Exploring well-being disparities between urban and rural areas:A case study in the Stavropol Territory,Russia

Rural areas are crucial for a country’s sustainable economy.New strategies are needed to develop rural areas to improve the well-being of rural population and generate new job opportunities.This is especially important in countries where agricultural production accounts for a significant share of the gross product,such as Russia.In this study,we identified the key indicators of satisfaction and differences between rural and urban citizens based on their social,economic,and environmental backgrounds,and determined whether there are well-being disparities between rural and urban areas in the Stavropol Territory,Russia.We collected primary data through a survey based on the European Social Survey framework to investigate the potential differences between rural and urban areas.By computing the regional well-being index using principal component analysis,we found that there was no statistically significant difference in well-being between rural and urban areas.Results of key indicators showed that rural residents felt psychologically more comfortable and safer,assessed their family relationships better,and adhered more to traditions and customs.However,urban residents showed better economic and social conditions(e.g.,infrastructures,medical care,education,and Internet access).The results of this study imply that we can better understand the local needs,advantages,and unique qualities,thereby gaining insight into the effectiveness of government programs.Policy-makers and local authorities can consider targeted interventions based on the findings of this study and strive to enhance the well-being of both urban and rural residents.

Influence of Transportation Accessibility on Urban-rural Income Disparity and Its Spatial Heterogeneity

Transportation accessibility has been treated as an important means of reducing the urban-rural income disparity.However,only a few studies have examined the effects of different types of transportation accessibility on urban-rural income disparity and their spatial heterogeneity.Based on data from 285 prefecture-level(and above)Chinese cities in 2000,2005,2010,2015,and 2020,this study uses spatial econometric models to examine how highway accessibility and railway accessibility influence the urban-rural income disparity and to identify their spatial heterogeneity.The result reveals that highway accessibility and railway accessibility have‘coreperiphery’ring-like circle structures.The urban-rural income disparity exhibits strong spatial clustering effects.Both highway accessibility and railway accessibility are negatively associated with urban-rural income disparity,and the former having a greater effect size.Moreover,there is a substitution effect between highway accessibility and railway accessibility in the whole sample.Furthermore,these associations differ in geographic regions.In the central region,highway accessibility is more important in reducing the urban-rural income disparity,but its effect is weakened with the increase of railway accessibility.In the western region,railway accessibility has a larger effect on narrowing the urban-rural income disparity,and this effect is strengthened by the increase of highway accessibility.We conclude that improving transportation accessibility is conducive to reducing the urban-rural income disparity but its effect is spatial heterogenetic.Highways and railways should be developed in a coordinated manner to promote an integrated transport network system.

Prevalence of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Heart Diseases within the Urban and Rural Communities of the Town of Bougouni and Its Surroundings (Southern Mali): A Comparative Study

In Mali, few studies have been conducted on the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and diseases according to place of residence. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of risk factors and cardiovascular diseases according to residents in town of Bougouni and its rural area (southern Mali). Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study from February 2019 to March 2024. All patients who visited the “CENTRE MEDICAL DE BOUGOUNI” clinic with known or suspected heart disease during the study period were included. Data were collected from medical records. Incomplete or unusable records were excluded. Data were processed using SPS version 22 software. Results: we included 452 patients with an average age of 50 ± 19 years. High blood pression has been found in 42.70% of cases, with higher prevalence in urban areas (47.01%) than in rural areas (41.50%). Diabetes and smoking were found respectively 5.31% and 8.19% in our population. The prevalence of diabetes was higher in urban areas (5.97%) than rural area (5.35%). smoking prevalence was higher in rural areas (8.49%) than urban areas (6.72%). Alcoholism was found in 2.21% of cases with a little difference between rural area (2.24%) and urban area (2.20%). 31.63% of our patients had no cardiovascular factor. Dyspnea was the reason of consultation in 5.75% of cases and atypical precordialgia in 13.72%. Headaches and dizziness in 8.63% of cases and 21.90% of patients presented other non-specific symptoms. Diagnosis of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy was found in 23.45% of cases with higher prevalence in rural areas (28.30%) than urban areas (13.43%). Ischaemic heart disease accounted for 9.29% of cases with a higher prevalence in rural areas (10.38%) than in urban areas (6.71%). PPCMs accounted for 5.98% of cases, with a slight increase in urban areas (6.66%) compared with rural areas (5.68%). Rheumatic valvulopathy accounted for 2.21% of cases;2.84% in rural areas and 0.74% in urban areas. Other valvular diseases accounted for 3.76% of cases;4.73% in rural areas and 1.48% in urban areas. Right heart diseases accounted for 3.98% of cases and stroke for 1.77%. Conclusion: The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and heart diseases is high in the rural and urban population of the town of Bougouni and its surroundings (Mali). Excepted smoking, the prevalence of other CV risk factors is higher in urban areas, whereas the prevalence of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic heart disease is higher in rural areas. These data could serve as a basis for developing tailored preventive strategies, depending on the place of residence.

