A New Approach to Measurement of Regional Inequality in Particular Directions

Regional inequality is a core issue in geography,and it can be measured by several approaches and indexes.However,the global inequality measures can not reflect regional characteristics in terms of spatiality and non-mobility,as well as correctly explore regional inequality in particular directions.Although conventional between-group inequality indexes can measure the inequality in particular directions,they can not reflect the reversals of regional patterns and changes of within-group patterns.Therefore,we set forth a new approach to measure regional inequality in particular directions,which is applicable to geographic field.Based on grouping,we established a new index to measure regional inequality in particular directions named Particular Direction Inequality index(PDI index),which is comprised of between-group inequality of all data and between-group average gap.It can reflect regional spatiality and non-mobility,judge the main direction of regional inequality,and capture the changes and reversals of regional patterns.We used the PDI index to measure the changes of regional inequality from 1952 to 2009 in China.The results show that:1) the main direction of China's regional inequality was between coastal areas and inland areas;the increasing extent of inequality between coastal areas and inland areas was higher than the global inequality;2) the PDI index can measure the between-region average gap,and is more sensitive to evolution of within-region patterns;3) the inequality between the northern China and the southern China has been decreasing from 1952 to 2009 and was reversed in 1994 and 1995.

The Convergence Analysis of Chinese Regional Inequality

Based on the convergence theory, this paper discusses Chinese regional economic inequality among 30 provinces, which are divided into three groups, that is, Traditional Advanced Regions group, New Advanced Regions group and Less Developed Regions group. It is verified that regional income growth does not present absolute beta convergence or sigma convergence, but presents conditional beta convergence from 1978 to 2003. Those economic policies of reform and opening-up to the outside world are provided with regionally heterogeneous characteristics and are powerful enough to influence regional performance in growth.

Does digitalization mitigate regional inequalities?Evidence from China

Regional inequality significantly influences sustainable development and human well-being.In China,there exists pronounced regional disparities in economic and digital advancements;however,scant research delves into the interplay between them.By analyzing the economic development and digitalization gaps at regional and city levels in China,extending the original Cobb-Douglas production function,this study aims to evaluate the impact of digitalization on China's regional inequality using seemingly unrelated regression.The results indicate a greater emphasis on digital inequality compared to economic disparity,with variable coefficients of 0.59 for GDP per capita and 0.92 for the digitalization index over the past four years.However,GDP per capita demonstrates higher spatial concentration than digitalization.Notably,both disparities have shown a gradual reduction in recent years.The southeastern region of the Hu Huanyong Line exhibits superior levels and rates of economic and digital advancement in contrast to the northwestern region.While digitalization propels economic growth,it yields a nuanced impact on achieving balanced regional development,encompassing both positive and negative facets.Our study highlights that the marginal utility of advancing digitalization is more pronounced in less developed regions,but only if the government invests in the digital infrastructure and education in these areas.This study's methodology can be utilized for subsequent research,and our findings hold the potential to the government's regional investment and policy-making.

Regional Inequality of Higher Education in China and the Role of Unequal Economic Development

Over the past decade the scale of higher education in China has expanded substantially.Regional development policies have attempted to make use of scale expansion as a tool to reduce inequality of higher education among regions with different development levels by providing poor regions with preferential treatment and support.This paper analyzes a provincial dataset(1997-2008),aiming to provide comprehensive quantitative evidence for the development of inequality of opportunity in higher education across provinces in China over the period of scale expansion.Results show that,for higher education,regional inequality relative to provincial population size clearly decreased over the research period.Accompanying the reduction in overall inequality across provinces,inequality between poor and rich regions actually increased over the same period.However,the increase was realized in favor of the poor region.The empirical results are consistent with the policy orientation of reforming the higher education system and of promoting regional development in China over the past decade.

Regional Inequality of Higher Education Resources in China

With the expansion of the higher education system in China since the late 1990s,questions on the distribution of higher education opportunities and resources have attracted increasing attention from academics,policymakers,and the general public.While there have been an increasing studies on the development of higher education opportunity equality in China,quantitative,systematic research on the distribution of higher education resources across China is still rather limited.This paper aims at filling this gap.It provides quantitative and comprehensive evidence on the development of the distribution of higher education resources across Chinese provinces.The analysis is based on a provincial panel dataset and uses a generalized Theil index to measure inequality.Results show that higher education resources have been far from equally provided in relation to the size of provincial student populations in China.The unequal distribution has become even more pronounced over the past decade.In other words,even if high school students have an increasingly equal access to higher education in China(Bickenbach&Liu,2013b),the increasingly unequal distribution of higher education resources makes it difficult for university students to equally benefit from higher education.

