Disparities In Economic Development Research Articles

A Study on the Spatio-Temporal Evolution Characteristics of Social Development Levels in China

With the increase in regional economic development disparities, a regional coordinated development strategy is put forward that prioritizes human welfare and holistic social progress over a purely materialistic growth model. To address the challenges of balanced regional development, this paper has developed a multidimensional assessment framework of social development encompassing education, healthcare, culture, and social security. Using the entropy weight TOPSIS method, this study measures the social development level across 296 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 1990 to 2020. It explores the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of China’s social development level through the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition method and exploratory spatial data analysis. The results indicate that (1) the level of social development in China exhibits a fluctuating upward trend over the time series, showing a phase-wise pattern of decline–rise–rise; (2) there is a clear heterogeneity in the level of social development, with a general hierarchy of Eastern, Northeastern, Western, and Central regions in terms of social development; (3) spatially, China’s social development level has evolved from a patchy distribution in 1990 to a clustered distribution around urban agglomerations by 2020, with pronounced characteristics of spatial imbalance; (4) the level of social development in China displays varying degrees of spatial clustering, with this trend intensifying over time; and (5) over the period 1990–2020, the overall disparity in China’s social development level presents a fluctuating trend, with a notable reduction after an initial increase, and regional disparities following the order of Central, Western, Eastern, and Northeastern regions. This research offers valuable insights for policymakers and scholars seeking to understand and enhance China’s social development landscape.

Зарубіжний досвід та національні традиції для повоєнного відновлення сільських територій та аграрного виробництва України

The subject of the study is the foreign experience of rebuilding the agricultural sector of the economy by European countries, which was devastated during the Second World War. The purpose of the article is the historical and economic characterization of the process of the revival of European agriculture in the post-war period to determine the possibilities of extrapolation of this experience in the restoration of rural areas and agricultural production of Ukraine at the current stage. The research results in an analysis of key agrarian reforms, an exploration of the unique aspects of the economic policies of European governments in rejuvenating the agricultural sector, and a justification for the potential utilization of this foreign experience in modern Ukraine. The article presents a positive historical experience of successful practices and government measures in post-war agricultural recovery and rural community development, substantiating the relevance and possibilities of its implementation in Ukraine. It has been demonstrated that pivotal agrarian reforms laid the foundation for the establishment of an effective and productive farming industry, contributed to the overall market reorientation of agriculture, and facilitated its modernization through the adoption of mechanized equipment and advanced agricultural production methods. Borrowing and implementing contemporary local ecological, energy-efficient, social, and educational public initiatives holds promise for the development of rural areas in Ukraine and can be achieved through the synergy of international and domestic non-governmental organizations and local self-governing bodies. The Italian experience in equalizing regional disparities in economic development to achieve national integrity and unity is beneficial for Ukraine. Leveraging foreign experience while considering national traditions will strengthen food security, increase agricultural productivity, promote agricultural entrepreneurship, and support the sustainable development of Ukraine's rural areas.

Research on the Spatial-Temporal Disparity and Convergence Characteristics of Innovation and Economic Development in China: Based on Functional Data Analysis

Unbalanced and insufficient development is a prominent problem in China’s period of economic transformation, and an accurate grasp of the current situation and evolutionary trend of innovation and economic development is of great significance in finding a solution and promoting regional coordinated development. This paper introduces the framework of functional data analysis to the study of both innovation and economic development in China, examining its spatial dynamic distribution and convergence characteristic in greater depth. Empirical results revealed the following. (1) Significant regional differences exist in the absolute level of China’s innovation development, with a balanced improvement in the development speed and growth potential. Significant differences exist in the absolute level and speed of economic development, but not in the potential energy of development as reflected by acceleration. (2) The σ(t) function of nationwide and regional innovation development shows a downward trend. There is σ(t) convergence in economic development nationwide and in the northeastern, eastern, and western regions, but the regional disparities in economic development within the six central provinces have not yet been effectively mitigated. (3) Nationwide and regional innovation development are in a state of β(t) convergence. There is significant β(t) convergence in the nationwide economic development, with a transition point from divergence to convergence in the northeastern, eastern, and western regions. However, the β(t) function of economic development in the central region shows a region-wide divergence. The findings of this paper have important policy implications for recognizing the balance and disparities in innovation and economic development among regions in China and promoting coordinated regional development.

