Abstract We investigate how urban bias affects rural-urban migration and unemployment. The findings are as follows. When there is an increase in the degree of urban bias in the urban skilled sector, the number of rural-urban migrants will decline, and the urban unskilled unemployment rate will rise. However, when there is an increase in the degree of urban bias in the urban unskilled sector, if the initial allocation proportion of public infrastructure for the urban unskilled sector is large (resp. small) enough, the number of rural-urban migrants will fall (resp. rise), and the urban unskilled unemployment rate will rise (resp. fall).

This paper examines Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), a landmark legal and policy intervention designed to address persistent gender inequalities in governance, entrepreneurship, and social protection. While affirmative action has historically been a central tool for advancing women’s rights in Ghana—evolving across three distinct generations from the 1960s to the 2020s—the passage of the Act represents the most comprehensive legislative attempt to institutionalise gender equality. Drawing on feminist legal theory, which interrogates the ways laws reproduce gendered power hierarchies, and social protection theory that emphasises redistributive justice and gender-responsive policy, the study interrogates the Act’s transformative potential and limitations. Methodologically, the research employs qualitative thematic analysis of the Act’s key provisions; Sections 3, 17, 24, and Schedule 4, and in-depth interviews with fifteen participants, including gender advocates, students, senior and junior staff of the University of Cape Coast, and a legal practitioner. Findings highlight the Act’s strengths, such as mandating public and private institutions to implement gender equality policies, incentivising compliance through tax relief and procurement preferences, embedding protections for informal sector workers, and establishing monitoring and grievance redress mechanisms. The study also identifies significant implementation challenges, as participants emphasised limited public awareness, cultural barriers restricting women’s opportunities, insufficient financial resources, and weak enforcement mechanisms. Comparative literature suggests risks of elite capture, bureaucratic delays, and urban bias, which could undermine it’s effectiveness. While the Act represents a crucial policy milestone, its success depends on sustained political will, adequate resource allocation, community-level awareness campaigns, and strong institutional enforcement.

Even though past research works in economics investigated the relationship between urbanization and development, the explicit elements that cause this relationship within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have not been adequately covered by research. This study therefore analyses the impact of social and non-income factors on urbanization in the ECOWAS sub-region. The paper employs a methodology of comprehensive analysis of available related research studies to isolate those notable social and non-income elements advancing urbanization inside the ECOWAS sub-region. The findings from the analysis of related past research works imply that urbanization within the ECOWAS framework is substantially determined by social factors including institutional quality, education, health, and infrastructure development, thereby validating the urban bias theory. Moreover, many articles reviewed established that the association of urbanization with economic development are influenced by additional elements like good governance, low corruption, reliable laws, skilled workforce, educated citizens, good roads, electricity, water systems, and effective public transport systems. Implying that properly developed sovereign institutions, human capital assets and public utilities promote urbanization of cities. Consequently, the study recommends that ECOWAS policymakers enforce the development of integrated social and institutional frameworks. Such policies should concentrate on improving governance, education, and infrastructure to harness urbanization's transformative potential for inclusive and sustainable economic development.

