Different Levels Of Economic Development Research Articles

What works to reduce regional health inequalities? A case of East vs West Germany post reunification

Abstract Regional inequalities in mortality are rising across the globe. The case of German reunification offers a unique opportunity to explore how such inequalities can be reduced, or even eliminated: following reunification, a long-standing life expectancy gap between East and West Germany was closed for women and markedly reduced for men in a period of less than 15 years. Drawing from theory on health inequalities, we investigate the contribution of material, behavioural and psychosocial factors likely related to the narrowing of the life expectancy gap between East and West Germany following reunification. We used regional data from official national statistics covering the period 1994-2020 for 15 regions in East and West Germany. Using fixed-effects models with an interaction term for regions in the East, we investigated whether within-region changes in key hypothesised factors (social security expenditure, healthcare improvements, changes in alcohol consumption, and life satisfaction), have had differential impacts on life expectancy at birth and at 65 years. We find that increases in social security benefits in the East following reunification has been the most important factor for lowering inequalities between the two parts of Germany: for every standard deviation increase in social security benefits, life expectancy at birth increased by an additional 0.20 [0.07,0.33] years for males and by 0.15 [-0.01,0.31] years for females in East relative to West Germany. We find the protective effect of social security benefits also for women at 65 years (additional 0.14 years [0.006,0.268]) but not for men. Overall, our findings suggest that increasing social security expenditure could be an effective policy-based tool for reducing health disparities across regions with different levels of economic development. This provides additional support for the relevance of the materialist hypothesis and the political economy of root causes of health inequalities. Key messages • Our findings suggest that increasing social security expenditure could be an effective policy-based tool for reducing regional health disparities. • We find support for the materialist and political economy approaches to explaining health inequalities.

Closing the life expectancy gap: An ecological study of the factors associated with smaller regional health inequalities in post-reunification Germany

Regional health inequalities are rising globally. The case of German reunification offers a unique opportunity to explore how such inequalities can be reduced, or even eliminated: following reunification, a long-standing life expectancy gap between East and West Germany was closed for women and markedly reduced for men in less than 15 years.We used data from official national statistics covering the period 1994–2020 for 15 regions in East and West Germany. Using fixed-effects models with an interaction term for regions in the East, we investigated whether within-region changes in key hypothesised factors (social security expenditure, healthcare improvements, changes in alcohol consumption, and life satisfaction), have had differential impacts on life expectancy at birth and at 65 years.Our results show that increases in social security benefits in the East following reunification has been the most important factor for lowering inequalities between the two parts of Germany: for every 10% increase in social security benefits, life expectancy at birth increased by an additional 1.05 [0.68; 1.41] months for males and by 0.57 [0.18; 0.97] months for females in East relative to West Germany. We find the protective effect of social security benefits also for women at 65 years (additional 0.38 [0.06; 0.70] months) but not for men.Our findings suggest that increasing social security expenditure could be an effective policy tool for reducing health inequalities across regions with different levels of economic development. This provides additional support for the materialist hypothesis and the political economy theory of the root causes of health inequalities.

Транстихоокеанское партнерство и всестороннее региональное экономическое партнерство как международно-правовая модель экономической интеграции в Азиатско-Тихоокеанском регионе

The article explores international law aspects of the contemporary integration processes in the Asia-Pacific with a specific focus on such relatively new formationsas the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Based on the WTO law provisions with regard to the free trade areas for goods and services, both Partnerships significantly widen the scope of regulated inter-governmental relationships, which allows considering the TPP and the RCEP as a fundamentally new form of the regional trade agreements. Having a fixed number of participating states and a system of institution with their functions and competencies, the Partnerships do not represent inter-governmental organizations and are vested with no legal capacity or, especially, supranational powers. However, this does not undermine the trade and economic significance of the Partnerships while also making them an attractive model of the soft integration structure between the states having different level of economic development, located in different geographical regions and bound with their own integration obligations under bi- and multilateral (subregional) trade agreements. The founding agreements of the Partnerships are typical “WTO plus” arrangements combining the provisions on liberalization of trade in goods and services with the parties’ mutual obligations in the fields of investments, sustainable development, competition, administrative and legal cooperation. At the same time, applicability of parallel bi- and multilateral trade agreements between the Asia-Pacific states, including those within ASEAN, forms a complex multilayer regulation of foreign trade and entails a risk of legal uncertainty for economic operators.

