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Background: In the past 20 years, the trends of ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality in China have been described in divergent claims. This research analyzes mortality trends for IHD by using the data from 102 continuous Disease Surveillance Points (DSP) from 1991 to 2009.Method: The 102 continuous DSP covered 7.3 million people during the period 1991-2000, and then were expanded to a population of 52 million in the same areas for 2004-2009. The data were adjusted by using garbage code redistribution and underreporting rate, mapped from international classification of diseases ICD-9 to ICD-10. The mortality rates for IHD were further adjusted by the crude death proportion multiplied by the total number of deaths in the mortality envelope, which was calculated by using logrt = a + bt. Age-standard death rates (ASDRs) were computed using China's 2010 census population structure. Trend in IHD was calculated from ASDRs by using a joinpoint regression model.Results: The IHD ASDRs increased in total in regions with an average annual percentage change (AAPC) 4.96%, especially for the Southwest (AAPC = 7.97%) and Northeast areas (AAPC = 7.10%), and for male and female subjects (with 5% AAPC) as well. In rural areas, the year 2000 was a cut-off point for mortality rate with annual percentage change increasing from 3.52% in 1991-2000 to 9.02% in 2000-2009, which was much higher than in urban areas (AAPC = 1.05%). And the proportion of deaths increased in older adults, and more male deaths occurred before age 60 compared to female deaths.Conclusion: By observing a wide range of areas across China from 1991 to 2009, this paper concludes that the ASDR trend for IHD increased. These trends reflect changes in the Chinese standard of living and lifestyle with diets higher in fat, higher blood lipids and increased body weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Housing has become the most important asset held by a large proportion of China’s older citizens. Therefore, the role of housing wealth in the consumption decisions of the elderly is a central topic of research and gains insights into the saving, investment and consumption decisions made throughout household life to meet later pension needs. In this paper, using data drawn from a household survey conducted between 2002 and 2009, we estimate the influence of housing wealth on the non-housing consumption of the elderly, and identify the mechanisms underlying this relationship. We find that on average, changes in housing wealth have limited effects on elderly consumption. However, we also find that the role of housing in consumption differs according to the income, health status, and living arrangements of the elderly. The paper draws attention to the influence of housing and its links with social and health-care systems on the lives of older people, with important policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the high-speed urbanization process of China, the urban population has been increasing significantly, leading to a high-density aggregation of population. However, the sharp increase in population density has not produced commensurate improvements in the road networks. On the contrary, the population increase induced a serious evacuation vulnerability, which cities experience during various hazards and catastrophic events. Therefore, research on evacuation vulnerability is important to urban planning. To assess the evacuation vulnerability, the optimal and worst scenarios should be considered because all possible evacuation plans occur between these extremes. However, most previous evacuation vulnerability studies are based on the worst-case scenario, only providing an upper bound of a potential evacuation assessment. To provide a more comprehensive theoretical basis for decision-makers to understand the consequences caused by all possible evacuations, this paper proposes an optimal evacuation vulnerability assessment model that provides the lower bound on potential evacuation difficulties. The model is solved by a stepwise spreading algorithm based on Graph Theory. Subsequently, to evaluate the effectiveness of the model, the study adopts the model to assess the evacuation capability of different road network topologies. A comparison with previous research was performed. The model was demonstrated in an application to the South Luogu Alley of Beijing, China. The significance of this paper is that the combination of our model with previous research may provide a more complete theoretical basis for an evacuation vulnerability assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel spatial general equilibrium model was constructed and the impact of air pollution on urban residents' welfare in China was studied. • Empirical study shows air pollution significantly reduces urban residents' welfare and migration cost reduces the negative impact of air pollution on the welfare of urban residents. • Policy suggestions suggested that air pollution should be balanced against the welfare of residents, and should not be cleaned up by "one size fits all" in the early stages of economic development. Air pollution and its effects are important issues of human society. However, few literatures on the effect of air pollution on urban residents' welfare considered the cost of migration. This paper constructs a novel spatial general equilibrium model and studies the impact of air pollution on urban residents' welfare in 274 cities at and above the prefectural level in China from 2007 to 2017, and investigates the role of migration costs. The theoretical analysis and empirical research show that air pollution has a significant negative impact on the welfare of residents. Further, the simulation results indicate that the reduction of migration cost and the improvement of air quality accounts for roughly 24.65% improvement of resident's welfare from 2007 to 2017 in China. Another conclusion is that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between resident's welfare and air pollution. On another side, migration costs play a moderating role in the impact path of air pollution on residents' welfare. When the migration costs fall, it will help residents to move out of cities with poor air quality and improve the resident's welfare. The policy suggestions are as follows: (1) In the process of sustainable development, local governments need to coordinate the phased characteristics between air pollution and residents' welfare, effectively improve the livable degree of city and urban economic sustainability, and prevent the brain drain caused by excessive migration of residents. (2) Local governments should lower the migration costs between cities by deepening the reform of the household registration system, so as to promote the free flow of labor and ultimately improve the welfare of residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local government debt played a vital role in China's urbanization. But its influence on the new urbanization is not clear. Based on the definition of new urbanization, the paper focuses on the characteristics of local government debt and whether local government debt can meet the needs of new urbanization. The empirical research shows that local government debt promotes the urbanization rate, infrastructure supply and public products supply. But it is not conducive to the increase of urban residents' income, which is the important component of new urbanization. The influence of local government debt on new urbanization is different at different stages of new urbanization. The suggestion is that local government should use local government debt, private capital and foreign capital reasonably considering regional and development stage characteristics, instead of debt only to accelerate the development of new urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

App-based ride-hailing is a newly emergent mode of travel that is expected to influence passengers' travel behavior significantly. In this study, we define app-based ride-hailing services to include hailing of taxis through smartphone apps and sharing of private vehicles (car sharing is not included). This paper is one of the first quantitative studies to examine how app-based ride hailing would impact passengers' choice of travel mode and change car-purchasing behaviors. China is taken as the empirical context, and the data are from a large-scale app-based survey conducted via the largest app-based ride-hailing platform in the world. Drawing on these rich survey data, the investigation covers both the short-term travel mode choices and long-term car-purchasing behaviors of app-based ride-hailing users. The research findings are helpful in understanding changes in urban residents' travel behaviors under in context of app-based ride hailing, and provide valuable in-depth insights for both governments and app-based ride-hailing service providers (i.e., enterprises) for the management and regulation of ride hailing. [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]

Copyright of Yearbook of the Faculty of Political Sciences / Godisnjak Fakultet Politickih Nauka Beograd is the property of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Political Sciences 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.)