Urban-rural difference in factors associated with childhood functional difficulty in Bangladesh: a cross-sectional study.

Early childhood functional difficulty poses a substantial worldwide public health challenge, leading to adverse effects on children's quality of life and overall productivity. Moreover, it represents a significant social and economic problem in Bangladesh. Therefore, the current study aimed to identify factors contributing to childhood functional difficulty in Bangladesh within the context of urban-rural areas. A nationally representative cross-sectional survey data from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 2019 in Bangladesh was used in this study. Chi-square test and multivariable logistic regression analyses were carried out to identify factors associated with childhood functional difficulty. Functional difficulties were found in approximately 3.3% of children 2-4 years of age in urban areas and 2.5% in rural areas. Having a mother with functional difficulties and undernutrition were identified as significant factors common in both urban and rural areas. Further, mothers who had no formal education (AOR = 2.76, 95%CI = 1.18-6.45) and experienced infant death (AOR = 1.94, 95%CI = 1.01-3.70) were identified as significant factors of functional difficulty in urban areas. On the other hand, in rural areas, no access to mass media, children with acute respiratory infection (ARI) (AOR = 2.13, 95%CI = 1.39-3.28), female sex (AOR = 0.69, 95%CI = 0.53-0.91), child undernutrition (AOR = 1.73, 95%CI = 1.32-2.27) and poorer socio-economic status (AOR = 1.95, 95%CI = 1.08-3.55) were found significant factors. Functional difficulty was found to be present in one out of every 35 children age 2 to 4 years in Bangladesh. Childhood functional difficulties were reported slightly higher in urban areas as compared to rural areas. Reducing childhood difficulties in urban areas demands comprehensive strategies: quality healthcare, inclusive education, community support, better information systems, and collaboration. To achieve urban-rural parity in child health, address disparities in economic development, healthcare, and education, especially for girls.

African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (Afcfta) And The Challenges Of Regional Integration In Africa

The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA) represents a significant milestone in Africa's pursuit of regional integration and economic development. Envisioned as a pan-African initiative, the AfCFTA aims to establish a single market for goods and services, promote intra-African trade, and foster economic growth across the continent. This paper examines the challenges of regional integration in Africa and explores the potential benefits of the AfCFTA Agreement in addressing these challenges. This study uses qualitative research methods, with secondary data from scholarly publications, journal articles, reports from international organisations and literature studies that were thematically analysed. The results of the study shows that the challenges of integration in Africa are mostly driven by disparities in economic development and industrial capacities among African nations, persistent trade barriers, non-tariff obstacles, weak institutional frameworks, the paradox of sovereignty, and inadequate infrastructure. The study also reveals that the adoption of the AfCFTA Agreement in 2019, has brought more African nations involved in addressing these challenges of economic integration, and fostering deep cooperation within the continent. This paper concludes that the AfCFTA Agreement has the potential to be a transformative force in advancing regional integration and economic prosperity in Africa. However, a pragmatic approach is continually needed to address these challenges of integration. This paper thus recommends fostering inclusive growth and economic diversification through targeted policies that can address economic disparities among African nations. Also, emphasising the inclusion of marginalised sectors, such as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and informal traders, which is essential for maximising the AfCFTA's potential benefits and fostering sustainable economic growth. 
 
 Keywords: AfCFTA, Africa, Economic Integration, Regional Integration, Trade barriers.

The Economic Disparity across Sri Lanka’s Districts

Globally, there is an increasing regional economic development disparity. The region’s growth depends on strong economic development. The sustainable development of Sri Lanka could be harmed by the regional economic disparity. An essential consideration in the establishment of regional development policies is the identification and magnitude of regional economic disparities. This study looks at the current state of Sri Lanka’s regional economic development disparity. This study’s methodology in this regard involved using several economic development metrics. Data for the year 2019 was acquired through authoritative sources. The multivariate analysis technique using the principal component analysis (PCA) approach has been adopted, which assigns a weight to each dimension and indicator to create composite indexes. The economic development of the western province was higher than that of the other provinces, but there was also a notable disparity between the districts of the western province, with the Colombo district having the highest economic development index. The resulting indices enable policymakers to prioritize regions for additional efforts while also assessing the state of regional disparities. The new index also makes it feasible to classify local government entities logically to support the government’s numerous policy-making and development initiatives. To calculate an index of economic disparity similar to that, the approach would apply to any nation.