Are natural resource volatility curses or blessings for economic performance? Stories of resource-rich regions

This paper analyses the time-varying and non-linear effects of natural resource volatility on economic growth in 10 countries using the smooth transition regression (STR) model and further examines the long-run and short-run relationships using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration approach. The conclusions exhibit that natural resource rents are linearly and non-linearly associated with economic growth in countries with different levels of economic development, and display long-term cointegration and short-term equilibrium state. This study provides guidance for policymakers to implement long-term and short-term management strategies when considering national development differences.

Population aging and sustainable economic development: An analysis based on the role of green finance

Globally, the issue of population aging is becoming increasingly prominent, posing significant challenges to sustainable economic development. In this context, this study utilizes provincial panel data from 2001 – 2021 to thoroughly examine the effects of population aging on sustainable economic development. The findings indicate that population aging exerts a notable negative influence on sustainable economic development, while green finance plays a moderating role by effectively alleviating the adverse effects of aging on the economy. This suggests that green finance is a viable strategy for addressing the challenges associated with aging. Additionally, the heterogeneity analysis reveals significant variations in the impact of aging on economic sustainability across regions with different levels of economic development and population structures. This study not only offers new insights into the complex effects of population aging on economic development but also provides crucial empirical evidence for crafting targeted regional policies.

The haze reduction effect in china under the digital economy

Haze pollution is becoming increasingly serious as it endangers human health and pressurizes economic development. This study incorporates the digital economy and haze pollution management into a unified research framework, and uses the panel data of 285 cities in China from 2011 to 2020 to precisely identify the haze reduction effect of the digital economy, governance mechanisms, and the non-linear and spatial spillover characteristics of the haze reduction effect in China. The findings demonstrate that: First, the digital economy can significantly reduce haze pollution, and this conclusion still holds after considering endogeneity and other robustness tests. Second, the digital economy can inhibit haze pollution by promoting industrial upgrading and improving total factor energy efficiency, and there is a chain mechanism of “industrial green transformation → total factor energy efficiency” and “factor market distortion → total factor energy efficiency.” However, the haze reduction mechanism of digital economy is heterogeneous to cities with different levels of economic development. Independent transmission mechanism plays a complete intermediary role in cities with low level of economic development, while it plays a partial intermediary role in cities with high level of economic development. Chain transmission mechanism only has an impact on cities with high level of economic development. Third, there is an evident threshold effect on the digital economy, and its haze reduction effect has N-type non-linear characteristics. Meanwhile, Digital economy has threshold effect on the mechanism of restraining haze pollution through total factor energy efficiency, industrial green transformation and factor market distortion. With the development of total factor energy efficiency, industrial green transformation and the reduction of factor market distortion, the haze reduction effect of digital economy can produce a qualitative leap. Fourth, Haze pollution in the spatial, temporal, and spatial dimensions has spillover and warning effects, and the haze reduction effect of digital economy shows strong positive externalities. Therefore, the digital economy should be actively developed, and industrial green transformation and factor market reform should be promoted to curb haze pollution by promoting industrial upgrading, improving energy efficiency and strengthening regional joint prevention and control mechanisms.

