Developed Eastern Regions Research Articles

Government Quality and Regional Development in Turkey

This paper investigates the impact of government quality on regional development differences in Turkey. First set of results obtained from spatial data analysis show that individuals’ perception on government services is spatially non-random. Moreover this spatial pattern is subject to substantial level of clustering behavior; as there are different spatial regimes shaping regions’ perception. Second set of analysis underline that ties among government quality and regional development are relatively weak. Specifically for certain public services, level of perception and regional wellbeing is even inversely related. More interestingly further spatial variability analysis shows that, relationship between government quality and regional development is positive among some mid-developed northern regions, while for less developed eastern regions as well as developed metropolitan areas individuals level of satisfaction and regional development witness either negative or relatively weak association. These results suggest the existence of sizeable local instabilities in explaining spatial distribution of government quality in Turkey. Moreover results also underline that individuals and regions from different socio-economic background tend to perceive level of government services as less satisfactory albeit they enjoy different level of development. This reminds that there are different motives behind negative perception of government quality among less developed and developed regions of Turkey.

Regional Competition, Heterogeneous Factors and Pollution Intensity in China: A Spatial Econometric Analysis

Regional competition may play an important role in the balance of environmental protection and economic growth. However, it is a pending issue of whether the competition among Chinese local governments leads to a race to black development or green development. This paper aims to explore the strategic interactions in provincial development in terms of an environment-economic indicator, i.e., the pollution intensity in China from 2000 to 2013. We divide four predominant industrial pollutants into two groups according to whether the pollutant is regulated, and then test the strategic interactions among regions based on the spatial lag term by employing the spatial Durbin model. The results show that the heterogeneous factors, such as various pollutants and regional difference, may give rise to diversified competition strategies. We find that the “race to black development” hypothesis is not supported at the national level, and the “race to green development” hypothesis is established in the developed eastern regions only in terms of the regulated industrial pollutants. We also detect how pollution intensity is influenced by the direct and spatial spillover effects of environmental regulation and find that environmental legislation has been effective in reducing regulated pollutants’ pollution intensity, while the effects of environmental staff and investment are weak. Finally, some policy suggestions are discussed.

CO2 emissions of China's commercial and residential buildings: Evidence and reduction policy

This paper provides an assessment of the potential of CO2 mitigation in buildings by conducting an empirical research on the determinants of building energy-related CO2 emissions. The building sector accounts for 30%–50% of CO2 emissions and thus has significant impacts on global warming. This paper fills the research gap by investigating the economic factors that determine energy-related CO2 emissions in China's commercial and residential buildings. Based on provincial data, a three-dimensional LMDI decomposition of building energy-related CO2 emissions into four components is proposed, and includes scale, income, intensity and structure effects. The results suggest that: (i) China's building energy-related CO2 emissions are increasing rapidly; (ii) The improvement in living standards is the leading driving force of the increases in emissions, but its importance diminishes due to energy efficiency improvement and transformation to low-carbon energy structure; (iii) The evolution of China's commercial building energy-related CO2 emissions shows the features of the environmental Kuznets curve; (iv) CO2 emissions would further increase in the developed eastern regions due to large-scale migration from rural to urban areas.

Pursuing air pollutant co-benefits of CO 2 mitigation in China: A provincial leveled analysis

Abstract With fast economic development, industrialization and urbanization, China faces increasing pressures on carbon emission reduction, and especially on air pollutants (SO 2 , NOx, PM) reduction, particularly the notorious haze issue caused by air pollution in recent years. Pursuing co-benefits is an effective approach to simultaneously respond to both carbon and air pollutant problems. In this paper, the AIM/CGE (Asia–Pacific Integrated Assessment Model/Computational General Equilibrium) model and GAINS (Greenhouse Gas and Air Pollution Interactions and Synergies)-China model are combined together to project future CO 2 and air pollutants emissions in China, as well as reduction costs and co-benefit effects. Considering implementation of carbon mitigation policy and air pollutant mitigation technologies, four scenarios (S1, S2, S3 and S4) are analyzed. Results indicate that by implementing both carbon and air pollutant mitigation (S4), CO 2 emission per GDP can be reduced by 41% by 2020, compared with the 2005 level, and SO 2 , NOx and PM2.5 emissions would change by a factor 0.8, 1.26 and 1.0 of the 2005 level, respectively in 2030. The real co-benefits of emission reductions (S2 minus S4) for SO 2 , NOx and PM2.5 are 2.4 Mt, 2.1 Mt and 0.3 Mt in 2020, and the corresponding cost reduction co-benefits are 4, 0.11, and 0.8 billion €, respectively. Provincial disparity analysis reveals that regions with higher co-benefits are those with higher GDP such as Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu, energy production bases such as Inner Mongolia and Shanxi, low coal quality provinces such as Sichuan (for SO 2 ), and industrial base provinces such as Liaoning. Cost-effectiveness is finally discussed for policy implications, which suggests that investment in less developed western regions is more cost-effective and easier in reducing CO 2 or air pollutant emissions than in developed eastern regions.