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]

Background: In China, home-based healthcare/rehabilitation has always been advocated by the government and is the most prevalent healthcare pattern. However, there is currently no data on how many each product has been purchased, and it is not clear what factors are associated with their use. The research aims to clarify the current practices and attitudes of the elderly on such matters, and further analyze their influence factors.Methods: This pilot study consisted of two-round regional survey, conducted from July 25 to August 3, 2015 and July 20 to August 10, 2018 respectively. Both surveys released on-site paper questionnaires and collected after filling out in different communities.Results: Two hundred forty-four valid questionnaires from 52 communities were collected. Compared with 2015 (30.8%), the number of people who did not purchase home healthcare devices in the same area decreased in 2018 (28.2%). Hemopiezometer (44.3%), glucometer (18.4%), massager (21.3%) and walking devices (19.3%) are the four main types of products that urbanites are most willing to buy. In addition, users' age group, education level, and income level were significantly correlated with the purchase of certain products.Conclusions: The types of home healthcare devices purchased by respondents are consistent with the distribution of chronic diseases of urban residents in China. The analysis of product brands also revealed the existing problems and huge growth space of the industry market, which also requires the government to introduce relevant policies and measures to regulate the market and accelerate the development of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Natural Resources / Ziran Ziyuan Xuebao is the property of Journal of Natural Resources 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.)

The future of cities in China is becoming increasingly important, not just within China but globally. China's urban population has grown from about 200 million in 1980 to about 800 million or 59% in 2018: that is about twice the total population of the USA and 1.5 times the total population of the EU. China has over 100 cities with over a million people. There are also more and more papers being written about urbanisation in China. However, urban development in China is very unlike urban development in the west or in many other developing countries. Despite the growth of a large, dynamic market sector, China is still a Communist country in terms of the pervasive and leading role of the party and the state. The question posed in this commentary is whether urbanisation in China is unique; or, to be more precise, whether the post-reform Chinese experience of urbanisation since around 1980 is so unusual that it constitutes an entirely unique case which lies outside conventional generalisations about urban change processes. This question links to recent discussions of comparative urbanism in which various scholars have grappled with questions about the generalisability of urban theory and experience. The tentative conclusion is that Chinese urbanisation may be unique and is certainly not easily subsumed into standard discussions about urban development and urban change. [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]

The rapid development of coastal urban agglomerations in China has gained global attention since the 1980s. Recently, several regions in the Central China have also experienced rapid economic development. The objectives of this paper are to explore whether the spatial pattern of urban growth in Central China's urban agglomerations is the same as those costal ones and whether it is driven by anything other than external forces. Using the Changzhutan region as an example, this study analyses the economic transformation and spatial restructuring of the populations in urban agglomerations in Central China and explores the driving factors of urban growth using regression models. We find that most of the population is concentrated in prefecture‐level city districts and county seats, which is markedly different from the large‐scale regional population agglomerations found in the coastal urban agglomerations. Domestic investment, instead of foreign investment, and human capital, has become important factors driving the population migration. This finding sharply contrasts with the pattern found in coastal urban agglomerations, where regional concentrations of the population and economic activities are primarily driven by labour‐intensive and global economies. This case study may serve as a basis for future urban planning and management in Central China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Civilisations is the property of Institut de Sociologie - ULB 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.)