Economic development and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from OECD and selected African Countries

This study analyses the impact of foreign direct investments on economic performance of African and OECD countries, to elicit explanations for the economic development disparities between home economies of foreign direct investors and their host counterparts. Design/methodology/approach – Employing annual observations spanning from 1980 to 2018 of 43 African countries and 28 OECD countries, this study estimates a panel cointegration model based on dynamic OLS technique. Findings – The analysis found that foreign direct investment exerts strong predictive influence on the direction of economic growth, while controlling for the impact of financial development, human capital development, economic institutions, and physical capital stock. It was found that economic institutions and physical capital stock drive stimulative effect on economic growth across economies in Africa and OECD countries, while financial development and human capital exert influences on one or more of the sampled countries. Originality/value – The originality of this study lies in the application of the panel cointegration model based on dynamic OLS technique to analyse the cross-regional dynamics in the interaction between foreign direct investment and economic growth. Practical implications – Policy makers should ensure the sustenance of a conducive economic and political environment to the attract more foreign investors as increase in foreign investments drive positive trends in national productivity and enhances capital mobilization, job creation and social improvement. Keywords: African countries, OECD, FDI, Economic performance, Economic growth, Economic institutions, Physical capital stock, financial development, Economic freedom index, Human capital index, Real GDP, DOLS model.

The History of Ethnicised Politics in Kenya and its Impact on the Management of the Country’s Public Affairs

This paper deploys historical analysis, conceptual analysis and critical reflection to examine the history of ethnicised politics in Kenya and its negative impact on the management of the country’s public affairs. It sets out with a conceptualisation of ‘ethnicised politics’. It then traces the growth of ethnicised politics in Kenya from the dawn of British colonialism to the present. Thereafter, it reflects on the five-pronged negative impact of ethnicised politics on the country, namely, the gross disparities in economic development along ethno-regional lines, the disproportionately limited economic opportunities for ethnic minorities, the stunting of the growth of issue-based politics, the stoking of violent inter-ethnic conflicts, and the vulnerability of highly urbanised persons and/or those born out of mixed marriages with no strong ethnic loyalties. It concludes that contrary to the widely-held view that Kenyans ought to abandon their ethnic identities in pursuit of ‘nation-building’, respect for the right to cultural identity and the promotion of inter-ethnic equity would make political mobilisation along ethnic lines less attractive.

The Role of Inclusive Finance in China’s Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Quantile Regression on Panel Data

Inclusive finance is one of the key topics of recent research. Researchers found that in the process of economic development, inclusive finance serves a crucial function. However, there is still no unified explanation for the role of inclusive finance’s disaggregated indexes (coverage breadth, usage depth and level of digitalization) in economic development. Therefore, by collecting panel data from 31 provinces and analyzing through quantile regression approach, this paper studies the relationship between the Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index of China (PKU-DFIIC) and each province’s economic development, and further investigates whether the disparity in regional economic development may be closed by the advancement of inclusive digital finance. It is discovered that the coverage breadth, usage depth and digitization level can promote economic growth. The largest contribution to closing the regional economic development gap can be made via coverage breadth, while the usage depth plays the greatest role in promoting economic expansion. The eastern area has less economic expansion than the regions of the center and west as a result of the advancement of inclusive digital finance, which may help to close the economic development disparity in the regions. Finally, this paper proposes that people should encourage the creation of equitable digital inclusive financing policies, following the strategy of expanding coverage first, then improving the usage depth in the regions of the center and west, and to balance the advancement of inclusive digital finance among regions, different actions should be taken in different areas with varied levels of economic growth.

To what extent do disparities in economic development and healthcare availability explain between‐province health inequalities among older people in China?