The impact of environmental shocks due to climate change on intimate partner violence: A structural equation model of data from 156 countries

The impact of climate change on human societies is now well recognised. However, little is known about how climate change alters health conditions over time. National level data around climate shocks and subsequent rates of intimate partner violence (IPV) could have relevance for resilience policy and programming. We hypothesise that climate shocks are associated with a higher national prevalence of IPV two years following a shock, and that this relationship persists for countries with different levels of economic development. We compiled national data for the prevalence of IPV from 363 nationally representative surveys from 1993 to 2019. These representative data from ever-partnered women defined IPV incidence as any past-year act of physical and/or sexual violence. We also compiled data from the Emergency Events Database (EM DAT) on the national frequency of eight climate shocks from 1920 to 2022 within 190 countries. Using exploratory factor analysis, we fit a three-factor latent variable composed of climate shock variables. We then fit a structural equation model from climate shocks (lagged by two years) and IPV incidence, controlling for (log) national gross domestic product (GDP). National data representing 156 countries suggest a significant relationship between IPV and a climate factor (Hydro-meteorological) composed of storms, landslides and floods (standardised estimate = 0·32; SE = 0·128; p = 0·012). GDP has a moderately large cross-sectional association with IPV (estimate = -0·529; SE = 0·047; p = 0·0001). Other climate shocks (Geological: earthquakes/volcanos; Atmospheric: wildfire/droughts/extreme temperature) had no measurable association with IPV. Model fit overall was satisfactory (RMSEA = 0·064 (95%CI: 0·044–0·084); CFI = 0·91; SRMR = 0·063). Climate shocks have a longitudinal association with IPV incidence in global population-based data. This suggests an urgent need to address the higher prevalence of IPV likely to come about through climate shocks due to climate change. Our analysis offers one way policy makers could track national progress using existing data.

Research on regional difference of economic development level in Zhejiang Province based on factor analysis

Regional economic disparities are widespread, especially in China. This is reflected not only in the differences between the four regions, but also in the differences between provinces. At the same time, the regional economic differences within each province are also very obvious. This paper studies the gap between the economic development levels in Zhejiang Province, which contributes to the balanced development and sustainable development of the overall economy of Zhejiang Province, in order to intuitively see the gap between the cities. This paper uses SPSS to reduce the dimension of factor analysis and calculate the comprehensive score through 10 indicators reflecting the level of economic development in 11 cities. Finally, this paper finds that the economic development of each city in Zhejiang Province has great potential. But at the same time, it exposes the imbalance of economic development in the province. The economic development level of Hangzhou, Ningbo and Zhoushan is far higher than that of other cities in the province, and the economic development level of some cities is general. The development level of some cities is poor. According to the research results, the causes and problems of the current situation of economic development are analyzed. Reasonable suggestions are put forward to further promote the coordinated development of the economy.

Research and development efficiency, state-owned enterprises, and carbon intensity in China

This study investigates the effects and transmission mechanisms of research and development (R & D) efficiency and the proportion of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) on carbon intensity using data from 30 Chinese provinces. The findings show that improving R & D efficiency can lower carbon intensity by promoting technological progress. However, more SOEs can increase carbon intensity by inhibiting technological progress. Thus, a higher proportion of SOEs can reduce the positive impact of R & D efficiency on decreasing carbon intensity. Additionally, the proportion of SOEs has a moderating effect that extends beyond provincial boundaries, resulting in spatial spillover due to strong interconnections between provinces. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that this moderating effect is particularly pronounced in the central and western regions, as well as in the electricity sector. This variation is due to differences in economic development levels and government priorities. Given the characteristics of China’s carbon intensity, policymakers should shift from a one size fits all carbon reduction policy to prioritizing enhancing R & D efficiency, boosting the innovation capabilities of SOEs, and considering spatial linkages and regional disparities.

FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN THE SYSTEM OF MOVEMENT TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NATIONAL ECONOMY

The article examines aspects of foreign investment in the context of moving towards the sustainable development of the national economy, which is the purpose of the article. The impact of foreign investments on the innovative development of the economy has been investigated. An assessment of the influence of foreign investments on key sectors of the national economy has been conducted. The author's contribution lies in addressing the issues of attracting foreign investments into the sustainable development system. Scientific novelty consists in the development of a classification system of risks associated with the attraction of foreign investments. The importance of a comparative analysis of foreign investment practices in countries with different levels of economic development is highlighted as an element of the practical implementation. The main conclusions of the study are presented.

Economic burden and influence factors among hospitalized children with bronchiolitis or pneumonia: a multiregional study in China.