Since the 1980s, neoliberal influences have pushed the privatization of social services, including long-term care (LTC), that has made financialization particularly possible in an expansion of the financial capital in everyday life. Research has shown that the interactive process of privatization and financialization has emerged through public-private partnerships. This partnership has undeniably created a penetration of private investment into LTC sector under the facade of expanding supportive housing and care for seniors and residents. This penetration means that financialized care providers as corporations are regularly making compromises for profit-maximization at the expense of the provision of care. It intensifies devaluation of care through exploitation of the caregiving workforce dominated by racialized and female workers, who are frequently casualized and underpaid. It has also made care more than ever as commodified personal services to shore up health systems that deprive Indigenous peoples and the disadvantaged of quality, trauma-informed care. This devaluation is premised on neoliberal economics which regards care as personal services, or “nurturance” of a feminine virtue, that is valued when it involves transactions. This has contributed to government policies, including Ontario’s Bill 7, the “More Beds, Better Care Act, 2022,” favoring privatization and urban bias. This legislation allows hospitals to charge Alternative Level of Care patients $400 a day for refusing to move to a LTC home of not their choosing albeit it is up to 70km away from their preferred location in southern Ontario, mostly urban, and 150km in the north, mostly rural. Also, it permits more beds to corporate care operators regardless of legal challenges and criticism for their poor care and COVID-19 related death. Bill 7 may serve the interests of political and economic elites in profitability in Ontario, where there are widespread experiences with trauma that is intergenerational due to colonialism giving rise to oppressions, systemic racism, violence, discrimination and marginalization. Indigenous peoples, who have experienced historical trauma, value care as a collective effort that is accessible equitably for all. For Indigenous peoples, care is social by nature because it is relational and is oriented towards healing among members of the community that exercise self-determination to achieve well-being in all dimensions from physical, emotional, to mental, psychological, social and spiritual. Building on this perspective, trauma-informed care, emphasizing healing as individuals and as the (First Nation) community, is the Indigenous meaning of quality care, also known as wrap-around care. It entails community-oriented, team-based services, involving multi-sectors, in response to comprehensive and wholistic needs. This study adopts feminist political economy in a historical analysis of financialized LTC. It is distinct from, but in dialogue with, existing research on LTC and financialization as it explicitly brings in the Indigenous perspective of care in discussions of health financing and delivery, city development and planning, and municipal governance. This Indigenous perspective that is oriented towards wholistic healing helps envision a wide range of policy changes to achieve long-term trauma-informed care as a social responsibility and a political practice. LTC as a social responsibility leads to a sharp critique of financialization but a support to the promise of LTC as public good that cannot be fulfilled without eliminating its reliance on the devaluation and deprivation of care and financing through mortgage debt. As public good LTC can be cost-shared among different levels of the government and managed locally by municipalities and communities collectively. Thus, definancialized LTC is a political practice, rather than a market service, whereby Indigenous and racialized communities are centred and participate in the negotiation of delivery of quality care together with caregivers’ associations and unions at the community level. It is the exercise of self-determination by citizens’ groups at the community level that can democratically decide on the health needs and the delivery of quality care. This practice overcomes urban bias in access to care in metropolitan versus rural areas at the core of urban-rural and intra-urban spatial justice discourse. It upholds the right to age in place and in one’s own community in a two-pronged strategy. The paper recommends the two-pronged strategy to enhance city development and planning of the essential social infrastructure such as the definancialized LTC and to promote the definancialized and municipally and community-led LTC model as a precondition for just, inclusive and age-friendly living. This strategy begins with LTC as a pillar of inclusive city development and insists that LTC facilities and their financing are essential social infrastructure in city-region planning (alongside housing, transit and so on). The case study of Cassellholme that functions as regional care infrastructure for Nipissing District and reduces pressure on hospitals and urban systems points to the need to strengthen regional planning, municipal finance, and city-region resilience. The case study as a concrete illustration of definancialized LTC promotes cross-municipal governance and public accountability including investing in quality care, contributing to broader community services, and servicing Indigenous communities.

This review focuses on tools used in dementia diagnostic disclosure, particularly from family caregivers' perspectives. With dementia affecting millions globally, caregivers face challenges needing clear information and assistance. The review aims to: (a) identify tools used, (b) assess caregivers' preferences and challenges, and (c) highlight gaps to enhance communication strategies in dementia care. This systematic review, adhering to the PRISMA guidelines and registered with PROSPERO (CRD42024557806), synthesized evidence from nine studies on tools for dementia disclosure, with a focus on family caregiver perspectives. A comprehensive search of eight databases up to September 16, 2025, combined LLM-assisted screening and human review to identify qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies. Thematic synthesis analyzed caregiver preferences, tool effectiveness, and practice gaps. Across five countries (UK, Australia, USA, Denmark, Netherlands), written materials were universally valued (e.g., 80-95% satisfaction), with visual aids and brain images less common but effective when used. Caregivers preferred direct, comprehensive information (e.g., 98% sought details about behavior and psychological symptoms of dementia) delivered face-to-face, with written backups, although retention challenges (e.g., 61% recall) and inconsistent tool provision persisted. Gaps included limited visual aid adoption and poor post-diagnostic support, highlighting unmet needs. This review highlights the importance of tools in supporting caregivers during dementia disclosure and calls for the development of a standardized Dementia Disclosure Evaluation Tool. Despite limitations (e.g., small sample sizes, urban bias), the findings lay the groundwork for improving caregiver support and guiding future research in diverse contexts.