AbstractBackgroundUneven economic development has led to substantial health inequalities between Chinese provinces. The extent of, and factors underlying, between‐province health inequalities have received little attention.MethodsData from 15,278 respondents in Wave 2 (2013) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) were used to investigate inequalities among people aged ≥50 years in five health outcomes between 27 Chinese province‐level administrative units. After characterizing the between‐province differences and the relevance of province effects, proportional change in variance between unadjusted and adjusted models was calculated to determine the percentage of between‐province variance in health outcomes explained by province‐level variables including measures of economic development and healthcare availability.ResultsAlthough province effects explained <10% of overall variance in health outcomes, they underpinned large between‐province inequalities among people aged ≥50 years. Gross Regional Product per capita was more important than doctor density in explaining between‐province variance in health outcomes, particularly depression symptoms and instrumental activities of daily living impairment.ConclusionPolicy efforts, including more equal distribution of healthcare personnel, may be warranted to reduce between‐province health inequalities.

Non-human and human service efficiency of long-term care facilities in China.

Care services provided by long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are currently plagued by care resource shortages and insufficient utilization. The analysis on the temporal and spatial distribution of human resources and non-human resources in LTCFs, could provide a basis to optimize resource allocation and efficient use of limited resources. This study used data envelopment analysis to comprehensively evaluate the efficiency of human and non-human resources in different time spans and regions. The spatial Markov chain and spatial correlation were also applied to explore the heterogeneity of and correlation between the service efficiency of LTCFs in different regions and then analyzes the influencing factors of efficiency using Tobit regression model. The quantitative changes in the service efficiency of LTCFs in various provinces showed a "W" shape in two periods, ranging from 0.8 to 1.6. The overall efficiency of LTCFs in different regions had a lower probability to achieve short-term cross-stage development. Non-human resource efficiency presented a "cluster" distribution mode, demonstrating a great probability to achieve cross-stage development, which might be due to the regional disparities of economic development and land resource. Tobit regression analysis results also showed that the comprehensive efficiency of LTCFs decreases by 0.210 for every square increase in construction space variation. However, human resource efficiency had a significant spatial polarization, making it difficult to develop area linkages. The reason for this might be the nursing staff have relatively stable regional characteristics, weakening the inter-provincial spatial connection. We also found that female workers, aged between 35 and 45 can positively affect the efficiency of LTCFs. Those staff stay focused and improve their skills, which might improve the efficiency of LTCFs. So improving technology and service quality changes by increasing female workers, aged between 35 and 45, and avoiding excessive construction space changes can enhance the growth of service quality and personnel stability of LTCFs. There is an urgent trade-off among staff quality improvement, resource reduction, construction excessive and substantial regional variation in efficiency. Therefore, strengthening policy support to encourage inter-regional initiatives, particularly highlighting the development of human resources interaction and common development is urgent.

Energy poverty, environmental degradation and agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT Agricultural productivity remains pivotal to the sustenance of the economies and livelihoods of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Given the emerging threat of energy and environmental uncertainties globally, this study makes a foray into understanding the link among energy poverty, environmental degradation and agricultural productivity in 35 SSA nations in particular, and the nature of their impacts across the sub-region constituents namely; the Central, Eastern, Western and Southern sub-regional blocs in general. To begin, our identified variables comprised of the following: Energy Poverty Index, derived using the principal component analysis, agricultural value added as a share of GDP served as a measure of agricultural productivity and ecological footprint to represent environmental degradation. Subsequently, the instrumental variable generalized method of moment (IV‐GMM) technique was implemented for the aggregate SSA model, while the IV-two stage least square technique was adopted for the sub-regional estimations for the Central, East, West and South African blocs respectively. Major findings from the SSA model revealed that whereas the index of energy poverty has a significant positive influence, ecological footprint exhibited an inverse and significant impact on agricultural productivity, while the Central, East, West and South African models yielded mixed results given regional disparities in economic development, regional variations in agricultural productivity and an imbalance of available resources. Policy recommendations were suggested to, among other things, transform the energy, environmental and agricultural fortunes of the region.

Determinants of Regional Development Disparities in the Java Economic Corridor

This study aims to determine the factors that influence regional development disparities in the Java economic corridor. This research data uses secondary data taken from several official government publications. The analytical method used in this study is the panel data regression estimation method. The results of the study show that the best model for estimating the determinants of regional development disparities in the Java economic corridor is the Fixed Effect Model. The results of the estimation explain that the disparity of economic development in the Java corridor is significantly influenced by the Mean Years School (RLS) variable in a negative direction, the Investment variable also affects the disparity of economic development in the Java corridor positively and significantly, while the Unemployment variable has a positive but not significant effect.

