Wealthy Regions Research Articles

The roles of social economic status and undernutrition in regional disparities of the under‐five mortality rate in Vietnam

From 2005 to 2017, the prevalence of mortality in Vietnamese children under five years old showed large regional disparities. In 2017, mortality in the wealthiest region was 12.6‰, whereas the most disadvantaged region it was three times as high, at 36‰. This study aims to identify factors affecting regional disparities of the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) in Vietnam. We applied Structural Equation Modelling to estimate the degree and the pathway through which undernutrition and socio-economic status (SES) contributed to the under-five mortality disparities. SES is estimated as a common latent factor of three socio-economic measures, that is, education, poverty and income. The direct effect of SES on U5MR is at 2.16 through the underweight pathway, which is 5 times higher than the effect of underweight on U5MR. Through the stunting channel, this direct impact is 1.43, nearly twice as high as the impact of the stunting rate. SES also has an indirect effect on U5MR through these undernutrition pathways. In total, we estimate that an increase in SES index will make the U5MR increase by 2.73‰. Among the three indicators of SES, poverty conveys the strongest signal of a considerable change in SES, thus to a subsequent change in U5MR. Among two types of undernutrition, the effect of stunting on U5MR is dominant, more than 3 times as high as that of underweight. These findings have important implications for socio-economic and health interventions: those that strongly focus on the reduction of regional poverty and stunting rates would be effective in bridging the regional gap in the U5MR in Vietnam.

Are Wealthy Regions Also Entrepreneurial? The Case of Indonesia

The relationship between economic development and entrepreneurship is complex and dynamic, especially at the regional level. Entrepreneurship can emerge in both wealthy and poorer regions, triggered either by necessity or opportunity. This article performed a spatial analysis of Indonesian data to identify the regional patterns of entrepreneurial activity and to test whether wealthy regions are more entrepreneurial than poorer regions, considering both supply and demand factors. Spatial regression analysis using GeoDa was performed to examine the extent to which regional conditions affect different types of enterprises (formal and informal). The results show that wealthy regions are more entrepreneurial with regard to informal businesses but not formal businesses. The supply side analysis confirmed that being unemployment stimulates individuals to become entrepreneurs (necessity-based entrepreneurship). Meanwhile, the demand side analysis confirmed that the size of market demand positively influences entrepreneurship (opportunity-based entrepreneurship).Abstrak. Hubungan antara pengembangan ekonomi dan kewirausahaan adalah kompleks dan dinamis terutama pada tingkat regional. Kewirausahaan dapat muncul baik di daerah kaya maupun miskin karena dipicu oleh faktor kebutuhan atau peluang. Artikel ini melakukan analisis spasial pada data Indonesia untuk mengidentifikasi pola regional kegiatan kewirausahaan dan untuk menguji apakah daerah kaya lebih berjiwa wirausaha daripada yang lebih miskin dengan mempertimbangkan faktor penawaran dan permintaan. Analisis regresi spasial menggunakan Geoda dilakukan untuk memeriksa sejauh mana kondisi regional mempengaruhi berbagai jenis bisnis, perusahaan formal dan informal. Hasilnya menunjukkan bahwa daerah kaya lebih berwirausaha dalam hal perusahaan informal tetapi tidak untuk perusahaan formal. Analisis sisi penawaran menegaskan bahwa menganggur merangsang individu untuk menjadi wirausaha yang merupakan kewirausahaan berbasis kebutuhan. Sementara itu, analisis sisi permintaan menegaskan bahwa ukuran permintaan pasar secara positif mempengaruhi kewirausahaan yaitu kewirausahaan berbasis peluang.Kata kunci. Kewirausahaan, tingkat permulaan, pembangunan ekonomi wilayah, negara-negara berkembang.Â

Tracing China's inter-regional cost transfer of air pollution through domestic supply chains

Abstract: Provinces that provide emission-intensive products now are facing huge financial pressure to control regional air pollutant emissions. Assessing the actual regional air emission abatement costs of each province from the consumer perspective can help to clarify regional pollution abatement responsibilities and formulate sound monetary compensation policies between consumers and producers in China. In this study, we employ a multiregional input-output model to estimate the total air pollution abatement costs and economic benefits caused by interregional trade for each region in 2012. The results indicate that regions with higher GDP per capita, such as the Beijing-Tianjin, East Coast, and South Coast regions, outsourced total pollution abatement costs (TPAC) for air emissions to undeveloped central and western regions via interregional trade within China. Based on a comparison of the cost-benefit index among regions, wealthy regions left nearly 80% of their consumption-based value added locally but outsourced more than 50% of their consumption-based TPAC to other regions, especially to northwestern and central regions with lower GDP per capita. Such a mismatch necessitates in-depth cross-boundary collaboration for control of air pollutant emissions in regions suffering terrible haze problems, such as the North China Plain.