Bronchiolitis and pneumonia are both significant lower respiratory tract infections with a profound impact on children's health. The purpose of this study is to explore the economic burden and related influence factors of pediatric patients with bronchiolitis and pneumonia in China. A face-to-face interview was employed for the investigation of hospitalized patients (≤5 years old) with bronchiolitis and pneumonia, along with their guardians from January to October 2019. Demographic and costs were collected from Shanghai, Zhengzhou, and Kunming, representing three regions with different levels of economic development in China. Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore factors associated with the economic burden of the diseases. A total of 338 patients with bronchiolitis and 529 patients with pneumonia were included in the analysis. The average hospitalization and total cost for patients with bronchiolitis are 4,162 CNY and 5,748 CNY, respectively, while those with pneumonia are 6,096 CNY and 7,783 CNY. Patients from Shanghai, both bronchiolitis and pneumonia, exhibited the lowest cost expenditures, with average total costs of 3,531 CNY and 3,488 CNY, respectively. Multiple regression analysis indicated that, among bronchiolitis patients, factors such as region, medical insurance, relationship, loss of work time, and length of stay were found to be significantly associated with both hospitalization cost and total cost (p < 0.05). For pneumonia patients, the hospitalization cost and total cost were significantly impacted by region, medical insurance, and length of stay (p < 0.05). Bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children put substantial economic burden on families of affected children. The financial strain varies significantly across different regions, with families in underdeveloped areas and those dealing with pneumonia facing particularly daunting challenges. Targeted policies to reduce healthcare costs and improve insurance coverage, especially in economically disadvantaged regions are needed.

How does improving agricultural mechanization affect the green development of agriculture? Evidence from China

Over the past two decades, China has actively pursued a green, low-carbon economy in response to climate change. Amidst rapid economic development, China's green total factor productivity—a key metric reflecting the nation's green development—has notably risen. As a developing country with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, agriculture plays a key role in China. China has persistently strived to comprehensively promote the scale and scope of agricultural mechanization, recognizing it as a crucial gauge to enhance agricultural productivity, thereby facilitating agricultural modernization and ensuring food security. However, can elevating the agricultural mechanization level improve China's green development within the agricultural sector? Specifically, how does agricultural mechanization (AM) affect agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP)? To address these questions, we assess the effects of agricultural mechanization on agricultural green total factor productivity and examine its channels using panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning from 2000 to 2021. Additionally, we investigate the heterogeneous effects under different levels of economic development, agricultural economic development, environmental regulation intensity, and agricultural technology. The results indicate that: First, the development of agricultural mechanization promotes the agricultural green total factor productivity. Second, channel analysis indicates that agricultural mechanization can bolster agricultural green total factor productivity through three channels: enhancing agricultural management level, improving agricultural factor efficiency, and fostering diversification of agricultural industrial structure. Third, heterogeneous analysis suggests that agricultural mechanization exerts a more pronounced impact on agricultural green total factor productivity in provinces characterized by lower levels of economic development, more backward agricultural economic development, higher environmental regulation intensity, and more advanced agricultural technology. This article is anticipated to furnish empirical evidence from China for developing nations seeking to foster agricultural green sustainable development through the widespread adoption of agricultural mechanization, thereby contributing significantly to global efforts to mitigate climate change.

Comparative analysis of accounting information quality amongst French, Brazilian and Latin American companies

Purpose: This work aimed to compare the Accounting Information Quality (AIQ) of publicly traded companies in markets with different levels of economic development, represented by France, Brazil and other Latin American countries (these together). Methodology: The methodological approach was quantitative, using descriptive and exploratory statistics, and regression with unbalanced panel data. The data used encompassed the following periods: between 1987 and 2017, for the French market; between 1995 and 2017, for the Brazilian market; and between 1989 and 2015, for the Latin American market. Results: The results pointed to structural differences in AIQ in financial statements between the markets analyzed, indicating that the more developed market has better AIQ. Contributions of the Study: As a practical contribution, this research can support investor decisions, while the academic knowledge generated reveals that markets in different economic contexts have different levels of AIQ.

