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Urban governance aims to enhance overall social welfare, while residents' happiness frequently falls by the wayside. Civilization, as a critical factor influencing residents' happiness, has not yet been fully understood regarding its impact and mechanisms. This paper uses the China Family Panel Studies data, which includes around 50,000 samples ranging from 2010 to 2020, to construct a multi-period difference-in-differences model. It finds that China's highest honor for urban brands, the civilized city program, leads to an average increase of 2.6% in residents' happiness as measured by life satisfaction. This happiness effect is robust but temporary, gradually diminishing within five years following the honor. The happiness effect is heterogeneous across different waves and city sizes and is effective only for urban residents. Mechanism analysis indicates the happiness effect of the civilized city program through three channels: government efforts, social trust, and identity recognition. Additionally, our research indicates that the civilized city initiative improves residents' perception of environmental quality and reduces income inequality. These findings provide insights into understanding how the civilization tournament policy promotes happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased risks of economic policy uncertainty and overexploitation of natural resources exist in China. At the same time, the growth rate of urban residents' consumption has generally declined. The paper analyses the role of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and natural resource exploitation on the urban residents' consumption in China. Based on the data from the first quarter of 2002 to the third quarter of 2021, the paper uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to verify the asymmetric effects. Then the paper constructs a time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model with stochastic volatility term to analyze the nonlinear responses. Impulse response analysis was used to further explain the relationship between the three. The negative impact of rising EPU on urban residents' consumption is larger than its reduction. Negative shocks to natural resource development increase the urban residents' consumption. Positive shocks reduce the urban residents' consumption. There is a time-varying non-linear effect of EPU and natural resource development on urban residents' consumption in China. The negative impact of EPU on urban consumption has been further exacerbated by major crises such as the financial crisis, COVID-19 and the post-crisis period. The negative impact of natural resource development diminished after the government introduced industrial upgrading policies and environmental regulations. This study provides constructive suggestions for the optimization of economic policies and the improvement of urban consumption. This study also enriches consumer theory and provides new evidence for the resource curse hypothesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid growth of urban population and unplanned urbanization are reducing the number of urban parking spaces and increase traffic congestion. In China, due to the tripling of the number of motor vehicles in the last decade, the problem of finding a parking space has become very pressing. Increased difficulties are observed with short-term parking near public urban locations such as cinemas, shopping centers, universities and hospitals. In the telecommunications industry and other related fields, learning automata have been widely employed as adaptable devices for making decisions in unknowable settings. Their use in choosing a parking spot for a little time in cities hasn't been properly researched, nevertheless. The usage of learning automata in the created LAPS (Learning Automata Parking System) parking algorithm is discussed in this study in contrast to other algorithms. More specifically, the study will gain insight into the impact of factors such as vehicle count, space between vehicle arrivals in the parking lot, time of day, and the parking area that can be used for reservations on the average waiting time for a parking space and the likelihood of finding one. The paper presents the research findings determining the parking system's effectiveness based on learning automata in the urban areas of China. The experimental part of the study was performed using Arena simulation software on the parking lot model, with the maximum parking time under simulation conditions not exceeding 4 h. The paper evaluated such parking efficiency metrics as the average parking space waiting time and the probability of getting one, measuring the influence on these indicators on such factors as the number of motor vehicles, interval between the arrival of vehicles in the parking lot, time of day, as well as the parking area that can be used for reservations. The research findings suggested that the LAPS algorithm can be recommended for development of smart packing systems software in urban areas in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As major carriers of modern economy and population, cities and towns are vortex centers of pollution migration, and the environmental effects brought about by China's unprecedented urbanization can be imagined, although the specific scale is still a mystery. This paper focuses on the nonlinear response mechanism of urban PM2.5 concentration to the urbanization population scale, considering that China's urbanization development path is dominated by large- and medium-sized cities. The panel data of PM2.5 concentration of Chinese cities observed by satellite during 1998–2016 are used to capture the nonlinear characteristics of panel threshold model (PTM). The estimation results of the double-threshold PTM including the quadratic term of urbanization population show that the U-shaped relationship between urbanization population and PM2.5 concentration is nonlinear adjusted by urban GDP per capita with the two thresholds of 6777 Yuan and 10,296 Yuan at 2010 constant price. When the urban GDP per capita exceeds 10,296 Yuan, the urbanized population at the turning point of the U-shaped curve is 12.967 million people, which only appears in a few super-large cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing. The size matching of urban economy and population is an important follow-up of environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural disasters and climate change impose a severe threat to the sustainable development of economy and human society. This paper studies the economic consequences of meteorological disasters specifically to the wages income and unemployment. Using panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2010 to 2018 as a sample, it examines the relationship between meteorological disasters and labor market, and then verifies the moderating effect of government emergency response policy which is obtained through big data crawler technology. The results show that meteorological disasters will increase the level of unemployment, and at the same time increase the wage income of urban and rural people; while government emergency response policy only plays a moderating role between meteorological disasters and urban wage income. Although this paper focuses on China geographically, the overall conclusions presented in this article have strong policy implications for other regions in developing countries facing the challenge of meteorological disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How does the change of migration policy or institutional context in receiving places influence return migration? This paper examined the impact of relaxing Hukou constraints in 2014 Hukou reform on return intentions by using longitudinal data of the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey 2012, 2014, and 2016. The results show that the relaxation of the Hukou restrictions will reduce the return intentions of migrants living in cities with an urban population below 5 million. This effect is stronger among migrants who are low skilled and less educated, migrants without social welfare in urban cities, and migrants with lower social status, rural Hukou, and lower level of social integration in the receiving places. An important implication of this paper is that government should pay attention to the improvement of the institutional environment in receiving places and provide better public services and social welfare for migrants, especially for disadvantaged migrants, who are the necessary human capital for urbanization and driving forces to regional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is of importance to enhance the urban areas' capacity for population aggregation in underdeveloped regions, aiming to rectify the imbalanced and insufficient pattern of economic development in China. Taking the Taiyuan Metropolitan Area (TMA) in central China as a case study, this paper examines the evolutionary process and characteristics of population agglomeration from 2000 to 2020, and identifies factors associated with agglomeration and their spatial effects. The findings indicated that: 1) against the background of sustained population shrinkage in the provincial area, the TMA showed a demographic trend of steady increase, albeit with a decelerated growth rate. In the metropolitan area, urban population size continued to grow rapidly, whereas the rural areas endured sustained losses. Disparities in city size continued to widen, and the polarization of concentrated population in the core cities kept increasing. 