This paper investigates disparities in subjective wellbeing in China by analyzing the Chinese General Social Survey (2003–2015). Our hierarchical age-period-cohort models reveal how Chinese Communist Party membership, the urban-rural divide, and cohort differences have jointly shaped levels of happiness. Interestingly, the significance of political status in shaping happiness varies profoundly across birth cohorts and locations of residence. In earlier cohorts (1910–1948), Communist Party members in rural areas have a considerable advantage over nonmembers, but this advantage gradually diminishes later, except the 1977–1985 cohort. The advantage of urban party membership keeps increasing up to the cohort born during 1957–1965 but declines rapidly after that. Findings suggest that in the planned economy, political status plays a central role in promoting subjective wellbeing especially in urban China; the transition to a market economy in post-Mao China has reduced political disparities among younger cohorts, mainly for urban residents. [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]

Although China's urban floating population is mainly concentrated in developed cities, from the central and western cities to the eastern developed cities, but the characteristics of the floating population in different cities are significantly different. This paper systematically investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors of the floating population in different levels of cities. The results show that the regional imbalance to further strengthen, accumulation and dispersion trend has become increasingly obvious, liquidity is positively correlated and city level scale, and urban agglomeration and the core city is still polarization center of floating population. Flow range is closely related to urban hierarchy: the higher the intra-urban grade, the more tend to inter-provincial flow; the lower the city grade, the more tend to intra-urban mobility. Short-term (1-2 years) and long-term (more than 7 years) flow-time coexist. The short-term liquidity increases with the city grade, and the long-term liquidity decreases with the city level. Farmers are still the main body of the floating population. Younger age, lower education level, low-skilled, high gender ratio employees are the most basic demographic characteristics of the floating population, although there are differences between different cities. The main reason for affecting the floating population is seeking jobs and doing business. [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]

Every year, millions of young people migrate away from their home provinces for higher education and employment in China. However, less is known about the extent to which Chinese young people may benefit economically from their migration. Analyzing nationally representative data from the new China College Student Survey, this paper examines the impact of inter-province migration on the starting salaries of Chinese young people after undergraduate studies. Utilizing the method of propensity score matching, this research reveals differences in the economic returns to migration for higher education and for work, and between young people of rural and urban hukou origins. The economic premium attached to inter-province education migration is largely mediated and thus explained by socioeconomic disparities across Chinese provinces. By contrast, young people's work migration generates a positive economic premium, over and above the wage disparity between sending and host provinces. Underlining the context-dependent nature of the migration premium, the results draw attention to China's institutional features – i.e. the structural configurations of education and work migration and the hukou system – in shaping the economic returns to youth migration. Rural and urban young people's differential access to the migration premium may also exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities in post-reform China. [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]

Taking the Central Plain City Cluster of China as the research object, and using the center-of-gravity coupling model, unbalance index, and coordination measure model, this paper analyzed spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of coordination between urban population, built-up area, and economy in 2008-2016, and predicted their overall development trend in combination with the Logistic model. It obtained following results: (i) The growth rate of urban economy is faster than that of urban population and built-up area, and the stage characteristics and spatial differences of their evolution are significant. (ii) On the whole, the shift direction of population is opposite to that of built-up area and economic gravity, the coordination between population and built-up area and economy gradually declines, while the shift direction of built-up area is the same as that of the economic center-of-gravity, and the coordination between built-up area and economy is gradually strengthened. The unbalance index of population, built-up area and economy is on the rise, while unbalance index of population and built-up area remains stable. (iii) The spatial difference characteristics of the coordination between them are significant. Specifically, the coordination is poor between population and built-up area and economy, while the coordination is good between built-up area and economy. (iv) According to the prediction, the overall size of urban population, built-up area and economy of the Central Plain City Cluster will be 29.4 million, 4,355 km2, and 4.549 billion yuan in 2026, and such prediction is very believable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neighborhood regeneration has become essential component of environmental improvement, and promoting resident participation is a key aspect of effective environmental management. However, in China, the legacy of the former housing allocation system and specific cultural contexts have led to residents' psychological inertia towards participating in neighborhood regeneration. Although there has been extensive research on encouraging resident participation, most studies fail to recognize that cultivating active participation behavior among residents usually requires overcoming their existing reluctance or psychological inertia first. Grounded on the innovative notion of psychological inertia, this paper puts forth the perspective that to foster resident participation, it is imperative to initially disrupt their current participation inertia and subsequently facilitate the reconfiguration of their participation behavior. Specifically, it addresses two key research questions: (i) which factors are conducive to stimulating residents to overcome inherent psychological inertia and stimulate their positive participation attitudes? (ii) How do these stimuli shape and reconstruct residents' participation behavior? Based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory and structural equation modeling (SEM), this paper unveils the mask of intrinsic mechanism for overcoming psychological inertia and reshaping residents' participation behavior. The empirical results show that three stimulating factors (information acquisition, social norms, and perceived grassroots government support) directly impact residents' participating