Convergence and growth – conflicting goals of economics policy – A case study of Georgia

Abstract Over the years, it has been the subject of discussions whether efficiency-oriented interventions contribute to an equity distribution of wealth across regions and whether equity orientation is a source of inefficiency. While efficiency refers to the maximization of growth in the national economy, convergence-oriented policy is focused on equalizing the level of development at interregional level. The case of Georgia was studied as a developing country facing various challenges in terms of economic growth and regional divergence. This article provides an overview of the economic development trends taking place in the regions of Georgia and reveals the high level of divergence within the country. A logarithmic model was created and used to run simulations to predict the possible results of convergence-oriented policy in Georgia. In order to make the forecast we estimated GDP per capita and average growth rates in all the Georgian regions. Use of the model allowed us to answer two main questions: (1) If the last 5 and 10 year average growth rates are maintained, how long will it take for the poorest region to converge to the wealthiest one? (2) What should be the minimum growth rate in the poorest region for the upcoming 5, 10 and 20 years in order to converge to the wealthiest capital? Results of the calculations showed that convergence between regions can only be achieved by slowing down economic growth in relatively wealthier regions and by focusing on the development of the poorest ones. The results of the study revealed that the convergence process will be faster for the regions with medium or big cities and growth centres. Therefore, creating competitive growth centres would be a reasonable regional policy objective to promote fast economic growth and future convergence without redirecting the growth process from more developed areas to lagging ones.

The pricing of open access journals: Diverse niches and sources of value in academic publishing

Open access (OA) publishing has created new academic and economic niches in contemporary science. OA journals offer numerous publication outlets with varying editorial philosophies and business models. This article analyzes the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) ( n = 12,127) to identify characteristics of OA academic journals related to the adoption of article processing charge (APC)-based business models, as well as the price points of journals that charge APCs. Journal impact factor (JIF), language, publisher mission, DOAJ Seal, economic and geographic regions of publishers, peer review duration, and journal discipline are all significantly related to the adoption and pricing of journal APCs. Even after accounting for other journal characteristics (prestige, discipline, publisher country), journals published by for-profit publishers charge the highest APCs. Journals with status endowments (JIF, DOAJ Seal) and articles written in English, published in wealthier regions, and in medical or science-based disciplines are also relatively costlier. The OA publishing market reveals insights into forces that create economic and academic value in contemporary science. Political and institutional inequalities manifest in the varying niches occupied by different OA journals and publishers.

Estimating poverty rates in subnational populations of interest: An assessment of the Simple Poverty Scorecard

Abstract The performance of the Simple Poverty Scorecard is compared against the performance of established regression-based estimators. All estimates are benchmarked against observed poverty status based on household expenditure (or income) data from household socioeconomic surveys that span nearly a decade and are representative of subnational populations. When the models all adopt the same “one-size-fits-all” training approach based on the national sample, there is no meaningful difference in performance and the Simple Poverty Scorecard is as good as any of the regression-based estimators. The “one-size-fits-all” training approach based on the national sample results in overestimating poverty in the regions with lower poverty rates (wealthier regions) and underestimating poverty in the regions with higher poverty rates (poorer regions). In the poorest strata (regions/districts), average SPS discrepancies are as high as 15–25 percentage-points. The findings change, however, when the regression-based estimators are “trained” on “training sets” that more closely resemble potential subpopulation test sets. In this case, regression-based models outperform the nationally calculated Simple Poverty Scorecard in terms of bias and variance. These findings highlight the fundamental trade-off between simplicity of use and accuracy.

Tackling the technical history of the textiles of El-Deir, Kharga Oasis, the Western Desert of Egypt

The site of El-Deir is situated north of Kharga in the “Great Oasis” of the Egyptian Western Desert (fig. 1). The site was occupied between the 6th century BC and the 6th century AD. A complex history emerged with the influence of many cultures: Persian, Greek, Roman and early Christian. Archaeological finds in both El-Deir and the oasis itself (the site of Dush and the temple of Darius in Hibis, a city north of Kharga) confirm that the Great Oasis was a wealthy region. This is also substantiated by texts from Ain Manawir and Dakhleh. The presence of an artesian aquifer, a great economic asset, further underpinned the prosperity of the area, which was a crossroads for numerous routes from the earliest dynasties.

Are Covid Fatalities in the Us Higher than in the EU, and If so, Why?