The Impact of Urban and Rural Education Gap on Student Achievement Differences

With our country’s social development,the gap between urban and rural education has become increasingly obvious,especially the difference in student achievement.This study aims to explore the impact of the urban-rural education gap on student achievement.The study adopts a quantitative analysis method to collect and analyze the academic performance,learning resources,and social resources of urban and rural students.The results show that the unbalanced distribution of educational resources in urban and rural areas is the key factor leading to the gap in students’achievement.For example,urban education resources are abundant while rural education resources are relatively scarce.At the same time,the difference in social environment and family economic status also have a significant impact on student achievement.The differences between urban and rural areas,particularly in terms of family economic conditions and their ability to invest in education,further widen the gap between urban and rural education.The results of this study can provide a reference for reducing the gap between urban and rural education and improving the academic performance of rural students.A fair education policy is essential to narrow the gap between urban and rural education resources distribution,so as to improve the equality of education in society.

A Study on the Factors Influencing the Income Gap between Urban and Rural Areas Based on State-space Model

The increasingly widening income gap between urban and rural areas is affected by many factors. Using the stepwise regression analysis,we find that urbanization level,socio-economic development,education level,financial development scale and financial development efficiency have the greatest impact on the income gap between urban and rural areas. By cointegration test,it is found that there is a long-term equilibrium relationship between these five variables and the income gap between urban and rural areas. We build the state-space model to research the dynamic impact of these factors on the income gap between urban and rural areas. The results show that by improving the level of urbanization,we can effectively narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas,while socio-economic development,the improvement of education level,expansion of financial development scale and financial development efficiency all significantly expand the income gap between urban and rural areas.

The Exploration to the Historical Origin of Differences between Urban and Rural Areas in China

In order to understand the historical origins of encircling the cities from the rural areas implemented by the Communist Party of China and the current dual structures of urban and rural development, urban-rural differences are analyzed from the four aspects of production mode, management mode, culture and social division of labor. Industrial development in modern times has promoted the modernization of urban production in China. But the rural areas still maintain their traditional self-sufficient natural economy. After the Opium War, the process of modernization of city politics is promoted by more economic elements of capitalism and the formation of Chinese bourgeoisie. During the management of urban modernization, rural areas still adopt the traditional self-management mode. In the aspect of culture, city is the center of development, having large population, developed traffic, and prosperous culture. But the village is lack of information and its culture is relatively backward. In modern times, affected by the foreign capitalist, urban area has become the center of modern productivity. After separating from agriculture, handicraft industry has transferred into urban areas and the social division of labor in both urban and rural areas has shown great changes. Thus, a new pattern of "Urban Industry, Rural Agriculture" has formed.

Thinkings on Narrowing the Music Education Gap Between Urban and Rural Areas--On the Case of the Urban and Rural Music Education in Gaocheng, Hebei Province

Nowadays, the development of quality education has always been attached great importance in China, of which the music education has been an important part. However, serious polarization of the urban and rural basic music education leads to all sorts of differences, thus seriously affecting the overall improvement of quality of all people. To find out the problems and the reasons of the backward in rural basic music education, this paper makes an analysis of the differences between urban and rural basic education development through a survey and a study of basic situation in music education of urban and rural elementary school in Gaocheng, Hebei province, and then puts forward thinkings and suggestions about narrowing the urban-rural music education gap on the basis of the analysis of internal and extemal problems.