2) Agglomerations in both secondary and service industries had significant positive effects on local population agglomeration, with the former effect being stronger. Regional economic development, government fiscal expenditure, and financial advancement all contributed to facilitating local population clustering. From a spatial spillover perspective, service agglomeration and financial development promoted population agglomeration in surrounding areas. Conversely, fiscal expenditure inhibited such agglomeration. As for industrial agglomeration and regional economic development, their spatial spillover effects were non-significant. The results obtained reveal several policy implications aimed at enhancing the population agglomeration capacity of the metropolitan area in underdeveloped regions during the new era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is no longer a problem of income alone. Healthy poverty and capacity poverty have become key factors affecting the poverty reduction effectiveness. Based on "double cut-offs" multidimensional poverty identification method of Alkire and Foster (J Public Econ 95(7–8): 476–487, 2011), this paper proposes a "triple cut-offs" identification method of multidimensional poverty reduction effectiveness, and construct the chronic multidimensional poverty reduction index combined with chronic thinking of Foster (in: Addison T, Hulme D, Kanbur R (eds) Poverty dynamics: interdisciplinary perspectives. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 59–76, 2009). And this index can comprehensively and systematically measure the China's multidimensional poverty reduction effectiveness in terms of both poverty alleviation and poverty returning. In this paper, we find that China's chronic multidimensional poverty alleviation index is greater than the country's chronic poverty returning index, and the chronic multidimensional poverty alleviation/returning index in rural and western regions is greater than that in its cities and other regions in China. The chronic poverty alleviation of per capita net income and medical insurance have contributed a lot to the overall chronic multidimensional poverty alleviation of China's rural residents, while poverty returning caused by health and housing difficulties has contributed a lot (48.14%) to the chronic multidimensional poverty alleviation of the country's urban residents. These findings can provide more targeted guidance for poverty governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between social capital and small business entrepreneurship in China. Unlike previous studies that focus solely on rural or urban residents, this paper pays more attention to the differences between them. According to our study, social capital has both positive and negative impacts on small business entrepreneurship. Based on the data drawn from China General Social Survey, we find that the impact of social capital differs significantly between rural and urban areas. In rural China, residents who have higher social capital tend to have entrepreneurial behaviors, while higher social capital leads to lower intention of small business entrepreneurship in urban China. Individuals whose parents have the experiences of small business tend to have small business entrepreneurial activities; individuals who are better educated tend to find regular jobs instead of having their own small business. The results suggest that small business entrepreneurship in rural China might be "entrepreneurship by necessity." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Labor agglomeration with heterogeneous skills has different effects on urban air pollution. Based on the panel data of 263 prefecture level cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this paper constructs a Spatial Durbin Model to explore the impact of skill heterogeneous labor agglomeration and the interaction between skill heterogeneous labor agglomeration on urban air pollution. The results show that there is a positive U-shaped relationship between high-skilled labor agglomeration, low-skilled labor agglomeration, and urban air pollution. From the perspective of restraining urban air pollution, high-skilled labor agglomeration is stronger than low-skilled labor agglomeration. Under the influence of high skilled labor agglomeration, the inhibitory effect of low-skilled labor agglomeration on urban air pollution is enhanced. High-skilled labor agglomeration and low-skilled labor agglomeration reduce the degree of urban air pollution by promoting the improvement of urban innovation level. Based on this, this paper puts forward some policy suggestions, such as further promoting urban labor agglomeration, formulating reasonable urban population management policies, strengthening labor exchange and learning, and carrying out labor knowledge and skills training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether education plays an important role in shaping individuals' gender role attitudes. We exploit exogenous variation in temporal and geographical impacts of the 1986 Compulsory Education Law in China, which reduced inequality in compulsory school attendance across regions. Using the data from the China General Social Survey, we find that the extra schooling induced by the compulsory schooling reform leads to more egalitarian gender role attitudes. Education's liberalizing effect is concentrated among females and urban residents. However, education's impacts on gender-equal behavior are much weaker than impacts on attitudes. Finally, we discuss the potential channels through which education shapes individuals' gender-role attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Public service facilities are the basic material carrier of social services. It is of great significance for the operation of social justice and the improvement of residents' wellbeing. In the process of rapid urbanization, the demand for traffic convenience and diversity of public service facilities in rural areas has been further improved. Since the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is more necessary to meet the public service needs of human daily life within a certain space. The huge gap between urban and rural infrastructures, human living conditions, and supporting public services such as education, health, and culture has become a key bottleneck constraining the integration of urban and rural areas. It is appropriate to focus on the requirements for the construction of daily life circles and prioritize the satisfaction of villagers' increasing demand for public services in regions characterized by high levels of urban–rural integration. The behavior preference of public service facilities significantly affects the choice of residential areas. The existing research on village layout optimization focused on the spatial pattern, landscape morphology, influencing factors, and other contents. To some extent, the preference for equalization of public services in the context of urban–rural integration has been ignored. Uneven distribution and low utilization of public service facilities in villages resulted in an inability to adapt spatially and functionally in response to the renewal of urban–rural relations. Taking a highly developed urban and rural integration area named Wuxi City of Jiangsu Province in China as an example, this paper combines the current situation of public service facility allocation and the transport situation of residents in rural areas to build a life-circle system of different levels. On this basis, combined with the optimization goal of public service facilities and the constraints of agglomeration coverage, we try to determine the village layout optimization scheme under the construction of both the daily life circle and location-allocation model. The study can effectively adjust the allocation of public resources in rural areas and solve the problems of irrational village layout leading to long travel distances. It can also serve as a reference for improving the situation of lagging rural public service functions and promoting urban–rural equalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electric vehicles and gasoline vehicles are substitutes for each other, and the cost of fuel is an important factor when consumers are faced with choices. Understanding the influence of changes in gasoline prices and charging prices on electric vehicle sales is of reference significance for promoting electric vehicles in the private sector. This paper uses data covering 212 prefecture-level cities from January, 2020, to August, 2022, for analysis, and the results show that different income groups have different sensitivities to the difference in oil and electricity prices. Additionally, changes in gasoline prices and charging prices will significantly affect electric vehicle sales in low-income and middle-income cities, electric vehicle sales in high-income cities will not be affected. Compared