attitudes; these stimuli reconstruct participation behavior by triggering individual psychological changes and then inducing behavioral changes. With the new insight of "overcoming psychological inertia" and the incorporation of behavioral psychology in restructuring resident participation behavior, this paper presents implementation strategies for promoting resident participation in neighborhood regeneration. [Display omitted] • Overcoming psychological inertia is a prerequisite for active resident participation. • Identified three stimuli for fostering resident participation by overcoming inertia. • The research reveals how stimuli shape residents' participation behavior using SEM. • Incorporated behavioral psychology in restructuring resident participation behavior. • Provided practical strategies and theoretical support for resident participation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The residential sector has become the second largest energy consumer in China. Urban residential energy consumption (URE) in China is growing rapidly in the process of urbanization. This paper aims to reveal the spatiotemporal dynamic evolution and influencing mechanism of URE in China. The spatiotemporal heterogeneity of URE during 2007–2018 is explored through Kernel density estimation and inequality measures (i.e., Gini coefficient, Theil index, and mean logarithmic deviation). Then, with several advantages over traditional index decomposition analysis approaches, the Generalized Divisia Index Method (GDIM) decomposition is employed to investigate the impacts of eight driving factors on URE. Furthermore, the national and provincial decoupling relationships between URE and residential income increase are studied. It is found that different provinces' URE present a significant agglomeration effect; the interprovincial inequality in URE increases and then decreases during the study period. The GDIM decomposition results indicate the income effect is the main positive factor driving URE. Besides, urban population, residential area, per capita energy use, and per unit area energy consumption positively influence URE. By contrast, per capita income, energy intensity, and residential density have negative effects on URE. There is evidence that only three decoupling states, i.e., weak decoupling, strong decoupling, and expansive negative decoupling, appear in China during 2007–2018. Specifically, weak decoupling is the dominant state among different regions. Finally, some suggestions are given to speed up the construction of energy-saving cities and promote the decoupling process of residential energy consumption in China. This paper fills some research gaps in urban residential energy research and is important for China's policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The income gap between urban and rural residents has long been a predicament for China. The differences between returns to education in urban and rural China are one of the important factors affecting the income gap. Using a combination of data from CHNS, CHIP, CGSS, CFPS, CHFS, and CSS, the differences in returns to education and its evolution in China from 1989 to 2019 were estimated. Results show that returns to education in urban China have been consistently higher than that in rural China. Returns to education in urban China show a trend of progressive increase, then a rapid rise, before turning into a slow decline and gradually leveling off; returns to education in rural China exhibit a slowly increasing trend before gradually leveling off; the differences between returns to education in urban and rural China show an evolution of first growing larger, then smaller, before gradually leveling off. The spouse's education was considered the instrumental variable of individuals' education. The robustness test was done with an estimation through a two-stage least squares (2SLS) method. Results indicate that the empirical conclusion has good robustness. The evolution of returns to education in China was explained in terms of the marketization of labor forces, the relative supply and demand of labor forces, the reform of the household registration system, and the evolution of the quality of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to analyze the relevance of the city spatial structure for smart city innovation from the perspective of agglomeration externalities, and discusses whether there is heterogeneity in innovation across different geographical areas and population scales of cities. Design/methodology/approach: The authors construct the centralization and concentration indexes to conceptualize the city spatial structure of 286 cities (prefecture-level) in China based on the LandScan Global Population Dataset from 2001 to 2016. A fixed-effects panel data model is employed to analyze the relationship between the spatial structure and the innovation ability of smart cities; the results were validated through robustness tests and heterogeneity analyses. Findings: The study found that the more concentrated and more evenly the distribution of urban population, namely the more city spatial structure tends to be weak-monocentricity, the higher the level of innovation in smart cities. The relevance of the weak-monocentricity structure and smart city innovation varies significantly depending on their geographical location and the size of the city. This result is more applicable to cities in the eastern and central regions, as well as to cities with smaller populations. Originality/value: The adjustment and optimization of the city spatial structure is important for enhancing smart city construction. Unlike previous studies, which mostly use a single dimension of "the proportion of population in sub-centres to the population of all central areas" to measure city spatial structure, the authors employed the spatial centralization and spatial concentration. It is hoped that this study can guide smart city construction from the perspective of the development model of city spatial structure. [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]

Promoting the formation of the green lifestyle (GL) is a crucial step in achieving comprehensive green transformation of urban economic and social development. The widespread adoption of GL is influenced by various environmental regulations. Previous research mainly focused on the impact of individual policies on GL from the single policy perspective. The mechanisms of the combined effects of policies have not been thoroughly explored, particularly the contributions of each policy during periods of overlap. This paper takes the dual-policy of the New-type Urbanization Policy (NUP) and Smart City Policy (SCP) in China as an example. It employs panel data collected from 271 cities in China during 2007–2019 and establishes a multi-period difference-in-difference model to identify the combined effects of the dual-policy on residents' GL. Additionally, the Shapley value decomposition method is utilized to identify the contribution magnitude of each policy when they act simultaneously. The following conclusions are yielded. Firstly, the combined effects of dual-policy are more effective than a single policy in influencing residents' GL. Secondly, the Shapley value decomposition method reveals that when both policies are simultaneously implemented, SCP contributes