Spatial distribution, regional differences, and dynamic evolution of the medical and health services supply in China.

The imbalance of medical and health services supply (MHSS) is a significant public health concern as regional economic development disparities widen in China. Based on the provincial panel data of medical and health services, this paper constructed an evaluation index system and used the two-stage nested entropy method to measure the MHSS level of 31 provinces in China from 2005 to 2020. Then we used the standard deviation ellipse, Dagum Gini coefficient, β convergence model, kernel density estimation and Markov chain to investigate the spatial distribution, regional differences, and dynamic evolution of MHSS. According to the results of these analysis, the conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) In general, the MHSS level in China showed a significant up-ward trend from 2005 to 2020. However, the MHSS level among different provinces showed a non-equilibrium characteristic. (2) Regional comparison shows that the eastern region had the highest level, and the central region had the lowest level. The eastern and central regions presented polarization, while the western region showed unremarkable gradient effect. (3) During the period, the overall regional differences, intra-regional differences, and inter-regional differences of MHSS level all showed convergence. (4) The economic development, urbanization rate, fiscal self-sufficiency rate, and foreign direct investment had significant impacts on the convergence. (5) The provinces with high levels had the positive spillover effect. The findings of this paper provide theoretical supports for optimizing the allocation of health resources and improving the equity of MHSS.

Tracking the inequalities of global per capita carbon emissions from perspectives of technological and economic gaps

Facing up to global carbon inequality is an important prerequisite for the fair allocation of carbon emission reduction tasks. This study proposed a new index to measure carbon inequality and then constructed a data envelopment analysis–based decomposition framework to focus on the impacts of the economic development gap and the technology gap on carbon inequality. Based on a dataset of 83 countries (or regions) during 1990–2017, we discuss global carbon inequality and its driving factors and further reveal the discrepancies among different income groups and countries. The main findings indicate that: (1) global carbon emissions showed significant inequality in all years and have an overall decreasing tendency. (2) High-income countries tended to display larger carbon inequality and witnessed great variation in different years. Upper middle-income and lower middle-income countries had relatively low carbon inequality and only experienced very minor variation. (3) Economic development disparity was the foremost factor leading to carbon inequality enlargement in most countries, especially the countries with higher income. The production technology gap played an important role in narrowing carbon inequality, whereas the energy-saving technology gap only exerted a minor effect on carbon inequality.

Analisis Ketimpangan Pembangunan Ekonomi Antar Kabupaten/Kota Di Provinsi Jambi

Economic growth of districts in Jambi Province during the period 20042013 varied enough. This indicate that there are the disparities economic development between regions. This research aims to analyze disparities economic development in terms of regional income disparities and how the correlation between economic growth and the disparities of economic development during the period 2004-2013. The analysis used Williamson Index and Pearson Correlation as the instrument. From the research note that economic development disparities between districts in Jambi Province are moderate and correlations between economic growth and the disparities of economic development are weak and negative. To reduce disparities of economic development occuring need the strategic policies of the regional development for all of regions.

The Patterns and Mechanisms of Land Price Divergence in Multiple Industries from the Perspective of Element Flows: The Case of the Yangtze River Delta, China

An in-depth exploration of the inner mechanisms of the spatio-temporal evolution of land prices in multiple industries (residential, commercial service and industrial) is of great significance for improving the overall economic development efficiency and resource allocation capacity of the region. Based on urban land price transaction data provided by the China Land Market Network, 307 county-level units in the Yangtze River Delta were used as the study area and spatial auto-correlation and spatio-temporal hotspot analysis were used to explore the spatial variation and temporal changes of land prices in multiple industries in the Yangtze River Delta from 2008 to 2018. The three-dimensional driving theory of land “demand + supply + market” was used as the basis to construct the index system of influential factors and the Spatial Durbin Model was used to explore the mechanism of the spatio-temporal variation of land prices in multiple industries. The results show that the land prices of multiple industries in the Yangtze River Delta are generally high in the east and low in the west and high in the south and low in the north, which is spatially consistent with the level of regional economic development. Due to the disparity in economic development between the regions, factors such as population, capital, technology and information are redistributed and fed into each other’s cycles between cities. The resulting spatial differences in land market supply and demand are intrinsic to the spatial differentiation of urban land prices. It is further proposed that land prices are a monetized expression of the abundance of resources in a city and that land prices are determined by the combined ability of regional resource factors to be allocated. Thus, land price differentiation reflects differences in the level of comprehensive regional development. Finally, the dynamic interaction of various factors on land values is used to promote the division of urban functions and regional economic development, which is an effective way to promote high-quality integrated regional development.