with nonpilot cities, residents of pilot cities are more sensitive to fuel price changes, indicating that the policy basis has a certain positive effect on the promotion of electric vehicles. It is recommended to consider the income status of regional residents when formulating policies for the use of electric vehicles. At the same time, publicity efforts should be increased to highlight the gap between the cost of fuel vehicles and electric vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the deterioration of the environment has become a top concern in China. This paper investigates the factors that influence the satisfaction of urban residents with the local air and water quality in Chinese cities by using a unique dataset collected through an interview survey with about 25,000 participants. The study shows that a respondent's true rating could be systematically different from her stated choice in the survey. Empirical results reveal that respondents have a tendency to underreport their level of satisfaction. In addition, a respondent's true level of satisfaction is more likely to be lower if the individual is male and younger. Educational attainment is also correlated with a respondent's level of satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, urbanization has been rapidly developing since the country began its economic reform in 1978. With the expansion of the urban population size and the corresponding urbanization and industrialization, the rapid increase in CO2 emissions has become a major restraint on China's economic growth. However, current studies have not paid sufficient attention to the impact of the urban population size on CO2 emissions in China due to poor data availability. In this paper, we apply index decomposition analysis (IDA) to decompose CO2 emissions into five elements, and we investigate both the direct and indirect impacts of the urban population size on total CO2 emissions and per capita CO2 emissions in China. Additionally, we empirically study the impact on 175 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above for the first time. The results show that the urban population size significantly promotes total CO2 emissions but curbs per capita CO2 emissions in cities in China. A 1% increase in the urban population size will lead to a nearly 1% increase in total CO2 emissions and a 0.3% decrease in per capita CO2 emissions. Regarding heterogeneity, the expansion of the urban population size in the large city group drives a greater increase in CO2 emissions than the expansion of the urban population size in other city groups. The main transmission pathways are through population density, economic agglomeration and energy intensity. Regarding the mechanism variables, high economic agglomeration leads to more CO2 emissions, while an increase in population density and energy efficiency results in carbon mitigation. Moreover, public green areas, foreign direct investment (FDI) and technology innovation are conducive to reducing CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National urban planning, construction, and management levels have undergone qualitative changes in China since 2000. Nonetheless, problems caused by rapid urbanization are becoming increasingly prominent. The concept of the city health examination appears to tackle these problems and is being gradually implemented, starting from the implementation of a national strategy and leading to the concrete practice of high-quality urban development. This paper elaborates on the basic philosophy and theory of the city health examination, briefly explains indicator selection and aims, and comprehensively illustrates examination methods. It then describes the empirical research that operationalized the dataset collected from a satisfaction survey administered during the 2020 city health examination. It aims to provide a reference for the standardization, specialization, analysis, and application of the results of the city health examination in China; this may help promote a smooth elimination of 'urban diseases' and allow for the development of high-quality livable cities. This research shows that city residents are generally more satisfied with the landscape features, ecological livability, and security resilience; it also shows that residents are generally more dissatisfied with traffic issues. Residents with different characteristics showed different satisfaction levels toward different indicators. Residents were also shown to be more sensitive to innovation vitality, ecological livability, and health and comfort in considering whether to stay in their current city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that there exists a positive correlation between marriage and good health, but the reasons for this association are disputed. Scholars acknowledge that the key to answering these questions lies in understanding the role of marriage in specific social contexts. This paper utilizes marital protection, marital selection, and life course perspectives to investigate the relationship between marriage and health in China, a society characterized by nearly universal marriage, strong societal pressure to marry, especially for women, and a distinct rural and urban divide in family life. I analyze the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) with lagged dependent variable models and fixed-effects linear regression models, to predict self-rated health and control for baseline health status and time-invariant omitted variable bias. The health status difference between those who are single and those who are married is primarily explained by marital selection, while marital protection explains the health differences between married and widowed rural women. The health differences between widowed and married rural women vary over age, consistent with the prediction of the life course perspective. Health differences associated with marriage are found mainly among the rural population and less among the urban population. The selection, protection, and life course perspectives each contribute to understanding different pieces of the marriage–health relationship in China. Marriage, gender, and age intertwine with the rural–urban divide to shape self-rated health in different ways and directions for different groups. Most notably, marriage effects on health are mainly a rural phenomenon in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban shrinkage is a global phenomenon, and it will coexist with urban growth for many years. At the same time, the network connection between cities continuously improved due to the construction of the transportation and information networks. However, the relationship between urban network externalities and urban population growth/shrinkage remains unclear. Therefore, based on high-speed railway (HSR) flow data, a spatial econometric model is used to explore the mechanism behind urban population growth and shrinkage from the perspective of network externalities in China. The results indicate that: 1) the urban network experiences a certain clubbing effect. Growing cities that are strongly connected are concentrated along China's main railway lines and the southeastern coastal areas, while shrinking cities that are weakly connected are distributed at the periphery of the network. 2) Moreover, the network externality disregards spatial distance and together with the agglomeration externality influences the growth and shrinking of cities. 3) Urban economic development still promotes the development of Chinese cities. However, the improvement of the urban economy has a negative cross-regional spillover effect on neighboring cities due to urban competition. 4) Lastly, Local spillovers of urban network externalities are positive, while cross-regional ones are negative. Consequently, the government needs to promote the construction of multi-dimensional network connections between cities to promote cities' sustainable development. This study reveals the relationship between urban network externalities and urban development, enriches the theories of network externalities and urban growth/shrinkage, and provides a reference for regional coordinated development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the questionnaire survey, this paper analyzes China's public perception of climate change in terms of several influence factors and some empirical findings are obtained. We find that some respondents are willing to take individual actions to address climate change, and they pay more attention to climate change or approve that climate change does harm to residents and society; meanwhile, they tend to have confidence in the government to deal with climate change or believe that fiscal and taxation policies are the effective policy measures. However, there are also other respondents unwilling to take actions and argue that climate change proves the natural consequences. Thus, in order to motivate the public to take actions, the paper suggests that the government should widespreadly disseminate relevant knowledge about climate change to the public and guide the work to address climate change and adopt proper fiscal and taxation policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of fossil energy is the major cause of environmental