The COVID crisis has severely hit both the United States and the European Union. Even though they are the wealthiest regions in the world, they differ substantially in economic performance, demographic characteristics, type of government, health systems, and measures undertaken to counteract COVID. We construct comparable measures of the incidence of the COVID crisis and find that US states had more COVID-related deaths than EU countries. When taking account of demographic, economic, and political factors (but not health-policy related factors) we find that fatalities at 100 days since onset are 1.3 % higher in a US state than in an EU country. The US/EU gap disappears when we take account of health-policy related factors. Differences in number of beds per capita, number of tests, and early lockdown measures help explain the higher impact of COVID on US fatalities measured either 50 or 100 days after the epidemic started in a nation/state.

Subjective well-being determinants in Russia: a regional perspective

This article reveals that, despite Russian regions being very different from each other when it comes to a great many socio-economic and socio-cultural properties (population income level and living standards, various features of the socio-cultural environment, social optimism, degree of religiosity and so on), those who live in regions far removed from the capital cities, given their lower level of personal income, tend to be more satisfied with their lives and demonstrate a higher level of social wellbeing, according to data from various sociological surveys. Based on empirical data, the authors argue that material aspects are not the only factors which affect subjective wellbeing in any given region. The goal of the study is to analyze the differentiation in the level of subjective wellbeing of the population of various Russian regions, which implies identifying and comparatively analyzing those factors which help interpret these differences. The primary research method is regression analysis of data from sociological surveys conducted in 2012 using the World Values Survey method in nine regions and towns of federal significance: Moscow, Saint- Petersburg, Leningrad Province, Tambov, Tatarstan Republic, Chuvashia Republic, the Altai Krai, Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, Bashkortostan Republic. The analysis showed that there is indeed a connection between one’s personal income level and their subjective wellbeing, while there is no such connection between one’s subjective wellbeing and how wealthy their region is. This could be explained by the fact that people are more concerned with their personal income level than their region’s income. Aside from income level, there are other factors which determine subjective wellbeing in any given region. Moscow is considered to be the wealthiest region, however, it also has the highest level of income inequality. Both individual income and income level in comparison to the reference group considerably affect respondents’ subjective wellbeing, regardless of their region of residence. However, individual income has a stronger influence. That said it is in Moscow where subjective evaluation of one’s income level and satisfaction with one’s material status affect subjective wellbeing to the greatest extent, which is due to the fact that in Moscow both living standards and one’s sense of subjective inequality are somewhat higher. The influence of other socio-demographic factors also varies from region to region. For the most part this study confirms Ronald Inglehart’s concept of material factors playing a significant role in subjective wellbeing.

Effect of income on the cumulative incidence of COVID-19: an ecological study.

Objective to analyze the relationship between per capita income and the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in the neighborhoods of the city of Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.Method an ecological study using neighborhoods as units of analysis. The cumulative incidence rate per 100,000 inhabitants and the median of potential confounding variables (sex, race, and age) were calculated. Multiple analysis included quantile regression, estimating the regression coefficients of the variable income for every five percentiles from the 10th to 90th percentiles to verify the relationship between income and incidence.Results the city’s rate was 36.58 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. In general, the highest rates were observed in the wealthiest regions. Multiple analysis was consistent with this observation since the per capita income affected all percentiles analyzed, with a median regression coefficient of 0.02 (p-value <0.001; R2 32.93). That is, there is an increase of R$ 0.02 in the neighborhood’s per capita income for every unit of incidence.Conclusion cumulative incident rates of COVID-19 are influenced by one’s neighborhood of residency, suggesting that access to testing is uneven.

Archaeological assessment reveals Earth's early transformation through land use.

Environmentally transformative human use of land accelerated with the emergence of agriculture, but the extent, trajectory, and implications of these early changes are not well understood. An empirical global assessment of land use from 10,000 years before the present (yr B.P.) to 1850 CE reveals a planet largely transformed by hunter-gatherers, farmers, and pastoralists by 3000 years ago, considerably earlier than the dates in the land-use reconstructions commonly used by Earth scientists. Synthesis of knowledge contributed by more than 250 archaeologists highlighted gaps in archaeological expertise and data quality, which peaked for 2000 yr B.P. and in traditionally studied and wealthier regions. Archaeological reconstruction of global land-use history illuminates the deep roots of Earth's transformation and challenges the emerging Anthropocene paradigm that large-scale anthropogenic global environmental change is mostly a recent phenomenon.