Gap between Urban and Rural Economic Development in Less Developed Areas——A Case of Northern Jiangsu Area,China

Taking northern Jiangsu area as an example,economic disparity between urban and rural areas is described according to the data in 2000-2009 Jiangsu Statistical Yearbook.Result shows that there are significant differences in the rural and urban economic development in less developed areas,which are mainly reflected in the differences in per capita income,living standard,and Engel coefficient.Reasons for urban and rural economic disparity in less developed areas are analyzed.The asymmetry and immobility of rural and urban resources have objectively caused the income gap between urban and rural residents;urban industrial development,which is faster than agricultural development,has widened the income gap between urban and rural residents;and the differences in comparative labor productivity in rural and urban areas have enlarged their income gap.Countermeasures to minimize the urban and rural economic development gap are put forward,such as deepening the reform,realizing the free flow of economic resources between urban and rural areas,developing rural areas through urban development,exerting the function of urban areas in the coordinated development of urban and rural areas,paying attention to the agriculture and rural areas,and improving the comparative labor productivity of agriculture.

Research on the Harmonious Development of New Rural Communities under the Perspective of Balancing Urban and Rural Areas

On the basis of offering a definition of New Rural Communities (NRCs), the paper analyzes the values of New Rural Communities and argues that the construction of NRCs is able to contribute to the enhancement of the comprehensive agricultural production capability as well as the development of social productivity. Meanwhile the incomes of the rural residents can be boosted, which denotes the realization of a harmonious society where the achievements of China's reform and development are shared by each citizen. Moreover, the construction of NRCs facilitates the economization of land use and thus improves the overall living standard of the residents, while helping to cut the administrative cost and promote democracy at the primary level. This paper also points out various problems arising during the construction of NRCS in China: blindly following suit in accordance with the modes of the urban communities; lack of funds, which leads to the absence of the supporting mechanisms of NRCs; vague positioning and the ensuing shortage of impetus for continued development. Finally, the paper raises the corresponding measures and suggestions: first, based on reality, make overall planning and scientific arrangement; second, the government should play the dominant role while respecting the principal position of the rural residents and introducing the market mechanism; third, increase science and technology input and attach equal importance to economic and social benefits; fourth, broaden fund-raising channels while completing the supervision mechanism.

An Empirical Analysis on the Impact of Rural Financial Development on the Income Gap between Urban and Rural Residents in Heilongjiang Province

The high-quality development of rural finance is an important support for rural revitalization.In recent years,it continuously expands the investment in rural finance in Heilongjiang Province,and optimizes the rural financial service system and mechanism.The overall income level and living conditions of rural residents have been significantly improved,but there still exists income gap between urban and rural residents.Therefore,based on analyzing and combing current situation and problems of rural financial development and urban-rural income gap in Heilongjiang Province,multiple linear regression model is used to study the impact of rural financial development on the income gap between urban and rural residents in Heilongjiang Province.The research results show that the scale of rural financial development in Heilongjiang Province will enlarge the income gap between urban and rural residents,while rural financial development efficiency and urbanization level reduce income gap between urban and rural residents in Heilongjiang Province.Based on the above conclusions,some policy suggestions to promote the equalization of urban and rural income in Heilongjiang Province are puts forward in this paper.

Fiscal Expenditure and Income Gap between Urban and Rural Residents: An Empirical Study Based on Malmquist Index and Spatial Econometrics

Based on the analysis methods of non-parametric Malmquist index and spatial econometrics as well as the provincial panel data in 2007-2010, this paper estimates the efficiency of fiscal expenditure from local governments in china in terms of reducing the income gap between urban and rural residents for the first time and evaluates the spatial correlation and heterogeneity of this efficiency. The results have shown that the fiscal expenditure of most provinces is of low efficiency in reducing the income gap between urban and rural residents, and the expenditure efficiency of local governments is not relevant to their levels of economic development. Besides, the efficiency on reducing the urban-rural income gap between different regions of China has a tendency of convergence. But this is mainly reflected inside the regional economic belt. There is significant difference between the efficiency of each economic belt. The central region has the highest efficiency in a rising trend, the western region has the lowest efficiency in a downward trend, while the eastern region is relatively stable.