pollution. Effectively reducing the fossil energy use has important significance for achieving China's green development targets. The premise for reducing fossil energy use is accurately measuring the amount of energy use and identifying the key sectors and links of energy use of China's economic sectors. This paper, by establishing a cross-region input-output model, measured the amount of energy use from the perspective of embodied energy, explored the changing trend of energy use between 2002 and 2015, and identified the key sectors and links of energy use. The results show that the embodied energy intensities of China's economic sectors are generally higher than the world average level, but its changing trend is declining. Although the amount of energy use shows a growth trend, the growth rate manifests a decline process. The key sectors of energy use assemble in the resource sector and heavy industry sector. The key link is intermediate use, but about 80% of embodied energy of intermediate use has been used by downstream sectors. Approximately 76% of the embodied energy of final demand has been used by gross fixed capital formation and urban residents' consumption. China has turned from a net exporter of embodied energy to a net importer since 2012. There is a resource mismatch in China's import and export structure of embodied energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing literature on happiness economics suggests that, together with absolute income, individual well-being is affected by relative income both horizontally (i.e. because of differences between an individual's income and that of others to whom she compares) and vertically (i.e. compared to changes in individuals' own income). Moreover, the way in which individuals value their relative situation and the distribution of income will determine how inequality affects individual well-being. This paper aims to examine the relationship between these variables in the case of China, focusing mainly on how income inequality affects subjective well-being. Using data from the CGSS, the results suggest that both absolute and relative income affect subject well-being, and that an inverted-U shaped relationship between income inequality and individual well-being appears at least for urban residents, whereas this relationship tend to be negative in the case of people living in rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use change is the most prominent feature of Chinese urbanisation. In China, the expansion of land consumed for urban development is inevitable given the rapid increases in the urban economy and urban population, but also in meeting the population's increasing demand for better quality of life. This paper is based on a research study of Wujiang district in Suzhou, which is considered representative of many of the rapid urbanisation areas within the nation. The objective is to develop an in-depth understanding of the characteristics of land use change and how this change contributes to environmental deterioration, as assessed by changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV). In this study, ESV is defined as the environmental products and functions provided for human well-being. Based on local planning documents, Landsat TM remote-sensing images and field surveys, the research analyses the cost to the environment when traditional land uses are transformed into urbanisation. The research demonstrates that conversion to urban land use which ignores the limit and capacity of the environment can generate significant environmental costs, as assessed by ESV, which in turn, can lead to a deterioration of quality of life for inhabitants, the exact opposite of the original intention. The research demonstrates that by mapping the spatial distribution of ecological service values, ESV can be used as a guide to urban sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies on megacities have reported less air pollution in polycentric form urban than monocentric form urban. However, findings from these studies do not imply that increasing air pollution in region or country is accompanied by the expanding megacities. Using satellite night-light data, this study investigates the impact of polycentric urban form at the provincial level on PM2.5 concentrations in China while controlling for variables of urban population size, energy consumption, and the weather. The results reveal that the PM2.5 concentrations are reduced by 1.46% to 2.67%, with a 1% increase in polycentric urban form. The similar impact has also been observed in the South China, but larger in the Central China. Further studies show that the urban form-air pollution relationship mainly influenced by transportation distance and enhanced by rising per capita income. The findings suggest that regional planning and policies favoring polycentric urban patterns should be strengthened to alleviate air pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 20 years, housing reform in China has transformed its urban housing system from housing welfare into a housing market, which has led to a unique housing stratification. Traditionally, housing status is considered an important indicator of social stratification while studies of residents' social satisfaction also consider housing status and stratification as important factors. Using national data from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences–National Institute of Social Development, this paper investigates the status of urban household housing and its impact on individuals' social satisfaction. Latent Class Analysis method was used to identify four housing strata from multiple dimensions and analyze the social satisfaction among these strata. The results show that variables such as the type of residential community, housing status, housing assets, and household income have significant impact on urban households' social satisfaction. In particular, family income and number of housing units show a clear U-shaped characteristic curve. Latent Class Analysis shows that the housing strata of urban households can be divided into top, middle, sandwiched, and poor classes. Analyses of variance show that different housing strata have different attitudes about those social dimensions, and the sandwiched housing class's social satisfaction is relatively low compared with other housing strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularity of the sharing economy, ride-hailing services have greatly affected people's travel and become a new travel mode for urban residents. However, the lack of effective industry regulation has resulted in serious operational problems and growing difficulties in the furthering development of ride-hailing services in China. Therefore, it is necessary to study the regulation strategies of multiple subjects involved in ride-hailing industry. Based on evolutionary game theory, the paper establishes the tripartite evolution game model about regulation strategies of ride-hailing industry. The theoretical research and simulation results show that the evolutionarily stable strategy of a single subject (Transportation Network Company, driver or passenger) is affected by the strategies of other two subjects together. Moreover, when making the decision, the Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) need to consider the difference between benefits and costs, user scale, incentives and penalties from the government. Drivers need to consider their benefits and costs, travel user scale and penalties from the government and the TNCs. Besides, the benefits and costs, and the harmony of ride-hailing industry need to be considered for passengers. Potential policy implications are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies examining the impact of social trust on happiness often face the difficulties of tackling the problems of potential endogeneity. Using an instrumental variables strategy and a two-stage residual inclusion approach, this paper explores the causal impact of social trust on individual happiness in China. We find robust evidence that a positive, causal relationship between social trust and happiness exist in China. We also find significant heterogeneity in the impact across genders and places of residence. The happiness of males and urban residents is more likely to be affected by social trust, compared to the happiness of female and rural residents, respectively. We further show that the key mechanisms through which social trust affects happiness are changes in self-reported health, social ties, perceived fairness of the society and subjective socioeconomic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the reliability, validity and influence of demographics on mental health measured by the mental composite scale from the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) among Chinese urban residents. Participants were 971 young and middle-aged urban residents in six developed cities of Yangtze River Delta. Exploratory factor analysis was used to identify the potential factor structure of the mental composite scale. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to evaluate the goodness of fit of the factor structure model. And logistic regression model was conducted to analyze the demographic effect. The results showed that the mental composite scale had a satisfactory reliability and validity, and the three-factor structure model had an acceptable goodness of fit. Furthermore, it indicated that annual income was the significant indicator of mental health. Participants who had earned between RMB50,000 - RMB100,000 annually were more likely to report better mental health than those with annual income less than RMB10,000. It demonstrated therefore that the mental composite scale selected from the WHOQOL-BREF was an appropriate instrument to measure the mental health of Chinese urban residents in the Yangtze River Delta region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National key towns are one of the most important units for mitigating China's carbon emissions from urbanisation, industrialisation and agricultural modernisation under China's rural revitalisation strategy. The rise in the carbon footprint (CF) corresponding to increasing populations and energy consumption in national key towns has not been underestimated. This paper aims to explore the impact of local resident energy consumption on the degree of coordination between ecology and the economy. To achieve this objective, the carbon pressure index (CPI), carbon occupancy index (COI) and eco-economic coordination index (EECI) are constructed by applying the CF, carbon carrying capacity (CC) and carbon deficit (CD) of Caijiapo Town from 2012 to 2017. Furthermore, the relationship between the CF, economic growth and per capita disposable income is described based on the decoupling index (DI). The results reveal that, apart from a decline in 2014, the per capita CF of Caijiapo Town has increased, with an average annual growth rate of 16.80%. The CF of different energy sources shows that the CF of natural gas is much larger than those of raw coal, oil and electricity. The DI between GDP, the per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents and the resident energy CF first decreases and then increases. The DI between GDP, the per capita disposable income of urban residents and the resident energy CF is 1.09 and 1.72, and urban residents are the main contributors to the resident energy CF from 2015 to 2017. The CPI and COI show an upward trend, and the eco-economic coordination index (EECI) of Caijiapo Town undergoes a change from poor coordination (grade II) to worst coordination (grade I) from 2012 to 2017. Therefore, the following suggestions are proposed: the CC should be treated as a constraint, energy utilisation should be improved, residents' consumption structure should be optimised, differentiated policies should be implemented for the energy consumption of urban and rural residents and a spatial planning system and operational mechanism should be established that combines multiple regulations into a single regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents several arguments for applying a relative poverty line to urban China. For example between 2002 and 2013 urban residents in China changed their assessment of how much money that is necessary. Data from the China Household Income Project indicate that while, assessed against an absolute poverty line, poverty among Chinese urban residents was already fairly low in 2007, increasing proportions fell under a relative poverty line from 1988 to 2007. Thus income growth in urban China was more rapid in the middle segments of the income distribution that at it's lower segments. In 2013, at least as large fractions of the urban population as in many rich countries were deemed poor in relative terms. We also specify and estimate logit models for 2002 and 2013 after first having divided the samples into children, adults and elderly people. We find that the risk of being relative poor in urban China both years under study was positively associated with lack of work among adult household members, a low education of the household head, living in a low-income city, the number of children, and being aged and not receiving a pension. Pensions for the aged in combination with co-residency with adult children or with other adults have kept poverty rates among the increasing number of elderly in urban China from exceeding those among adults. In contrast, relative poverty rates are somewhat higher among children than among the entire urban population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares energy consumption (electricity, gasoline, and gas) by rural migrant workers and urban residents with a hukou (a China-specific household registration system) and influential factors (including quality-of-life [QOL]-related factors, built environment, and individual and household attributes) in China. A questionnaire survey was conducted in Dalian (a coastal city) in 2014 and in Guiyang (an inland city) in 2015, respectively. A zero-inflated negative binomial (ZINB) model was applied to understand whether and how much people consume a certain type of energy. The results showed that built environment explains 8.4–21.8% and 6.3–41.4% of the total variance in energy consumption by rural migrant workers and urban residents with a hukou. The corresponding variance related to QOL-related factors was 9.1–15.8% and 4.1–22.6%, respectively. The built environment was mostly associated with electricity consumed by urban residents with a hukou, while its influences on other types of energy consumption were moderate. Mixed effects of both built environment and QOL-related factors on reducing energy consumption were observed. Thus, it is context-sensitive whether and how much compact city development and social security policy affect residents' energy consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resettlement of residents to new urban areas in the Three Gorges Reservoir region, China, has generally adopted the local resettlement method, but engineering disturbances in conjunction with heavy rainfall have contributed to landslide instability. This paper discusses the influential factors and formation mechanism of the Jinjiling landslide in Jiangdong District, Wushan County, Chongqing, China. This study concludes that the cutting and filling of slopes have led to loading of the rear edge and open cut excavation at the downhill side of landslide. More importantly, the filling of channels with surface soil has blocked the surface water discharge channel along the landslide body, thereby transforming surface water into groundwater. Therefore, under heavy rainfall, the groundwater level in the Jinjiling landslide rose substantially, resulting in large deformation in approximately August 1, 2018. After emergency treatment, including groundwater pumping, the landslide deformation slowed considerably. The rising groundwater caused by filling of the slope was the key factor influencing the landslide. Based on the deformation characteristics and formation mechanism of the landslide, comprehensive control measures referred to as the "drainage+unloading+support" scheme are proposed, and drainage should be the focus of this type of landslide protection project. The results of this study may provide a reference for similar slope engineering projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The middle class in metropolitan Chinese cities has become an important social group. With the rapid development of urbanization and constant advancement of suburbanization, the middle class has increasingly come to influence city traffic. Research into middle-class commuting activities thus has practical significance for improving traffic congestion and reducing the commuting burden in metropolitan cities. Based on a dataset formed by 816 completed surveys, this paper analyzes the commuting mode, time and distance of middle-class residents in Guangzhou City using the descriptive statistical method. The results indicate that private cars are the main commuting mode, followed by public transport. Meanwhile, middle-class residents mainly undertake medium-short time and medium- short distance commuting. The study subsequently uses multilevel logistic regression and multiple linear regression models to analyze the factors that influence commuting mode choice, time and distance. The gender, age, number of family cars, housing source and jobs-housing balance are the most important factors influencing commuting mode choice; housing, population density, jobs-housing balance and commuting mode significantly affect commuting time; and transport accessibility, jobs-housing balance and commuting mode are the notable factors affecting commuting distance. Finally, this paper analyzes what is affecting the commuting activities of middle-class residents and determines the differences in commuting activity characteristics and influence factors between middle-class and ordinary residents. Policy suggestions to improve urban planning and urban management are also proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although countries worldwide have launched a series of pro-competition reforms, the literature on the impacts of hospital competition has produced a complex and contradictory picture. This study examined whether hospital competition contributed to an increase in the quality of outpatient care. Methods: The dataset comprises encounter data on 406,664 outpatients with influenza between 2015 and 2019 in China. Competition was measured using the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). Whether patients had 14-day follow-up encounter for influenza at any healthcare facility, outpatient facility, and hospital outpatient department were the three quality outcomes assessed. Binary regression models with crossed random intercepts were constructed to estimate the impacts of the HHI on the quality of outpatient care. The intensity of nighttime lights was employed as an instrumental variable to address the endogenous relationship between the HHI and the quality of outpatient care. Results: We demonstrated that an increase in the degree of hospital competition was associated with improved quality of outpatient care. For each 1% increase in the degree of hospital competition, an individual's risk of having a 14-day follow-up encounter for influenza at any healthcare facility, outpatient facility, and hospital outpatient department fell by 34.9%, 18.3%, and 20.8%, respectively. The impacts of hospital competition on improving the quality of outpatient care were more substantial among females, individuals who used the Urban and Rural Residents Basic Medical Insurance to pay for their medical costs, individuals who visited accredited hospitals, and adults aged 25 to 64 years when compared with their counterparts. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that hospital competition contributed to better quality of outpatient care under a regime with a regulated ceiling price. Competition is suggested to be promoted in the outpatient care market where hospitals have control over quality and government sets a limit on the prices that hospitals may charge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research shows mixed results on the relationship between well-being and economic growth, and the relationship between well-being and population size, yet consistent associations between well-being and green space. This paper aims to analyse the relationship between city residents' well-being and three established indicators: economic growth (as measured by GDP per capita), population size, and green space. A Big Data approach based on the lexica used on social media was proposed to develop well-being indicators. Using the 2016 data of Weibo (i.e. the Chinese version of Twitter), this study finds that the relationship between residents' well-being and GDP per capita and the relationship between residents' well-being and population size both form inverted U-shaped curves. Specifically, for poor cities, levels of well-being increase as GDP per capita increases. But after peaking at around the median GDP per capita point, levels of well-being drop as the city's economy continues to increase. Similarly, levels of well-being increase with population size for small cities, but decrease for those cities whose population sizes rank in the top quarter. In contrast, there is a positive relationship between well-being and the percentage of green space for all cities. Implications and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the forces driving energy-related CO emissions based on a threshold STIRPAT dynamic model, using Chinese state-level panel data during the period of 1997 to 2010. In addition to investigating the impact of affluence on CO emissions, this paper studies channels through which affluence could impact on CO emissions across development levels and explores the possibility of reducing CO emissions through greater affluence by analysing panels including all regions, high-income regions and low-income regions. A threshold STIRPAT dynamic model further estimates thresholds for the major determinants of CO emissions: in the long run, affluence is the most important determinant followed by urban population. Variability of affluence impact on CO emissions in high-income regions is explained mostly by trade openness degree, while low-income regions with a higher industrial level are associated with lower CO emissions. Different measures should be adopted for CO reductions in different regions according to local conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With evidence-based measures, COVID-19 can be effectively controlled by advanced data analysis and prediction. However, while valuable insights are available, there is a shortage of robust and rigorous research on what factors shape COVID-19 transmissions at the city cluster level. Therefore, to bridge the research gap, we adopted a data-driven hierarchical modeling approach to identify the most influential factors in shaping COVID-19 transmissions across different Chinese cities and clusters. The data used in this study are from Chinese officials, and hierarchical modeling conclusions drawn from the analysis are systematic, multifaceted, and comprehensive. To further improve research rigor, the study utilizes SPSS, Python and RStudio to conduct multiple linear regression and polynomial best subset regression (PBSR) analysis for the hierarchical modeling. The regression model utilizes the magnitude of various relative factors in nine Chinese city clusters, including 45 cities at a different level of clusters, to examine these aspects from the city cluster scale, exploring the correlation between various factors of the cities. These initial 12 factors are comprised of 'Urban population ratio', 'Retail sales of consumer goods', 'Number of tourists', 'Tourism Income', 'Ratio of the elderly population (> 60 year old) in this city', 'population density', 'Mobility scale (move in/inbound) during the spring festival', 'Ratio of Population and Health facilities', 'Jobless rate (%)', 'The straight-line distance from original epicenter Wuhan to this city', 'urban per capita GDP', and 'the prevalence of the COVID-19'. The study's results provide rigorously-tested and evidence-based insights on most instrumental factors that shape COVID-19 transmissions across cities and regions in China. Overall, the study findings found that per capita GDP and population mobility rates were the most affected factors in the prevalence of COVID-19 in a city, which could inform health experts and government officials to design and develop evidence-based and effective public health policies that could curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security and the utilization of natural resources in a sustainable manner are vital to the expansion of China's agricultural system. The relationship between environmental pressure and dietary structure has influenced the quantity and spatial distribution of China's food supply and demand, but it has not been evaluated. Our research centered on the security of China's food nutrition–resources–food (NRF) system, considering the inherent relationship between food security, nutritional health, and resource security. The following are the study's findings: (1) The Chinese population is rapidly changing from a diet focused on grains to a more diverse diet. Between 1990 and 2019, the dietary quality and nutritional status of Chinese individuals have vastly improved. In terms of nutrient levels, discrepancies between urban and rural resident persist, with urban residents consuming a diet that is closer to the ideal structure. However, the structure of rural residents' food consumption is diversifying, and the gap between urban and rural residents is gradually narrowing. (2) From 2000 to 2019, the pressure, status, and response indices of China's NRF system all show an upward trend, and the security of the NRF system has steadily grown. The magnitude of change in the response index exceeded that of the state index, which exceeded that of the pressure index. This indicates that the increase in the pressure and state indices of the NRF system was primarily attributable to the effectiveness of policy efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Logistics in China has grown rapidly; in 2015, the freight volume has reached 41 billion ton, increasing by 4.4% year-on-year. At the same time, the pollutant emissions from freight cars account for 70% of total emissions of motor vehicles, which severely affected the air quality. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of logistics on air pollution; we used a new methodology based on vector autoregression of freight turnover, gross domestic product, and urban population. We selected Beijing as our test and created a model using time series data for the period 2000-2014. In this model, permanent residents, freight turnover, and SO emission were used as proxies for population size, logistic services, and degree of air pollution. Our analyses showed that the expansion of logistic services had the biggest effect on air pollution. Moreover, impulse response analysis revealed that logistic growth caused more serious air pollution over a short time, with an ongoing negative effect. GDP growth was only weakly correlated with air pollution, while urban population growth appeared to have little effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is generally agreed that decentralized decision-making is conducive to the efficient allocation of resources, but detrimental to the equitable redistribution of income. This paper is intended to investigate the effect of fiscal decentralization on the delivery of three social services in the Chinese context. Using the data from a nationally representative survey, we find that fiscal decentralization in China, in both expenditure and revenue measures, significantly improves individuals' satisfaction with social services for the sick, for the elderly, and for the poor. However, in contrast to urban local residents, rural dwellers and unregistered city migrants under the household registration ( hukou) system benefit substantially less from the decentralized delivery of social services. These findings are robust to alternative model specifications. Our evidence from China not only sheds new light on the debate over the impact of fiscal decentralization on income redistribution, but also contributes to understanding the role of institutions in determining subjective well-being and its unequal distribution among people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the framework of payment for transboundary watershed ecosystem services (ESs), identifying midstream and downstream residents' preference and willingness to pay (WTP) for ESs provided by the upstream is crucial for sustainable watershed management. The residents' preferences and WTP are not evenly distributed within the watershed. This study uses a choice experiment assessing the spatial impact of physical distance (including residents' watershed location and distance to waterbody) and psychological distance on residents' preference and WTP for the Wei River Basin ESs. The results showed that midstream and downstream residents' preference and WTP for the ecological attributes have a significant distance-decay effect, either the physical distance to the upstream exit or physical and psychological distance to the waterbody. However, compared with the residents in the midstream, the residents downstream have a stronger preference and WTP for upstream ecological governance. Besides, the distance-decay effect differs between urban and rural residents. There is a psychological distance-decay effect in rural residents' preference for water quality and a physical distance-decay effect in their preference for water quantity, entertainment area, and cost; there is a physical distance decay effect in urban residents' preference for entertainment areas. The above differences lead to heterogeneity in WTP and total economic value (TEV) for ESs. When calculating the TEV of the transboundary watershed ES and charging the public, policymakers should consider the location of the residents, the physical and psychological distance to the water body, and the difference between urban and rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk-related information regarding air pollution can help people understand the risk involved and take preventive measures to reduce health loss. However, the health benefits through these protective behaviors and the health threat of information inequality have not been systematically measured. This article reports the health gains and losses caused by the interaction of "air pollution—air pollution information—human", and studies the heterogeneity and impact of this interaction. Based on field investigations and transfer learning algorism, this study compiled the first nationwide city-level risk-related information (ERI) response parameter set in China. Then, we developed a Information-Behavioral Equivalent PM2.5 Exposure Model (I-BEPEM) model to project the health benefits caused by the impact of environmental risk-related information on residents' protective behaviors under different scenarios. The protective behavior led by air pollution risk information reduces 5.7% PM2.5-related premature deaths per year. With a 1% increase in regional ERI reception, PM2.5-related premature mortality decreases by 0.1% on average; If the level of information perception and behavioral protection in all cities is the same as that in Beijing, PM2.5-related premature deaths will decrease by 6.9% annually in China. Further, changing the air quality standard issued by China to the American standard can reduce the overall PM2.5-related premature deaths by 9.9%. Meanwhile, compared with men, other age groups and rural residents, women, older persons, and urban residents are more likely to conceive risk information and adopt protective behaviors to reduce the risk of premature death from air pollution. Air pollution risk information can significantly reduce people's health loss. Changing the real-time air quality monitoring information indicator standard to a more stringent level can quickly and effectively enhance this effect. However, the uneven distribution of this information in regions and populations has resulted in the inequality of health gains and losses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Common ragweed is an invasive alien species causing severe allergies in urban residents. Understanding its urban invasion pathways is crucial for effective control. However, knowledge is limited, with most studies focusing on agricultural and natural areas, and occurrence record-based studies exhibiting uncertainties. We address this gap through a study in East China cities, combining population genetics and occurrence records. Leaf samples from 37 urban common ragweed populations across 15 cities are collected. Genomic and chloroplast DNA extraction facilitate analysis of spatial genetic patterns and gene flows. Additionally, international grain trade data is examined to trace invasion sources. Results indicate spatial genetic patterns impacted by multiple introductions over time. We infer the modern grain trade between the United States and China as the primary invasion pathway. Also, cities act as transportation hubs and ports of grain importation might disperse common ragweed to urban areas. Invasive species control should account for cities as potential landing and spread hubs of common ragweed. Examination of the spatial genetic pattern of common ragweed plants in urban areas in East China cities and the influence of grain trade between China and the U.S suggestions multiple invasion events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigating the impact of industrial facility agglomeration on population distribution provides valuable insights for advancing urban and regional development, as well as aiding in planning, forecasting, and achieving regional equilibrium. However, there remains a notable gap in understanding the influence and mechanisms of industrial facility agglomeration on population distribution, particularly when considering different industry types and diverse regions comprehensively. Additionally, conventional panel data used to assess industrial facility agglomeration are constrained by limitations in coverage and timeliness. In contrast, Point of Interest (POI) data offers a superior solution with its real-time, fine-grained, and innovative advantages. This study utilizes real-time and fine-grained POI data in conjunction with the LandScan population raster dataset to precisely assess industrial facility agglomeration in 352 administrative units at the prefecture level and above in China. The key findings of this research can be summarized as follows: (1) factors influencing urban population growth rates have evolved, with increased significance attributed to Government Agencies and Social Groups, alongside a consistent impact from Science, Education, and Cultural Services. (2) The correlation between industrial facility agglomerations and population growth rates displayed linear relationships in 2015 and 2021, with varying strengths and directional shifts. (3) Regional disparities in industrial facility agglomeration patterns underscore the necessity for customized strategies to optimize industrial structures, foster innovation-driven sectors, and promote sustainable population growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The SOE reform was the first time that economic insecurity was introduced since 1949 in China, with hundreds of million employees affected by the laid off. This study took the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) reform in China as a natural experiment to explore the impact of economic insecurity on depressive symptoms in later life. Methods: Data were obtained from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS), 2014 and 2015. CHARLS is a nationally representative survey covering 28 provinces in China. CHARLS used the probabilities proportional to size (PPS) sampling method and involved 450 villages/resident committees, 150 counties/districts and 12,400 households. A total of 5113 urban dwellers born earlier than 1971 (aged 25 years old and above at the start of the SOE reform, 1995) were involved. Using the province-level economic loss from the layoffs, we examined the impact of economic insecurity exposure on the score of depressive symptoms using a difference-in-differences model (DID). Results: Individuals with economic insecurity exposure had a significantly increased risk of higher depressive symptoms scores, in which a 1 percentage point increase in expected economic loss would increase the CESD-10 score by 0.10. For an individual at the median distribution (CESD-10 = 5), this implies a shift to the 58th percentile (CESD-10 = 6). Given that the average intensity of expected economic loss is 10.22% and the mean