Background:The cosmetics industry has grown significantly, driven by beauty standards and media influence. While cosmetics enhance appearance, many contain chemicals that may cause adverse effects. Understanding usage patterns and associated risks is essential for consumer safety.Objective:This study assessed cosmetic usage patterns and side effects among Saudi women, focusing on commonly used products, purchasing behaviors, and awareness.Methods:A cross-sectional survey was conducted from April 2024 to March 2025, involving 1,149 Saudi women. Data were collected via structured questionnaires on product usage, side effects, and purchasing habits. Statistical analysis examined associations between age and usage patterns.Results:The most used cosmetics were face creams (73.4%), makeup (70.2%), and hair care products (59.1%). Reported side effects included acne (76.1%), skin redness (74.3%), and hair loss (56.3%). Most participants (54.6%) bought cosmetics from supermarkets, and 72% did not read product leaflets. Younger participants (18–22 years) prioritized brand reputation and discontinued products upon experiencing side effects.Limitations:Self report, urban bias, and cross sectional design limit validity.Conclusion:The current study highlights age-related differences in cosmetic use and awareness, emphasizing the need for consumer education and stricter regulations to ensure product safety.

Purpose This study examines students' perceptions of gender equity initiatives in Bangladesh's tertiary education, with a focus on science, business and vocational or technical fields. Design/methodology/approach This research employs an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, combining qualitative insights from open-ended surveys (n = 312) with a quantitative questionnaire (n = 427) to assess support for 13 student-proposed initiatives. Braun and Clarke (2006) guided the qualitative thematic analysis, which identified key concepts, while the quantitative analysis employed chi-square tests and Pearson's R correlations to uncover field-specific trends. Findings Findings reveals a strong consensus for pedagogical reforms, such as instructor training (71.3% agreement) and inclusive classrooms (71.8%), with vocational students showing hesitance toward cultural initiatives (e.g., 38.5% for cultural events). High neutrality in areas such as mixed-gender sports (39.8%) indicates cultural barriers, highlighting the need for targeted awareness campaigns. Research limitations/implications This study's limitations include urban sampling bias and potential cultural deference that may affect neutral responses, suggesting the need for broader geographic and cultural analysis in future research. Originality/value This study offers evidence-based policy recommendations to foster inclusive academic environments, thereby contributing to Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) for gender equality.

ABSTRACT Research on aging and mental health in Sub‐Saharan Africa has expanded in recent years, yet scholarship continues to overlook the experiences of older men despite major demographic and social change across the region. In this review, I synthesize conceptual and empirical studies published between 2000 and 2025 on masculinity, aging, and mental health, drawing on searches conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and African Journals Online. I include studies that examine older men, mental health outcomes, and gendered dimensions of aging across diverse SSA contexts. To guide the analysis, I apply five key frameworks from the literature: hegemonic masculinity, gender performance, intersectionality, structural vulnerability, and life course and stress process perspectives. These frameworks allow me to show how masculinities in later life are shaped by economic precarity, bodily change, shifting kinship expectations, social isolation, and culturally embedded idioms of distress and help‐seeking. I identify persistent gaps in the evidence, including urban and clinic sampling biases, limited age and gender disaggregation, reliance on Western mental health constructs, and the scarcity of longitudinal or mixed‐methods research. I conclude by calling for culturally grounded, gender‐responsive approaches that can inform more inclusive mental health policies and interventions for aging men in SSA.

