicates that households in Middle China suffer greater inequality in energy distribution than those in Eastern and Western China. In view of the oncoming energy pricing reform in China, we reevaluate the Atkinson index under the new pricing scenarios for electricity and petroleum products. Compared to the current household energy pricing mechanism, the simulated new policies generate more allocative efficiency of household energy and ensure more equality of energy consumption for low income households. On this account, we suggest that geographical differences and equality in energy distribution be duly addressed in reforming energy policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]