CESD-10 is 6.92, exposure to the SOE reform led to an average increase in the CESD-10 score by 1.02 and by at least 14.74%. The heterogeneity analyses showed that the role of SOE reform in depressive symptoms scores was robust in both female and male groups and groups with different educational attainment. Conclusions: Economic insecurity exposure increased the depressive symptoms score later in life in the context of China. Programs, such as adequate unemployment insurance benefits, can protect individuals against the risk of financial loss, thereby reducing their negative impact on depressive symptoms. Providing mental symptoms surveillance and psychological counseling to those experienced at a time of great uncertainty is important for preventing depression in times of economic insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agglomeration (UA) is an advanced spatial economic form formed and developed in the process of rapid industrialization and urbanization, and an important carrier of urbanization and economic development. The economy has developed rapidly in the recent decades of China, and the UAs have also developed rapidly. However, as a large population country, the population distribution and changes of UAs in China has unique characteristics. Using the fifth, sixth and seventh population census data, spatial auto-correlation and spatial econometric models, we analyzed the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and influencing factors of population agglomeration in China's UAs. Results revealed that: 1) from 2000 to 2020, the population gradually converged into UAs, and the characteristics of population agglomeration in different development degree of UAs differ. The higher the development degree of UA, the higher the population agglomeration degree. Besides, UAs are the main area with the most significant population agglomeration degree, and the spatial autocorrelation show that the cities with similar degree tend to be concentrated in space. The urban population gathering in UAs has a certain positive spillover effect on population size of neighboring cities. 2) Economic development and social conditions factors are important factors affecting population agglomeration degree in UAs. The main factors of population gather into UAs are similar with the outside UAs, but the positive promotion of urbanization rate and proportion of tertiary industry in GDP on population agglomeration of UAs in China are enhancing from 2000 to 2020. Meanwhile, the other factors, such as high-quality public services, good urban living environment conditions, high-quality medical and educational resources, are also important factors to promote urban population gather into UAs. This study provides a basis for formulating the development planning of UAs in China, and enriches the relevant theoretical research of population evolution and influencing factors of UAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) in drinking water and the relevant health effects have been ignored for too long. This study aims to reveal the concentrations, spatial distributions, origins and contributions to the daily estimated average requirements of Ca and Mg in public drinking water. Using hydrochemical data of collected samples of public drinking water in 314 cities across China, the contributions of Ca and Mg intakes from public drinking water to their daily estimated average requirements (EARs) were assessed. And the significance of Ca/Mg ratio and total hardness (TH) was evaluated as well. The Ca and Mg concentrations of the samples were in the range of 2.5–155.1 mg/L and 0.2–81.9 mg/L, with an average of 40.4 mg/L and 12.4 mg/L, respectively. There exist obvious differences in Ca and Mg concentrations in different regions, under the impact of climate conditions and water–rock interactions. The intake of Ca via the consumption of public drinking water for adults may be twice as much as that for other age groups. In cities with high Ca levels in public drinking water, the Ca contributions to EAR could reach up to 51.59% for adults. By contrast, Mg in drinking water is an important and even the main pathway to ingest Mg for infants and children. Therefore, public drinking water is critical for Ca and Mg intake among urban residents of China. Besides, attention should be paid to the health effects of high Ca/Mg ratio and low TH in public drinking water, especially in southern China. This research is the first systematic and comprehensive national scale study of Ca and Mg in public drinking water and can provide an important reference to improve healthy public drinking water standards around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal study carried out in urban China on the health and mental status of 200 elders 70 years of age or older and focuses on the experience of dementia. While older people and their families are aware of the phenomenon of dementia, it does not evoke the kind of dread that is common among Americans. This different response can be traced to beliefs about dementia, cultural values, and situational features of contemporary Chinese life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High concentration of surface ozone (O3) will cause health risks to people. In order to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of O3 and assess O3 exposure and health risks for different age groups in China, we applied multiple methods including standard deviation ellipse, spatial autocorrelation, and exposure–response functions. Results show that O3 concentrations increased in 64.5% of areas in China from 2013 to 2018. The central plain urban agglomeration (CPU), Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) witnessed the greatest incremental rates of O3 by 16.7%, 14.3%, and 13.1%. Spatially, the trend of O3 shows a significant positive autocorrelation, and high trend values primarily in central and east China. The proportion of the total population exposed to high O3 (above 160 μg/m3) increased annually. Compared to 2013, the proportion of the young, adult, and old populations exposed to high O3 increased to different extents in 2018 by 26.8%, 29.6%, and 27.2%, respectively. The extent of population exposure risk areas in China expanded in size, particularly in north and east China. The total premature respiratory mortalities attributable to long-term O3 exposure in six urban agglomerations were about 177,000 in 2018 which has increased by 16.4% compared to that in 2013. Among different age groups, old people are more vulnerable to O3 pollution, so we need to strengthen their relevant health protection of them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to explore the impact of social resources within the workplace on individuals' income level among Chinese urban residents, using data provided by JSNET2009. To adequately address the endogeneity problem, we use the first-order difference method to help identify analysis models. The results indicate that: (1) both internal and outward interactions have positive effects on income level; (2) the effect of outward interactions is stronger than that of internal interactions; (3) the effect of outward interactions is stronger in the state-owned sector in comparison with the private sector. Our findingscontribute to the understandings of the causal effect of social capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After all the rural poor are lifted out of poverty under the current government policy, the income gap between urban and rural residents in China will become relatively visible and the problem of unequal opportunities will be more prominent. Based on the multidimensional deprivation framework and the need for a better life, this article constructs a deprivation analytical framework for rural households in China. For measuring the multidimensional deprivation, a two-parameter item response model was used to evaluate the reliability of the indicators based on the data of rural households' surveys in six provinces of China. The test information function shows that the test information curve is biased to the right, and the deprivation index can provide more effective information for the deprived households. The project parameter estimation shows that the difficulty of material needs, necessary social participation and social security indicators are high, and the difficulty of high-value durable consumer goods such as cars and air conditioners, emergency savings, and paying for serious diseases is low. Further Differential item functioning (DIF) tests showed that individual indicators had DIFs across different age, sex, and regional groups, but their effect on latent deprivation variables was very small. From the perspective of latent subgroup differences, the Latent class model (LCM) divided households into four subgroups including severe deprivation, moderate deprivation, mild deprivation and non-deprivation. The probability of falling into the group of more severe deprivation was significantly higher among the households who experienced risk and belong to ethnic minority groups. On the other hand, family income, business livelihood, human capital and social capital can significantly reduce the probability of falling into more severe deprivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]