Mutual Conversion of Land Use between Urban and Rural Area in the Process of Urbanization: A Case Study of Shandong Province

Urbanization is one of the driving forces for the land use change in type and structure, and its prominent effect is to convert rural land to urban land. This paper takes Shan-dong Province as an example to analyze the current situation of the mutual conversion between the urban and rural areas from the aspects of the structure of land use, the decreasing tendency of the cultivated land, the changes of land use in urban and rural residential areas. It points out that cultivated land is converted to residential area land, industrial and/or mining area land. The relationship between the urban area land and the cultivated land is more direct; meanwhile, the changes of rural residential area lag behind obviously. The decrease of the cultivated land and the decline of soil quality will be the two difficult problems in the process of urbanization.

Heavy Metals Accumulation in Trees Grown in Urban and Rural Areas

Since heavy metals are the big concerns for the public health today. Metals play a vital role as structural and functional components of proteins and enzymes in cell. The most important pathway of metals to transport into human is from soil to plant to human, so this study was carried out to measure the contents of heavy metals concentrations in plants leaves from their natural habitats of urban and rural area in Nasiriyah city, Iraq. The study was conducted to investigate the heavy metals content of four plant species of Eucalyptus, Olea, Zizphus and Conocarpus from urban (Nasiriyah city) and rural area (farms north of Nasiriyah). The concentration of heavy metals was tested, including the zinc, copper and lead. Heavy metals were detected using an atomic absorption spectrometer. The results showed that the highest concentration of heavy metals in Olea leaves and Eucalyptus leaves were found from the urban areas. Zn was the most dominant metal whereas Pb had the lowest concentration for all urban and rural area. Among the Eucalyptus, Olea, Zizphus and Conocarpus studied, showed higher heavy metals concentration (Zn, Cu and Pb) than rural area. The results indicated that the Zizphus and Conocarpus leaves of urban and rural area had the lowest heavy metals content compared with Eucalyptus and Olea. The results suggested that Eucalyptus and Olea leaves are good sources to treat the pollution of heavy metals. Our study provides a detailed examination of habitat location and plant species effects on potential of heavy metals in trees.

Design and Study on Management Tools of Land Data Center for Integration of Urban and Rural Areas

The rapid development of urbanization requires land management business should change the former single systematic pattern, and advance to integration of functions and data sharing. In order to meets the requirement, this paper presents a new thinking for land management pattern, and management tools of data center for integration of urban and rural areas. The tools were based on MapGIS, which have made the management of multi-subjects, multi-areas, multi-sources and multi-measurement data possible. The techniques of this system are designed accord with national related standard. Experimental result shows that the tools have obvious technical advantage in land resource business integration management.

The relationship between rural surplus labor transfer,urbanization and income gap

Based on the time series data of Shandong province from 2001 to 2018,a VAR model consisting of three variables,namely,rural surplus labor transfer,urbanization and urban-rural income gap,was constructed,and the interaction among the three variables and their characteristics were empirically analyzed.The results show that urbanization and rural surplus labor transfer are Granger causation to each other,and there is a positive correlation between urban-rural income gap and rural surplus labor force in long-term equilibrium,while there is a negative correlation between urban-rural income gap and rural surplus labor force transfer.Therefore,it is necessary to fully recognize the relationship between the transfer of rural surplus labor,urbanization and urban-rural income gap,accelerate the urbanization construction,promote the rural surplus labor to gather in cities,and gradually narrow the urban-rural income gap.

Income Gap Between Urban and Rural Residents in Guangxi on the Impact of Agricultural Development

The gap between urban and rural incomes in Guangxi is increasing year by year in a rising tendency,which resulted in agricultural development impact cannot be ignored.Such impact on agricultural development was analyzed from three aspects:agricultural development fund,farmland and food problems and labor force flow.The following problems were found:capitals flew to non-agricultural industry,which resulted in deficiency of agricultural development fund;farmland reduced and the problem of food supply was highlighted;labor force in rural areas emigrated,the price of agricultural products rose up.Related policies were offered:to strengthen the financial support;to speed up utilization of abundant labor force;to motivate farmers' enthusiasm in food production;to increase investment in farmers' endowment insurance and retirement pension in rural areas.