Warming climate apathy to mitigate the disparity in climate policy support across distinct income strata

Worldwide, nations strive to curtail carbon emissions, but income disparities create challenges in climate policy support. While the Chinese government has employed economic incentives to mitigate the financial burden of green energy transition, these measures may not fully address the underlying issue of climate apathy, wherein individuals prioritize immediate interests over long-term climate concerns. Using a three-year online tracking sample of Chinese adults (n = 4,699), this study investigates the enduring predictive role of income poverty on climate policy support (e.g., green energy transition), alongside the explanatory power of climate apathy and economic burden for this effect. The research reveals that income poverty results in lower climate policy support, with climate apathy explaining 38.29% of this effect, while economic burden accounts for only 8%. Moreover, compared to economic burden, climate apathy has a stronger impact on policy support in regions with different levels of economic development. These findings underscore the potential of addressing climate apathy as a non-economic approach to enhance support for climate policies among low-income groups, offering a cost-effective and stable strategy to bridge the policy support gap caused by income disparity and regional economic imbalances.

An index of the economic dependence on Tourism

This study proposes a methodology to construct a Tourism Economic Dependence Index for a sample of 144 countries spanning the period 1995–2019. This index aims to serve as a summary measure of countries’ dependence on tourism while controlling for differences in economic development levels across countries. Findings suggest that an index value of 20% may be considered a threshold for identifying highly tourism-dependent countries. Furthermore, the results of the index indicate that economies have experienced a slight trend toward higher levels of dependence on tourism since the global financial crisis. However, estimates from a panel convergence model suggest that the hypothesis of convergence toward a common long-run equilibrium in index levels across countries can be rejected. Instead, different groups of countries converging toward the same long-run equilibrium level of the index have been identified.

Task-shifting and the recruitment and retention of eye care workers in under-served areas: a qualitative study of optometrists' motivation in Ghana and Scotland.

To assist policy-makers in improving access to eye care in under-served areas by analysing the relationship between motivational factors affecting the uptake of task-shifting in eye care and the recruitment and retention of optometrists in remote and rural areas. The World Health Organization recommends two key strategies in tackling preventable blindness in under-served areas: improving human resources for health and task-shifting. The relationship between task-shifting and recruitment and retention of eye care workers in under-served areas is unknown. Ghana and Scotland are two countries from different levels of economic development that have notably expanded the roles of optometrists and struggle with rural recruitment and retention. Motivation was explored through semi-structured interviews with 19 optometrists in Ghana and Scotland with experience in remote and rural practice. Framework analysis was used to analyse interviews, explore the relationship between task-shifting and recruitment and retention and create recommendations for policy. The main motivational considerations included altruism, quality of life, learning and career opportunities, fulfilling potential, remuneration, stress of decision-making and collaboration. Motivational and demotivational factors for task-shifting and recruitment/retention shared many similar aspects. Recruitment and retention in remote and rural areas require staff be incentivised to take up those positions, motivated to remain and given the adequate resources for personal and professional fulfilment. Task-shifting also requires incentivisation, motivation to continue and the resources to be productive. Many motivational factors influencing recruitment/retention and task-shifting are similar suggesting these two strategies can be compatible and complementary in improving access to eye care, although some factors are culture and context specific. Understanding optometrists' motivation can help policy-makers improve rural recruitment and retention and plan services.

Does Environmental Regulation Affect Circular Economy Performance? Evidence from China

Environmental regulation is an important means to solve the environmental pollution challenges faced by economic development. Under the predicament of economic growth facing enormous environmental challenges, this paper aims to explore whether environmental regulation has a promoting effect on the circular economy performance, construct the mechanism through which environmental regulation impacts circular economy performance, as well as test regional heterogeneity on the impact of environmental regulation on circular economy performance under different levels of economic development. Exploring these factors is of great significance for meeting people’s demand for better living environments and promoting green and sustainable economic development. This paper takes interprovincial panel data of China from 2011 to 2022 as the sample and adopts structural equation modeling to explore the influence mechanism of environmental regulation on circular economy performance by constructing a measurement system of environmental regulation and circular economy performance. The results indicate the following: environmental regulation has a significant role in promoting circular economy performance, and there is a partial mediating effect of industrial structure upgrading within it; heterogeneity analysis shows that the promoting effect of environmental regulation on circular economy performance varies according to the different levels of regional economic development. Therefore, environmental regulation policies should be moderately adjusted to promote balanced economic and environmental development; environmental regulation policies should be enriched to promote industrial structure transformation and upgrading; regional synergistic governance should be improved to facilitate the promotion of the circular economy.