Healthcare access in Latin America is highly unequal, with rural and peri-urban populations disproportionately excluded from essential and specialized services. To address the persistent gaps often obscured by conventional urban–rural classifications, this study developed a machine learning framework integrating the Functional Urban Area (FUA) model with Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) and Shannon entropy optimization to refine urbanization gradients and quantify inequities across 11 countries. High-resolution population density data from the Meta High Resolution Settlement Layer (HRSL, 2020) and CIESIN’s Gridded Population of the World (GPWv4, rev. 11), combined with healthcare facility locations from Healthsites.io, were processed in R to generate population-facility networks. Entropy optimization dynamically determined country-specific DBSCAN distance thresholds, ensuring representative clustering of functional urban and rural areas. Facilities were categorized by care level, and per-capita densities were compared across clusters. Results showed that entropy-optimized DBSCAN improved spatial precision over traditional approaches and revealed systemic urban bias: Peru, Chile, and Venezuela had the lowest hospital densities, while Ecuador, Bolivia, and Paraguay displayed the strongest rural deficits in primary care. Specialized services were overwhelmingly concentrated in urban clusters. This reproducible framework establishes a quantitative baseline for healthcare inequities, providing data-driven insights to inform the design of decentralized strategies to improve equitable access to care across Latin America.

Solid waste management in urbanising rural service centres in Zimbabwe is poorly understood because of the urban bias of most studies, while the few studies on the subject are poorly contextualised and designed. This comparative study, undertaken between January and September 2022, investigates similarities and differences of solid waste management in Jerera, presided by Zaka Rural District Council, and in Nyika, presided by Bikita Rural District Council. Both are located in Masvingo province, one of the country’s eight rural provinces. A mix of qualitative and quantitative methods was used to assess the existence and adequacy of solid waste management vis-à-vis regulatory and implementation arrangements. Both local authorities have no environmental action and solid waste management plans as required by law. Bikita Council, however, has better drafted but poorly implemented by-laws because of the absence of a dedicated waste management department. Zaka Council has outdated by-laws but an established waste management department, resulting in better solid waste management. Solid waste management at both centres has, however, generally been poor because of financial constraints due to a weak economic base and challenging macroeconomic conditions. Hence, better solid waste management practices are explained by solid waste governance in the centres rather than the geographical location and socio-economic status of the centres.

ABSTRACT Many welfare states in the Global North have decentralised active labour market programmes (ALMPs) from national to sub-national level. But how have these decentralisation processes, taking place against the backdrop of an urban bias, affected rural municipalities? The paper aims to improve the understanding of possibilities and limitations that arise in the planning and provision of ALMPs by local governments in rural settings, by exploring and analysing rural municipalities in northern Sweden. Through interviews with municipal ALMP planners, the paper illustrates challenges related to low economies of scale, the pace of national reforms, and support for groups with low employability.

This study provides an analysis of the entry strategies of third-party data centers in the United States. We examine the market prior to the pandemic, in 2018 and 2019, when supply and demand for data services were relatively stable geographically. We compare these patterns with the entry strategies of major cloud-based data centers for services on demand, which include those known as cloud services. We conclude that third-party firms and cloud providers have different entry strategies for this digital infrastructure. The former favors urban settings more and appears sensitive to buyer demand for proximity. They trade off costs of supply, which vary with density, and economies of scale, which cannot be achieved without large volumes of demand. We also find that data center firms providing specialized services display an urban bias. Cloud providers tend to display a lower propensity for locating in urban areas, concentrating their buildings in a small number of locations. We see little evidence to suggest cloud providers will spread their data centers to any but a small number of low-density locations. Our findings support speculation about the likely direction of changes as demand shifts to the cloud, and the location decisions begin to concentrate in the hands of cloud providers. Funding: The authors are grateful to Rice University and the HBS Division of Research and Faculty Development for financial support. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/stsc.2024.0225 .