Impact of urbanization on cultivated land changes in China

This article aims to evaluate the impact of urbanization and different urbanization modes on cultivated land changes using an econometric model that incorporates socio-economic and policy factors in the eastern China, which experience the great urbanization in recent years. Based on land-use remote sensing data interpreted from Landsat Thematic Mapper/Enhanced Thematic Mapper digital images of Chinese Academy of Sciences and a unique set of socio-economic data, an econometric model is developed to empirically estimate the impacts on cultivated land changes. Although urbanization has an effect on the changes of cultivated land, its effect is marginal. Moreover, the expansion of built-up areas in different urbanization modes causes varying impacts on changes in cultivated land use in different regions. Assuming that other factors remain constant, compared with the expansion of villages or the development of small towns, in the periods of 1995–2000, the urbanization in the more developed eastern region alleviates the loss of cultivated land by 7%, while during 2000–2008 the rapid urbanization lead to the cultivated land loss increase by 29.2%. The policies designed to protect cultivated land by encouraging people move to small towns may actually accelerate the occupation of cultivated land.

Nighttime Light Derived Assessment of Regional Inequality of Socioeconomic Development in China

Satellite-derived nighttime light (NTL) data have been extensively used as an efficient proxy measure for monitoring urbanization dynamics and socioeconomic activity. This is because remotely sensed NTL signals can be quantitatively connected to demographic and socioeconomic variables at regional and global scales. The recently composited cloud-free NTL imagery derived from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) aboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) satellite provides spatially detailed observations of human settlements. We quantitatively estimated socioeconomic development inequalities across 30 provinces and municipalities in mainland China using VIIRS NTL data associated with both regional gross domestic product (GDP) and population census data. We quantitatively investigated relations between NTL, GDP, and population using a linear regression model. Our results suggest that NTL radiances have significant positive correlations with GDP and population at different levels. Several inequality coefficients, commonly used in economics, were derived from VIIRS NTL data and statistical data at multiple spatial scales. Compared with the statistical data, NTL-derived inequality coefficients enabled us to elicit more detailed information on differences in regional development at multiple levels. Our study of provinces and municipalities revealed that county-level inequality was more significant than city-level inequality. The results of population-weighted NTL inequality indicate an obvious regional disparity with NTL distribution being more unequal in China’s undeveloped western regions compared with more developed eastern regions. Our findings suggest that given the timely and spatially explicit advantages of VIIRS, NTL data are capable of providing comprehensive information regarding inequality at multiple levels, which is not possible through the use of traditional statistical sources.

The effects of education, culture, research and development in Hajdú-Bihar county

The most important instrument of social advancement and economic development is the education system. The educational qualification of the population of Hajdú-Bihar county is continuously improving, however the census data of the year 2001 show that the educational qualification of the population of the county did not reach the national average. The educational qualification of the county’s population is higher at the county seat and in other cities and lower in small municipalities. The county’s ratio is strongly influenced by the data of the county seat Debrecen and that of Hajdúszoboszló sub region.
 The unfavorable educational level of the region is related to the migration tendencies and the brain-draining trends of the past decades, as a consequence of which the population of the less developed eastern regions has moved either to the capital, or to the county seats, or larger cities of the region. The young are increasingly affected by the process.
 The number of kindergartens in the county corresponds to the national average, therefore taking into consideration the regional demographic characteristics the aim should be the equalization of regional disproportions. The number of students per 1000 resident within the Northern Great Plain Region and in the county significantly exceeds the national average. The secondary school network of the county consists of 38 secondary grammar- and 51 secondary vocational schools.
 The secondary schools of Debrecen have considerable impact on the county’s secondary education. The vocational training network of Hajdú-Bihar county is a large, in its conditions highly differentiated institutional network in which all types of secondary vocational institutions are present with secondary technical-, vocational-, accredited higher vocational-, specialized or preparatory vocational-, and special skill enhancement programmes. The majority of the secondary institutions have regional, rarely national enrollment.
 Students who have the intention to continue their studies in higher education within the county can study in Debrecen or Hajdúböszörmény.
 The integrated University of Debrecen has the highest student number within the country and it offers the widest range of academic programmes in Hungarian higher education. The University of Debrecen with the wide range of graduate and postgraduate educational programmes, unified academic qualification system, English language programmes is a European standard scientific centre of the Trans-Tisza Region. The county’s higher education takes exceeding share beyond its weight in the education of Natural Sciences (Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Mathematics), Health- and Social Sciences, Agricultural- and Environmental Sciences and Information Technology, which positively influences its educational structure. The county’s share in the education of Humanities (Hungarian Language, Foreign Languages, History, Archeology, Philosophy) is also significant.
 6.3% of the country’s scientific researchers work in the county. In 2010 7.0% of the country’s R+D expenditure was spent here. 3/4 of the region’s research capacity is in Hajdú-Bihar county employed either by the University of Debrecen or by the research teams of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

DETERMINANTS OF STATE INVESTMENT IN CHINA, 1953–1990

AbstractGeneralizations of regional development in socialist countries based on detailed case studies of important elements of production in different countries are needed. This study focuses on one important force that affects China's regional development: state investment in basic construction. With the exception of the Third Front period (1965‐71), the more developed eastern region always enjoyed a greater proportion of state investment than the central and western regions. Three major factors affected the temporal patterns of regional distribution of state investment in China: the ideological concern for spatial equality, defense considerations arising from perceived international threats, and die practical needs of die national economy. These factors exerted different influence on die investment patterns at different times. Whereas spatial equality and economic pragmatism were major concerns during the First Five‐Year Plan (1953‐57), national defense greatly affected the spatial patterns of state investment during the Third Front period, and these factors brought considerable state investment to die inland regions. Since die 1978 reforms, die concern for economic efficiency, not spatial equality in development or national security, has favored die coastal region.