The price of federation: Comparing fiscal equalization in Australia, Canada, Germany and Switzerland

ABSTRACTThis article examines the operation of fiscal equalization systems, where funds are methodically transferred predominantly from the central government to regions with weaker tax bases in particular (but not exclusively). Four of the oldest and most expensive equalization schemes – Australia’s, Canada’s, Germany’s, and Switzerland’s – are compared in terms of their purpose, procedures, and performance. Levels of equalization are measured, standardized, and assessed over time. The general trend is that regional variation in terms of payments is tolerated until there is a tipping point where wealthier regions diverge too far from the average. Subsequent reform processes are often long and in some instances attempt to placate wealthier regions, while federal government contributions increase rather than substantially affecting the conditions or payments for the major recipients. The systems and reforms tangibly value the membership of the constituent members of the federation through permanent, institutional, and unconditional compensation.

Spatial characteristics and driving factors of global energy-related sulfur oxides emissions transferring via international trade

Using the logarithmic mean divisia index decomposition methods within the multi-region input-output analytical framework, this paper investigates global energy-related sulfur oxides emissions transferring via trade, so as to reveal spatial characteristics of the pollutant emissions flows, and explores driving factors of the changes of sulfur dioxide emissions embodied in trade (SEET) for 39 major countries for the period 1995–2011. One important finding from this study is that the global SEET mainly flew from developing countries like China to highly developed economies like the U.S., the EU, and Japan. However, of particular concern is that for some countries like Canada and Australia with ample resources and wealthy regions, they had been gradually becoming the net sulfur dioxide emissions exporters in global trade since 1995. Another important finding is that economic development had played a significant role in promoting the global SEET growth, and the expanse of population scale had a slight and positive driving effect on increasing the sulfur oxides emissions embodied in trade for a large proportion of 39 countries, but some coping strategies like improving energy intensity, increasing the proportion of clean energy in the total energy consumption, and optimizing industrial structure could effectively lower the sulfur oxides emissions embodied in trade in a group of 39 countries.

Halving energy demand from buildings: The impact of low consumption practices

Limiting global warming below 1.5 °C requires rapid decarbonization of energy systems. Reductions of energy demand have an important role to play in a sustainable energy transition. Here we explore the extent to which the emergence of low energy consuming practices, encompassing new behaviors and the adoption of more efficient technologies, could contribute to lowering energy demand and thereby to reducing CO2 emissions.To this end, we design three detailed energy consumption profiles which could be adopted by individuals in current and future wealthy regions. To what extent does the setting of air conditioners to higher temperatures or the widespread use of efficient showerheads reduce the aggregate energy demand? We investigate the potential of new practices at the global level for 2050 and 2100.The adoption of new, energy saving practices could reduce global energy demand from buildings by up to 47% in 2050 and 61% in 2100 compared to a scenario following current trends. This strong reduction is primarily accounted for by changes in hot water usage, insulation of buildings and consumer choices in air conditioners and heat pumps. New behaviors and efficient technologies could make a significant long-term contribution to reducing buildings' energy demand, and thus facilitate the achieval of stringent climate change mitigation targets while limiting the adverse sustainability impacts from the energy supply system.

A cross sectional study of epidemiology corresponding to refractive errors in school going children in urban areas of Hyderabad

Introduction: There are estimated to be 1.4 million children in the world, 75% of whom live in low-income countries. Approximately, 80% of blindness is avoidable. The prevalence of the childhood blindness is estimated from 0.3 per 1000 children in the wealthy region of the world to 1.5 per 1000 children in the poorer countries/regions. Methodology: The study was conducted From January to June 2018, in Princess Esra Hospital, a 1000 bedded teaching hospital, situated in Hyderabad, providing specialized tertiary level health care services to all strata of people. Children studying in the high school in Government and Private school were selected for the present study, the children selected has a history of overall good health. Aims and Objectives: This planned study has been attempted with the accompanying targets, to concentrate on the predominance of refractive errors in school going children and to assess the etiologic proof. Results: The total of 540 children were included in the study with the history of overall good health, which includes 82 females and 25 males diagnosed with refractive errors, shows that prevalence of refractive errors are more in female than compare to males. Conclusion: In this study, it has been recorded that 19.8% of the screened school children have refractive errors. The results showed significant statistical difference regarding the prevalence of refractive errors between children of government and private schools.

The Italian Regional Dualism: A MARS and Panel Data Analysis

The income gap between the richest and the poorest areas in Italy has increased in the last decades. We study the sources of regional wealth that can explain the differences in income and compare rich and poor areas to provide suggestions on how to bridge the gap. A multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) analysis is used to detect the relevant GDP determinants, and a fixed effects model is used to investigate the regional characteristics. The effects of the 2007 crisis are evident in all regions, and some structural weaknesses in the less wealthy areas limit the opportunities to exit the recession and close many socioeconomic gaps with the wealthiest regions.