a greater weight compared to NUP. Thirdly, the dual-policy can promote residents' adoption of GL through mechanisms such as green technological innovation, public participation in environmental protection, and the agglomeration of tertiary industries. Fourthly, the impact of dual-policy on residents' GL varies across different types and sizes of cities. This study attempts to unseal the "black box" of how the dual-policy influences residents' GL during the green transformation of cities in China, providing theoretical references for relevant urban policies in other countries and contributing to Chinese solutions and experience to global urban green development. • The dual-policy of NUP and SCP can jointly promote residents' green lifestyle. • The weight of SCP's contribution is higher than NUP's by the Shapely value method. • It explored three potential channels between the dual-policy and GL. • There are heterogeneous effects of dual-policy on GL in different types of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the urbanization process in China, issues such as the widening wealth gap, class stratification, and social exclusion influenced residents' decisions to pursue entrepreneurship. Inclusiveness is an inevitable trend in new urbanization, and it is also a key factor in promoting residents' entrepreneurship and stimulating the potential for social innovation. Based on three key principles, "fairness, openness, and sharing, " this paper assesses the relationship, and the internal mechanism driving the relationship, between urban social inclusiveness and resident entrepreneurship. This includes constructing an urban social inclusiveness index, and analyzing data from the 2018 China General Social Survey (CGSS). The key results indicate that urban social inclusiveness has a significant positive effect on resident entrepreneurship. The mechanism analysis shows that urban social inclusiveness can improve the probability of residents being entrepreneurial, by improving risk attitude, promoting class mobility, and expanding social networks. Heterogeneity analysis shows that urban social inclusiveness has a significant impact on the entrepreneurial of local residents, and low-class and high-class residents; urban social inclusiveness has no significant impact on the entrepreneurial choice of transient residents and middle-class residents. Besides, urban social inclusiveness plays a more significant role in promoting residents' choice of survival entrepreneurship, compared with opportunistic entrepreneurship. • Explore the relationship between urban social inclusiveness and resident entrepreneurship in China. • A new method for assessing the social inclusion of cities, which considers "fairness, openness, and sharing." • Examine the mediating role of risk attitudes, class mobility, and social networks. • Understand the heterogeneity of social classes, household registrations, and entrepreneurial types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Based on CSS 2019 data, this article analyzes the impact of Basic Medical Insurance for Urban and Rural Residents (BMIUR) on perceived social equity of residents. Method: Using the CSS data of 2019, this article analyzes the influence of BMIUR on the perception of social equity of residents, on the basis of 2SLS model and mediating effect model. Results: We find that BMIUR has a significantly positive impact on the perception of social equity. That is to say, BMIUR can improve residents' evaluation of social equity and further promote the level of social equity, which makes residents more happiness. The conclusion remains valid after using robustness test and propensity score matching to conduct counterfactual reasoning. The discussion of mechanism indicates that the influence of BMIUR is mediated by enhancing social capital, improving satisfaction of income distribution and reducing self-paid medical expenses. This study also finds that the influence of BMIUR is more obvious in the low-income, low-skilled and mid-west groups. Conclusion: The reform of the medical security system should be regarded as a foothold for improving people's well-being and promoting social equity; Expanding people's social capital through multiple channels and improving income distribution mechanisms; Strengthen vocational skills training, especially to provide more public services and social security for low-income groups, low-skilled groups, and groups in the western region of China, in order to improve the welfare and policy effectiveness of China's social security reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the "Belt and Road Initiative", the sustainable development of border cities is paramount for facilitating intergovernmental exchanges. Using the system dynamics approach, we integrated border policy factors to create the Border City Coordinated Development (BCCD-SD) model, encompassing three dimensions: Economic, Social, and Resource-Environment. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation indicator, the City Coordinated Development Index (CCDI), was devised. Using Lincang City in Southwest China as a case study, this article examines the trends in city development under three scenarios: Inertial Development, Rapid Development, and Green Development. The research findings demonstrate that the model adeptly captures trends in the city coordinated development indicators. Among the three scenarios, the rapid development scenario stands out, yielding the most favorable economic indicators, superior public infrastructure, and the highest employed population. However, the rapid development path, which is heavily focused on economic growth, intensifies resource and environmental pressures, giving rise to sustainability challenges. In contrast, although the green development scenario trails slightly in economic performance compared to rapid development, it fosters a larger urban population and transition of the employed population into citizens while excelling in resource and environmental aspects. Overall, the CCDI attains its highest score under the green development scenario, surpassing those of rapid and inertia development, signifying superior city development coordination along the green path. This scenario effectively combines economic growth, social progress, and resource-environment protection. This study also emphasizes the pivotal role of ports in the coordinated development of border cities and underscores the necessity of expediting the transition from a "gateway" economy to a "port+" economy. One objective of this article is to encourage border cities to serve as more effective windows to the outside world, promote regional coordination, and achieve high-quality development. [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]