National literacy tests often fail in Indonesia’s 3T regions (Frontier, Remote, and Disadvantaged) because of cultural bias and limited contextual relevance, resulting in distorted measurements of children’s actual abilities. This study addresses that gap by psychometrically evaluating a contextual literacy instrument composed of images and texts, designed specifically for primary school children in Papua. The instrument assesses functional literacy skills—literal, inferential, and evaluative—using familiar local contexts to enhance readability and engagement. This is among the first literacy assessments in Papua to integrate both visual and textual elements with systematic psychometric validation, thereby directly challenging the urban bias embedded in national literacy assessments. A descriptive quantitative methodology was employed with sixth-grade pupils in Papua, examining item validity, reliability, difficulty levels, and discriminative power. Results show that 18 of 20 items demonstrated strong validity (r > 0.30), with a KR-20 reliability coefficient of 0.79, indicating satisfactory internal consistency. The difficulty distribution was 65% moderate, 20% easy, and 15% difficult, while 70% of items effectively distinguished between high- and low-performing pupils. Incorporating local visual and contextual features enhanced item relevance without compromising psychometric quality. These findings suggest that the instrument is effective for assessing literacy in low-performing regions such as Papua, although results remain preliminary due to the small-scale pilot with only 32 students.

Shaping a healthy food environment requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond consumption, encompassing the entire system. Urban centers currently depend significantly on agricultural outputs from distant regions, a dynamic that negatively impacts the areas that feed the cities. In the global North, there is a growing awareness of the necessity to improve urban resilience; however, the rural paradox, characterized by persistent food insecurity in regions that are otherwise productive, has received inadequate focus. To uncover the potential ramifications of reversing the perspective, a study was carried out in the Community of Madrid, Spain (7 million inhabitants). We developed a spatial data model to analyze food supply capacity at a local level. Two simulations were run: the first focused on addressing the needs of the metropolitan area, while the second concentrated on the supply requirements of rural municipalities. Two scenarios were defined: one assigned the average legume intake according to statistics from the Ministry, and the other implemented dietary recommendations. Results were conclusive: If production is consumed in the capital, less than 8% of the territory would be covered. However, if larger cities are left out of the equation, food requirements can be met by local production in 62% of the territory. This concept remains theoretical, as most of the necessary facilities and equipment for storage, processing, and delivery are lacking. Establishing healthy food environments depends on realigning priorities and addressing deficiencies in essential components.

Recent scholarship has been critiquing the urban bias in platform research, calling for greater attention to how rural specificities shape rural platformization. Addressing this gap, this article explores how particularities of a rural territory interact with dynamics of platform economies and shape platform labor. Based on a case study in a rural Andean village in southern Chile, DeLanda's assemblage theory is employed to explore the situated interplay between place-assemblages of a rural periphery and incoming platform assemblages. Alongside the labor realities of platform workers, the findings reveal how algorithms and hardware logistics deterritorialize established labor relations, introducing unregulated and hybrid modes of platform labor. Simultaneously, ecological constraints, place-based meanings of livelihoods, and practices of more-than-human conviviality reterritorialize platform labor to fit into situated ecologies. The simultaneity of deterritorialization and reterritorialization processes outlines nonlinear and multifaceted rural platform trajectories, hinging on the diverse interactions of individual components of place and platform assemblages. These findings highlight how human and nonhuman rural components shape platform expansion, framing rural areas as more-than-human networked peripheries that actively navigate their place in the global platform economy. The article contributes a nuanced understanding of the expansion of platform economies as an interactive rather than solely extractive process.