Within Country Inequalities in Cesarean Section Rates: Observational Study of 72 Low and Middle Income Countries

(BMJ. 2018;360:k55) It remains unclear what the ideal cesarean section rate should be. Very low rates may be indicative of a lack of access when needed, leading to high rates of maternal and newborn morbidity and mortality. In contrast, high cesarean section rates suggest a bias for cesarean delivery without medical indication, increasing the risk of surgical complications, hemorrhage, and infection, Studies have shown that inequalities in cesarean section rates exist both between countries and within countries. The highest rates of cesarean delivery are generally observed among the wealthiest regions, and low rates are prevalent among the most disadvantaged areas. These inequalities have been shown to remain even as a country’s overall cesarean section rate has risen. The purpose of this observational study was to provide an update about economic inequalities in cesarean section rates within a large number of countries from various regions as well as the change in inequality over time.

Relationship between socioeconomic status and risk of sexually transmitted infections in Uganda: Multilevel analysis of a nationally representative survey.

Socioeconomic status (SES) appears to have positive and negative associations with sexually transmitted infection (STI) risk in resource-limited settings, but few studies have evaluated nationally representative data. We assessed multiple SES measures and their effect on STI risk. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS 2011). The primary outcome (STI risk) was self-reported STIs and/or symptoms in the prior 12 months. We examined associations between multiple SES measures and STI risk using a mixed-effects Poisson regression model. The results showed that of the 9256 sexually active individuals, 7428 women and 1828 men were included in the analysis. At an individual level, middle wealth quintile and disposable income were associated with STI risk, whereas being in the richest wealth quintile was protective. Residence in wealthier regions (adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR] 3.92, 3.62, and 2.75, for Central, Western, and Eastern regions; p < 0.01) was associated with increased STI risk. Regional level analysis revealed stochastic variability of STI risk across geographical region (variance 0.03; p = 0.01). The bilateral association between SES and STI risk underscores the need for multi-sectoral interventions to address the upstream effects of poverty on STI risk and downstream effects of STIs on health and economic productivity.

Impatto della crisi economica su redditività e rischio finanziario delle imprese romagnole. Una cluster analysis

As a result of the 2008 global crisis, in 2012 Italy entered an economic recession. Against this backdrop, this work investigates the main profitability and financial risk exposure features of companies in Romagna in 2012-2014. Romagna is an area located in a wealthy region of Italy, Emilia-Romagna, and it is well known for a local system of informal aggregations based on shared socioeconomic links. Thus, using AIDA’s database, we analyse the top 100 companies by revenue (excluding financial and holding companies) in the three provinces of Romagna: Forli-Cesena, Ravenna and Rimini. More in detail, after finding that the trend of the means of six financial ratios has improved in the defined period, with the exception of ROE, the six ratios are used as variables to perform a cluster analysis. In the first analytical step (based on the single-linkage method) companies are shown to mostly gather into a main cluster, although with the presence of several isolated outlier companies. The second step (based on Ward’s method) proposes a more detailed analysis resulting in 4 clusters during the specified period. Over time, clusters change more in terms of their members than in their territorial and/or sectorial composition. Finally, the general recovery trend is confirmed, with two exceptions: (i) a cluster rich of outliers gathering the worst performances and slowly emptying over time; (ii) the most numerous cluster, showing a decreasing trend in the degree of coverage of financial charges. The limitations highlighted in the conclusion suggest the need for further research.

Managing Diversity To Eliminate Disparities: A Framework For Health.

By 2044 there will be no single racial or ethnic majority group in the US, according to the Census Bureau. California experienced this shift in 2000, making the state a bellwether in its attempts to bring health equity to a highly diverse population. We used data from the California Health Interview Survey and the California Regional Health Care Cost and Quality Atlas to examine health, health care access, and quality of care by race/ethnicity, payer, and region. Evaluating insurance coverage and diabetes as a sentinel condition, we found that wealthy regions exhibited the widest disparities-with advantages among non-Latino whites and people with commercial coverage. Disparities were narrowest in rural and agricultural regions, but health and quality of care were lower overall in those regions. State initiatives to address health equity include requiring health plans to reduce disparities by language and race/ethnicity and investing carbon cap-and-trade revenues in disadvantaged communities. Prominent advocacy, community engagement, the systematic use of data, local flexibility, and mechanisms for stronger accountability are driving these initiatives. Evidence has yet to emerge on how effective these policies will be in reducing health disparities in the state.