Introduction: As the COVID-19 pandemic raged, controversies about governmental responses to the epidemic also emerged in China. Previous studies mainly described the phenomenon of individual differences on support for governmental responses to COVID-19 with less attention to the underlying causal mechanisms. Thus, this study tries to verify the factors influencing public support for official behaviors in COVID-19. Method: A questionnaire survey was drew on in Wuhan city during the COVID-19 outbreak. The quota sampling method was adopted according to the gender and age structure of the population in Wuhan as well as the educational structure of the urban population in China. Results: Through structural equation analysis, this study confirms that personal factors (namely conscientiousness and nationalistic ideology), behavioral factors (namely media diversity and echo chamber acts) exert significantly positive impacts on support for governmental responses. The echo chamber acts play important mediating roles in the relationship between each independent variable and support for governmental responses. Discussion: The originality of this study is that it constructs a comprehensive model of influencing factors of support for governmental responses with the personal, behavioral, and environmental factors. While contributing insight to political attitude in China, the research results also have significance for promoting public trust and constructing healthy public opinion in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban settlement intention of the floating population and its influencing factors have received widespread attention, but there is less literature on the relationship between human capital, life satisfaction, and the urban settlement intention of the floating population. Employing 2146 questionnaire data from the Pearl River Delta's floating population, this study establishes measurement indicators for human capital and life satisfaction, constructs a structural equation model, and examines the influence of human capital on life satisfaction, as well as their collective impact on the floating population's urban settlement intentions. The findings reveal that human capital influences multiple facets of the floating population's life satisfaction, which subsequently shapes its desire to settle. Considering individual life satisfaction, the economic well-being and social security contentment of the floating population exert a notable impact on its urban settlement intentions, whereas satisfaction with emotional life and public service facilities appears to have a less pronounced effect. Further investigation into how varying levels of human capital modulate the influence of life satisfaction on urban settlement intentions, alongside the transition from fundamental economic security to psychological needs (about life satisfaction), holds substantial referential value for research on population migration and the development of citizenship policies in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper attempts to disclose the effects of land use pattern on the selection of low-carbon travel by urban residents. Targeting 19 blocks in north western China’s Xi’an, the author collected data from various sources, including phone signals, app records and field surveys, and divided the blocks into two groups based on the difference in land use pattern. The multi-source data ensures the objectivity and accuracy of the analysis. Then, the relationship models between block land use features and residents’ travel methods were established based on the Logit model, and the effects of six land use features on the selection of low-carbon travel were discussed in detail. The research results show a strong correlation between land use pattern and travel mode of the residents in the 19 blocks; the six land use features have different impacts on the travel mode; the residents in the two types of blocks prefer different low-carbon travel methods. This research lays a scientific basis for the optimization of urban space and land use. [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]

Abstract Despite the fact that China is becoming increasingly urbanised, some Chinese cities have witnessed a loss of urban population. In recent years, with the extensive expansion of the Chinese High-Speed Railway (HSR) network, the reduction in travel time has greatly increased the mobility of people across cities, thus affecting the spatial redistribution of the urban population in China. An important question arises: for cities experiencing population loss, when they were connected to the HSR network, did the HSR further aggravate this urban shrinkage? Using cities experiencing population loss as a sample, the paper provides a quantitative assessment of population loss in HSR-served cities. A Difference-in-Difference (DID) method was adopted to investigate whether the HSR aggravated population loss in shrinking cities. On the whole, empirical results show that the phenomenon of urban shrinkage in China was further aggravated by the HSR. Furthermore, the results unveil the dynamic impact of the HSR on shrinking cities, and multi-stage DID results reveal that the impact of the HSR on urban population may have a certain time lag effect. The HSR has significantly contributed to the population loss of shrinking cities four to five years after it first started operating. The paper highlights that the HSR does not always yield growth opportunities; on the contrary, for cities suffering from population decline, the HSR may bring a serious challenge. Highlights • The phenomenon of urban shrinkage in China was further aggravated by the HSR. • The multi-stage DID results reveal that the impact of HSR on urban population may have a certain time lag effect. • The paper highlights that HSR does not always yield growth opportunities. [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 the acceleration of urbanization and motorization in China, traffic congestion has become the "bottleneck" in the development of major cities in China. If the urban traffic problem can not be solved effectively, it will seriously affect the sustainable development of big cities. However, to solve the traffic problems in big cities, it is necessary to have a forward-looking view, and to determine the development strategy of transportation in big cities according to China's national conditions and the characteristics of major cities. China's urban land resources are limited, and the land available for road traffic is increasingly scarce, and the contradiction between supply and demand of transportation is intensified. Urban population is gathering in big cities and megacities, and the demand for urban transportation will increase at a faster speed. Based on GIS spatial analysis technology, the accessibility of public transport for residents in the main urban area of Nanchang City before and after the metro opening is measured, and improvement benefits of accessibility of metro in different spatial patterns are analyzed. This paper puts forward the improvement measures of metro to Nanchang traffic as the suggestions of Nanchang traffic management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alienation among young residents is imposing different degrees of distress on society and community residents. For this paper, an online survey platform was used to collect 637 samples of young residents from 22 provinces in China. Based on the mediating effect of social capital, and by using path analysis and structural equation modeling, this paper examines the effect and mechanism of how the usage of urban community public spaces alleviates alienation among young residents. The findings show that the usage of urban community public spaces can not only alleviate alienation among young residents at the general level, but also through the path of interpersonal trust and reciprocity norm. The implications of