An Empirical Study of the Relationship between the Fixed Assets Investment and Urban-rural Income Gap during the Transition Period

As the gap in income between urban and rural residents bigger and bigger,based on the data from 1978 to 2007,this paper makes an empirical study of the dynamic relation between the fixed assets investment and the difference in income between urban and rural residents. The outcome from the study indicates a long-term balance exists between the investment rate of the fixed assets and the difference in income between urban and rural residents. A short-term deviation from the balance can be adjusted through long time. To a certain extent,city-oriented fixed assets investment policy is the main cause of the big gap in income between urban and rural residents. The big gap in income between urban and rural residents in turn reinforces their social status,thus further strengthening the city-oriented instead of countryside-oriented fixed assets investment policy. Based on that,this paper puts forward some suggestions on adjusting the fixed assets investment policy so as to shorten the difference in income between urban and rural residents and realize the goal of harmonious development between city and countryside.

A Research on the Threshold Effect of Credit Rationingupon the Urban-rural Income Gap in Rural Areas

在剖析了信贷配给与城乡收入差距之间作用机制的基础上,论文构建了信贷配给与城乡收入差距的面板门槛模型,选取3 1 个省市1987年- 201 3年的省级面板数据,运用面板门槛模型估计方法,实证分析信贷配给对城乡收入差距的影响,并且从区域层面进行了比较分析.结果显示：降低信贷配给程度有助于缓解城乡收入差距,而从东部、中部、西部三大区域的实证结果来看,各地区的信贷配给程度的提升对城乡收入差距的扩大有不同程度的影响.最后根据研究结果,提出降低各地区农业信贷配给程度的措施,从而达到缩小城乡收入差距的目的.

Analyzing land use characteristics of rural settlements on the urban fringe of Liangjiang New Area, Chongqing, China

The objective of this paper is to analyze land use characteristics of rural settlements in urban fringe so as to provide references for optimizing the regional distribution of rural settlements, consolidating rural settlements, and coordinating urban-rural integrated development. The methods of spatial statistical analysis, buffer analysis, Ripley's K function, kernel density analysis based on GIS(Geographic Information System) were used to analyze the characteristics of scale, spatial differentiation and spatial patterns of the rural settlements in Liangjiang New Area in Chongqing Municipality of China. The fractal dimension formula was also developed to reflect fractal feature of the rural settlements. The results show that, the scale of rural settlements in Liangjang New Area takes on distinct characteristics of spatial differentiation along with changes in elevation, gradient, location, geohazards distribution, and the like. The fractal characteristic of rural settlements has obvious regional variations subject to the 6 factors of location in the Liangjiang New Area. Overall, the worse the terrain conditions are, the larger the fractal dimension values become. The better the locationconditions, the larger the fractal dimension values are. The spatial pattern in the township scale presents three kinds of distribution as being aggregated, uniform and random. In contract, the spatial pattern in the plaque scale displays a banding distribution from a general view with several aggregation zones centering on each town center. From the results, we can see that the characteristics of rural settlements in urban fringe are more complicated. For such kind of rural settlements in special regions, in the rural land consolidation more attention should be paid to improve the rural living environments and public services, as well as to promote the harmonious relationship between the urban and rural areas.

Influencing Factors for Formation of Urban and Rural Spatial Structure in Metropolis Fringe Area——Taking Shuangliu County of Chengdu in China as a Case

With rapid urbanization process, the pace of urban sprawl has been quickened and most metropolises have ex-perienced expansions in leaps and bounds in suburbanization, which has greatly changed the urban and rural spatial struc-ture of the metropolis fringe area. In this paper, Shuangliu County is taken as a case, since it is a typical fringe area of Chengdu Metropolis. Based on Landsat TM images of Chengdu City and Shuangliu County obtained in 1985, 2000 and 2004, characteristics of urban and rural spatial structure in Shuangliu County were analyzed, such as core-periphery spa-tial structure and some obvious integration trends. Then the influencing factors for the formation of urban and rural spatial structure were identified, including some natural, social, economic and political factors. According to the discussion of this paper, Shuangliu County is undergoing a key transition and reform period. Its formation of urban and rural spatial structure was affected not only by such common factors as the location, natural background, industrial transition, migra-tion, etc., but also by some unique factors such as city planning and policy guidance, which played an important role in accelerating its uneven spatial structure. The understanding of the role of the influencing factors would be useful for car-rying out spatial management and development planning of metropolis fringe area.