ПРОЦЕС КОНВЕРГЕНЦІЇ ГЛОБАЛЬНОГО ЕКОНОМІЧНОГО РОЗВИТКУ

The current stage of globalization creates a number of controversial problems, one of which is the growing disparities in economic development between developed and developing countries. Their solution places certain demands on the economic scientific community, which are related to finding adequate answers to the challenges of time. One of the main tasks in this direction is to implement a comprehensive approach to the study of the process of convergence of global economic development. Noting the intensification of scientific research by the European and domestic scientific community in various thematic areas of convergence of global economic development, it should be noted the lack of publications in which this scientific and practical problem was solved taking into account the specifics of different countries belonging to the modern world system. With this in mind, the purpose of the study is to determine the nature and content of the process of convergence of global economic development and identify problems that arise in overcoming the asymmetry between developed and developing countries. In the process of realization of this goal the influence of economic integration on the internationalization of economic life is revealed, the factors that accelerate the process of convergence of global economic development and its manifestations at the level of developed and developing countries are identified. The relationship between economic convergence, global synchronization and the global business cycle has been established. The scientific novelty of the study is to substantiate, based on the creative use of scientific publications of foreign and domestic scientists, ways and directions of achieving real convergence between countries belonging to the core of the world system, its semi-periphery and periphery For results of the study made some generalizations and conclusions that do not confirm the effect of "catching up" development for the vast majority of African and Asian countries, in contrast to post-socialist European countries. It is noted that solving the problem of convergence of global economic development is important for Ukraine. This is the one of the promising direction of further scientific development of the research problem.

A Study on the Revenue Generation Trend of Thiruvallur and Thiruttani Taluks (Viz., Thiruppasur, Siruvanoor, Thiruvallur and Agoor and Pattabiramapuram Villages of Thiruttani) of Tamil Nadu+

Tamilnadu is one of the economically developed states in India, which has 32 districts, taluks in hundreds and villages in thousands. But lots of studies on Tamilnadu’s regional development have found a wide disparity in economic development across the state. The North part of Tamilnadu is a comparatively backward region in general and the districts like Dharmapuri, Villupuram, Tiruvannamalai and Thiruvallur in particular. As a result, it is of special importance and essential to review the rural local bodies finances with reference to backward district in general and Thiruvellur district in particular in the wake of 73rd constitutional amendment.

Economic Development of the European Union in the Relation of Sustainable Development—Taxonomic Analysis

The purpose of this paper is a multidimensional assessment of the diversification of economic development in EU countries in the context of the progress in the implementation of the concept of sustainable development in 2014 and 2019. The issues discussed in this article are topical and important, given that the spatial disparity of economic development in the EU has never been so pronounced as it is today. While there is a wealth of studies on economic development in the literature, research on the comprehensive approach to this problem in the relation of sustainable development appears to be rather scarce. The article emphasizes the role of energy in economic growth. Authors used taxonomic measures. They were constructed on the basis of selected methods of multidimensional comparative analysis. By using the Hellwig method and the TOPSIS method, taxonomic measures were constructed, and linear ordering of the EU countries was carried out. In addition, using the so-called threshold method, the clustering of EU countries was carried out. The analysis involved 27 EU countries. The conducted research revealed significant disproportions between the respective EU countries in terms of the level of economic development in the relation of implementing the concept of sustainable development. It seems justified to take action aimed at eliminating the differences between the countries in the analyzed aspect. It is necessary both to intensify efforts at the level of individual Member States and the EU, oriented towards pro-development activities.