these findings are that urban community public spaces play an essential role in improving community relations and happiness of residents. Therefore, in urban development, sufficient community public space, especially space for social activities, should be reserved. Furthermore, accurately understand to the use characteristics and actual needs of young residents for community space should be highlighted, to meet the diversified social needs of young residents and expand the value of public space through community space reconstruction and micro-renewal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018 and the Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index from 2011 to 2018, this research explores the effect of digital financial development on residents' income and the channels of influence. The findings suggest that the growth of digital financial services has a significant and favourable influence on citizens' income. Furthermore, digital financial development benefits rural populations, low-skilled workers, and individuals working in basic industries the most. The extension of inhabitants' employment space, better access to credit, and ease of access to information online are the major ways that digital financial development influences their income. In particular, the expansion of employment space has a greater positive impact on the low-skilled labor force, rural residents, and those in primary and secondary industries, while access to information is more likely to explain the increase in income of urban residents, and credit has an advantage in promoting income growth for the low-skilled laborers and those in traditional industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs industrial survey data from China's National Bureau of Statistics covering Chinese manufacturing enterprises during the period 1998–2007 to examine the impact of urbanisation on total factor productivity (TFP) in various industries. In recent years, urbanisation development has varied greatly across China. So Chinese cities can be divided into three urbanisation categories based on the proportion of the urban population to the total population: highly urbanised areas (60 per cent and over), moderately urbanised areas (30–60 per cent), and low urbanised areas (0–30 per cent). We estimate industrial TFP levels across these three categories using the Levinsohn–Petrin semi‐parametric estimation method. We also divide regional productivity into a productivity index and an industry composition index. We use aspects of these indexes to analyse the impact of urbanisation on TFP. The results confirm that urbanisation can lead to the gathering of economic activities, which in turn generates a positive impact on TFP by reducing transportation cost, promoting new technology spillovers, and encouraging a higher degree of specialisation. Further, the empirical results indicate that the highest TFP does not always occur in highly urbanised areas—most of the industries with the highest TFP are in moderately urbanised areas. These findings have important policy implications regarding how to improve the TFP of enterprises in order to generate scale effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urban population in China is mainly covered by two medical insurance schemes: the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) for urban employees in formal sector and the Urban Resident Basic Medical Insurance (URBMI) for the left urban residents, mainly the unemployed, the elderly and children. This paper studies the effects of UEBMI and URBMI on health services utilisation in Shaanxi Province, Western China. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 4th National Health Services Survey - Shaanxi Province was studied. The propensity score matching and the coarsened exact matching methods have been used to estimate the average medical insurance effect on the insured. Results: Compared to the uninsured, robust results suggest that UEBMI had significantly increased the outpatient health services utilisation in the last two weeks (p<0.10), whilst the significant effect on hospitalisation was evident in the CEM method (p<0.10). The effect of URBMI was limited in that although being insured was associated with higher health services utilisation, compared with the uninsured, none of the improvement was statistically significant (p>0.10). It was also found that compared with the uninsured, basic medical insurance enrollees were more likely to purchase inpatient treatments in lower levels of hospitals, consistent with the incentive of the benefit package design. Conclusion: Basic Medical insurance schemes have shown a positive but limited effect on increasing health services utilisation in Shaanxi Province. The benefit package design of higher reimbursement rates for lower level hospitals has induced the insured to use medical services in lower level hospitals for inpatient services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mega-events such as the Olympic Games tend to be accompanied by copious media coverage of the negative social impacts of these events, and people in the affected areas are often thought to share similar experiences. The research in this paper, which focused on the Beijing Summer Olympic Games of 2008, unpacks the heterogeneous groups in a particular sector of the housing market to gain a better understanding of how the Games affected different resident groups. The paper critically examines the experience of migrant tenants and Beijing citizens (landlords in particular) in “villages-in-the-city” (known as cheongzhongcun), drawing on their first-hand accounts of the citywide preparations for the Games and the pervasive demolition threats to their neighbourhoods. The paper argues that the Beijing Summer Olympiad produced an uneven, often exclusionary, Games experience for a certain segment of the urban population. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Achieving urbanization sustainability is considered to be both an important component of the Sustainable Development Goals and a key way to address the conflict between limited resource constraints and urban continued growth. Regarding the urbanization sustainability, the impact of ecological environment and resource consumption has been widely discussed, while the holistic effect of urban land expansion and urban population dynamics is under-researched. This paper evaluated the urbanization sustainability of 15 urban agglomerations in China from 2000 to 2020, and applied the Geodetector model to investigate its impact mechanism. The results show that at the national level, the level of urbanization sustainability exhibited a trend of first increasing and then decreasing, accompanied by significant spatial differentiation. Spatially, the level of urbanization sustainability in urban agglomerations located in the northeast regions had strong variability during the study period. In contrast, urban agglomerations located in the central region had a lower level of urbanization sustainability due to the unrestricted expansion of urban land. In addition, urbanization sustainability varied according to the development stage of urban agglomerations. Specifically, urbanization sustainability showed a downward trend in the initial development stage, early growth stage and later growth stage of urban