Beyond urban bias? Urban-rural inequalities and popular protest in Africa

Abstract Drawing on the findings of a scoping review, this article highlights the context-specific nature of rural social work that makes it different from urban social work. It begins with a discussion of the marginalization of, and paucity of literature on, rural social work within the professional discourse before discussing the study’s methodology. It, then, focuses specifically on the findings relating to ‘context’ noting its centrality to definitions of rural social work practice. As well as geographical location, influential multilevel factors, such as international and domestic policies; economic, political, and sociocultural environments; and organizational requirements formed part of the context affecting local community life and rural social work practice. Rural contexts experienced challenges relating to rural poverty, socioeconomic inequality, cumulative disadvantage, resource scarcity, and professional shortages. Although the literature suggested the need for macro practice, organizational requirements made such prescriptions difficult to implement, while some suggested that professional social work itself might not be fit for purpose, due inter alia to its persistent Western and urban bias, clinical focus, and standardized education models and pedagogical approaches. The article ends with a discussion of the implications of the findings for rural social work education and practice.

This study examines the mediating role of the urge to purchase in linking in-store environmental to impulsive buying behavior. Through a quantitative survey of 231 participants from Swabi in retail settings, where the study demonstrates how specific atmospheric elements lighting, musical congruency, and ambient scent act as sequential triggers of purchase urges, in turn drive unplanned purchases. Results reveal mediation by urge to purchase, with emerging as the strongest environmental drivers. Individual differences, such as hedonic shopping orientation, amplified the environment-urge relationship, while situational factors like budget constraints weakened the urge-behavior link. The study uses the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) theory by mapping the temporal trajectory of urge formation. Practical implications highlight strategies for retailers to ethically leverage sensory cues to enhance engagement without exploiting vulnerabilities. Limitations, including cross-sectional design and urban sample bias, underscore opportunities for longitudinal and cross-cultural research. This work advances consumer psychology by clarifying the psychological mechanisms behind impulsive buying while offering actionable insights for retail design and consumer empowerment.

Research Problem: Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) in rural Nigeria, particularly in Odeda Local Government, face significant barriers to adopting digital financial transactions, such as low financial literacy, infrastructural deficits, and cultural preferences for cash. Despite global and national pushes for digital finance, localized studies on rural SMEs’ adoption dynamics are scarce, limiting targeted interventions for financial inclusion and economic growth. Methods/Theory: This study employs a descriptive survey design, sampling 200 SMEs via stratified random sampling (Krejcie & Morgan, 1970). Data were collected through structured questionnaires and interviews, analyzed using descriptive statistics, regression models, Chi-square tests, and thematic analysis. No explicit theoretical framework was applied, but findings align with Diffusion of Innovations theory, adapted to rural contexts. Results: Digital transaction adoption reached 71%, correlating with a 52% revenue increase (from ₦264,724 to ₦331,440). Challenges include low financial literacy (mean=2.92/5), infrastructural gaps (mean=3.04/5), and cybersecurity concerns. Statistical tests confirmed a significant relationship between adoption and SME growth (T-test: p=0.001; Chi-square: p=0.015). Conclusion: Digital financial transactions significantly enhance SME performance in Odeda, but barriers impede full adoption. Key Contribution to Knowledge: This study extends FinTech literature by providing rural-specific insights, addressing urban biases in prior research, and highlighting socio-cultural influences on adoption. Recommendation: Expand broadband through public-private partnerships, conduct vernacular financial literacy workshops, and offer tax incentives to boost adoption.

Improper management of solid waste, particularly from households and communities, presents significant health risks that can facilitate the spread of diseases. Unmanaged waste, especially in landfills, attracts vectors like flies and rats, which further endanger public health. This study examined sanitary landfill practices and their impact on the health status of residents in the Southern Senatorial District of Taraba State, Nigeria. Using a cross-sectional survey design and the Urban bias theory was employed as the theoretical framework. 1,200 respondents were sampled through Taro Yamane's formula. Data were collected using quantitative questionnaires. Findings revealed prevalent landfill practices as solid waste disposal method among the residents of Southern Taraba, which significantly contribute to adverse health outcomes. Statistical analysis demonstrated a significant relationship between these disposal practices and health status, with a P-value of 0.000, well below the alpha level of 0.05. The study recommends identifying and implementing effective solid waste disposal methods to mitigate health risks and enhance public health in Southern Taraba.