The effects of digital economy development on social insurance funds revenue: Evidence from China.

China has experienced rapid development in the digital economy. Using data from 30 provinces in China between 2011 and 2017, this paper constructs a two-way fixed effects model to study the effects and mechanisms of the digital economy development on social insurance funds revenue. An increase of one unit in digital economy development led to a 0.56% increase in basic endowment insurance funds revenue and a 0.33% increase in basic health insurance funds revenue. The digital economy increased the social insurance funds revenue by promoting employment and increasing income. Furthermore, the effects of digital economic development on social insurance funds revenue were heterogeneous for different levels of economic development and urbanization. The conclusions stood after robustness tests by changing the method of weighting the digital economy indicators and using instrumental variables. This paper confirmed the positive role of the development of the digital economy in increasing the revenue of social insurance funds from the perspective of quantitative research and explored the mechanisms in depth. In order to increase social insurance funds revenue, it is essential to accelerate the development of the digital economy, especially in regions with lower economic development and urbanization, and to address the needs of the technically unemployed and those engaged in flexible employment.

DEVELOPMENT OF COASTAL CITIESIN THE ARCTIC ZONE(EVIDENCE FROM THE KARELIAN ARCTICAND ARKHANGELSK REGION)

The economic development of the off-shore territories of the Arctic zone is characterized by certain advantages and risks associated with the geographical location. Territorial formations of the ASRF have unequal economic structure and different levels of economic development, harsh climatic conditions, preferential economic and legal regime, etc. Territories develop unevenly: some territories have steady economic growth, others are characterized by processes of stagnation, still others are characterized by degradation and devastation. The object of the research is the coastal territories of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, and the subject is the process of their economic development. The aim is to study the process of development of coastal cities in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, on the example of the Karelian Arctic and the Arkhangelsk region. The study is based on the use of hardware for comparative analysis and assessment of indicators of coastal territories' development. The novelty of the study is the use of the rank method and the calculation of σ-variance coefficient, which allow to determine the presence of regional heterogeneity in its dynamics in the context of coastal cities of the ASRF, on the example of the Karelian Arctic and the Arkhangelsk region. The results determined the presence of a gap between the urban settlements under consideration. The assessment of the inequality of some indicators demonstrates the trend of coastal cities to convergence, other indicators in the context of coastal cities steadily diverge. Large urban settlements break away from other cities of the European North. Small urban settlements of coastal location - Kem, Kandalaksha, Belomorsk - are characterized by a low level of development. The findings may serve as the basis to form the strategic and program documents, and can be also used as additional material, while analyzing the coastal cities of the AZRF and the dynamics of their development.

Study on the Impact of Digital Economy Enabling High-Quality Economic Development in Yunnan Province

This article aims to explore the role of digital economy and its mechanism in promoting the high-quality development of Yunnan Province's economy. By constructing an evaluation index system and applying econometric methods, the current situation of the digital economy in Yunnan Province and its impact on the high-quality development of the economy are comprehensively analyzed. It is found that the digital economy has a significant positive contribution to the high-quality development of Yunnan Province's economy, and indirectly affects the high-quality development of the economy by enhancing the level of entrepreneurship. In addition, there is a non-linear relationship between the digital economy and high-quality economic development, and the promotion effect of the digital economy on high-quality economic development varies significantly across different levels of economic development. Based on these findings, the article puts forward policy recommendations such as comprehensively promoting the development of the digital economy and implementing a differentiated digital economy development strategy in order to promote the sustainable development of Yunnan Province and the wider region in the era of the digital economy.