agglomeration, and upward trend in mature stage. Economic development level, foreign direct investment, industrial structure and urbanization level were the primary determinants of differences in urbanization sustainability at both national and regional levels. These findings may help to formulate the urban sustainable development planning and differentiated land use policies. • A new evaluation framework for urbanization sustainability was proposed. • The sustainability of urbanization varies at different stages of development. • Economic factors are the primary determinants of urbanization sustainability. • The interaction effect of factors affect sustainability of urbanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural decline is a severe global problem. The sustainable development of rural areas is in jeopardy due to rapid migration out of rural areas and the separation of rural housing and jobs. Rural housing-jobs synergy (RHJS) is conducive to promoting high-quality and sustainable development of rural areas. Based on rural permanent population, rural employment population, and rural working-age population data from 2007 to 2020, this study applied spatial autocorrelation analysis and Geodetector model to explore the spatio-temporal pattern and driving factors of RHJS at the county scale in Chongqing. Results showed that RHJS in Chongqing demonstrated a steady upward trend and showed spatial heterogeneity. The spatial layout of RHJS was characterized by spatial agglomeration. RHJS hotspots are all located in the yuzhong district and has advantages in terms of its natural resource environment and market placement, while the coldspots are concentrated in the northeast of Chongqing with generally poor conditions. The internal drivers of county RHJS have gradually shifted from a mix of resource-environmental factors and economic factors to a combination of economic factors and social public service factors, with the influence of social public service factors increasing. Market location was the main external driving factor for RHJS, and the influence of technological innovation factors is growing. The degree of influence of the selected variables in each driver on RHIS varies spatially and temporally, and improving RHIS can be accomplished by optimizing the industrial structure, boosting investment in science and technology, and improving the quality of social public services such as healthcare. The proximity of provincial capital cities, the income ratio of urban and rural residents, and the altitude have a significant negative effect on the regional divergence, they are the main variables affecting the RHJS divergence. These findings will assist decision-makers in developing future rural sustainable development policies for the construction of livable and employable villages and optimize rural areas spatial structures by RHJS situation and its driving factors in various regions of counties in mountainous and hilly ecologically fragile areas, and also serve as a useful reference for sustainable a rural development research in other developing countries. • This paper extends the measurement of the job-housing balance in urban research to rural areas. • Analyzing the definition of rural housing-jobs synergy (RHJS) from the perspectives of functional balance and efficiency. • The interaction of internal and external factors was found to determine the degree of the RHJS at the county level. • This research has significance for the rural revitalization and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: China is in the process of integrating the new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) and the urban residents' basic medical insurance system (URBMI) into the urban and rural residents' basic medical insurance system (URRBMI). However, how to integrate the financing policies of NCMS and URBMI has not been described in detail. This paper attempts to illustrate the differences between the financing mechanisms of NCMS and URBMI, to analyze financing inequity between urban and rural residents and to identify financing mechanisms for integrating urban and rural residents' medical insurance systems. Methods: Financing data for NCMS and URBMI (from 2008 to 2015) was collected from the China health statistics yearbook, the China health and family planning statistics yearbook, the National Handbook of NCMS Information, the China human resources and social security statistics yearbook, and the China social security yearbook. "Ability to pay" was introduced to measure inequity in health financing. Individual contributions to NCMS and URBMI as a function of per capita disposable income was used to analyze equity in health financing between rural and urban residents. Results: URBMI had a financing mechanism that was similar to that used by NCMS in that public finance accounted for more than three quarters of the pooling funds. The scale of financing for NCMS was less than 5% of the per capita net income of rural residents and less than 2% of the per capita disposable income of urban residents for URBMI. Individual contributions to the NCMS and URBMI funds were less than 1% of their disposable and net incomes. Inequity in health financing between urban and rural residents in China was not improved as expected with the introduction of NCMS and URBMI. The role of the central government and local governments in financing NCMS and URBMI was oscillating in the past decade. Conclusions: The scale of financing for URRBMI is insufficient for the increasing demands for medical services from the insured. The pooling fund should be increased so that it can better adjust to China's rapidly aging population and epidemiological transitions as well as protect the insured from poverty due to illness. Individual contributions to the URBMI and NCMS funds were small in terms of contributors' incomes. The role of the central government and local governments in financing URRBMI was not clearly identified. Individual contributions to the URRBMI fund should be increased to ensure the sustainable development of URRBMI. Compulsory enrollment should be required so that URRBMI improves the social medical insurance system in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Following decades of deep marketization, Chinese housing policy has recently revived public housing provision, stimulating debate over whether China is moving towards a more socialized approach to housing. While such a move represents a remarkable shift in the role of housing as a welfare good or service, little research has considered recent developments in housing from a welfare regime perspective. Indeed, while the salience of housing systems to welfare regimes has been widely recognized in comparative research, this link has rarely been explored in the case of China. This paper applies a welfare regime framework to the historical development of Chinese housing system, and specifically, to empirically examine recent transformations in the housing system through contrasting examples from two Chinese cities: Beijing and Chongqing. The analysis indicates the emergence of a hybrid housing system combining socialist, social-democratic and productivist elements, focused on the chimeric needs of urban populations that are balanced between indigenous city residents and urban migrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]