Positional goods and the challenge of Chinese regional inequality

Scholars have focussed on income inequality as a major source of social instability.But the focus on crude income inequality has masked the deeper developmental problem facing many fast-growing economies.China is an extreme case of this issue inasmuch as its coastal regions can be viewed as comparable to middle income states,while the greater part of its rural and west-erm areas would be comparable to the poorer nations of the world.That means that the new middle class pays attention to issues such as pollution and status or positional goods than simple material goods.Construction costs of houses are in particular less than location.Other status goods are similar because they are not amenable to simple productivity improvement.This will make policies more difficult as conflict increases between those areas who are still eager for basic economic development and those richer areas whose wants and needs start to more closely resemble the preferences of richer developed countries.

An Evaluation on the Effects of the Policy of the Great Campaign of Western Development of China in the First 10 Years Based on the Kuznets Regional Inverted-U Theory

In order to reduce the regional differentials or narrow the gap in economic development between eastern and western areas and prevent the intensification of contradictions resulting from the regional inequality during the development process, the government of China launched the Great Campaign of Western Development （GCWD） in 2000. In this paper, we will evaluate the effects of the first 10 years＇ GCWD and use the latest Chinese annual data from 1978 to 2010 to investigate the problem of regional differentials in the development process, evaluate the effects of GCWD policy and test whether there is a regional Kuznets inverted-U curve in the regional development of China. The result shows that there are both good and bad news： the good news is that the inverted U-shaped curve of absolute differential between eastern and western areas finally emerges （the previous studies showed that the inverted-U curve did not appear and the differentials between eastern and western areas became worse） and the bad news is that the differential is in the first half of the inverted U-shaped curve in our choice of time span （1978-2010）, that is, it is still in the situation of deterioration, and the turning better point will emerge in 2025. Although the western areas have benefitted from GCWD, the absolute gap has been still widened. To narrow the gap, the western areas should accelerate the industrial development and the government should adjust the policy and make more efforts to support the development of the industry in the western areas, especially cultivate and support the development of the western characteristic and advantageous industry rather than just supporting the construction of infrastructure in the western areas.

A Cross-Cultural Initiative： Engaging China＇s Middle Class

This study provides an evaluation of China＇s growing middle class, the new consumers for world economies and estimated to be 300-500 million people. By using internal analysis of market and nonmarket variables, we detail how the future growth rate of the middle class is dependent on three issues： domestic consumption trends of Generation Y in China, the valued opportunity of the science and technology industry, and the importance of maintaining a strong work force able to increase productivity. In particular, we discuss market demands from Generation Y, products best suited for Chinese consumers, and the effect social-economic inequalities in Western China will have on development measures of the middle class. Based on data collection, interviews, library research and econometric analyses, we show how these above issues will continue to influence consumer behavior, reform policies, and the growth of the middle class in China. It is important to note that economic growth and prosperity in China will only continue if the national government and private institutions, along with the international agendas of other countries, are in balance, and not excess, of the resources and capabilities available for desired growth levels.

China's Regional Disparity and Its Policy Responses

The fruits of China＇s rapid economic development over the 3 decades have not been distributed fairly across different regions. Using data from a sample of 815 Chinese listed firrns during 1998-2004, our error-correction investment model showes evidence of different financial constraints on firms＇ investment in different regions. We argue that China＇s regional development policies have contributed greatly to the regional inequalities. To control the rising inequality, China has shifted its focus from the coast to the interior regions. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for the government to direct the economy, as market mechanisms now have afar greater influence on the economy than the government does. The people-centered approach of the current leadership has meant that substantial attention has been placed on regional development disparities in an attempt to build a ＂harmonious society. ＂ China needs further extensive reforms if all the measures for reducing regional disparity are to be effective.

Regional differences in the health status of Chinese residents:2003–2013

Health inequality is an increasing concern worldwide. Using the coefficient of varia- tion, Theil index, exploratory spatial data analysis, and spatial panel econometric model, we examined the regional inequality, spatio-temporal dynamic patterns, and key factors in the health status of Chinese residents from 2003 to 2013. We found that China＇s residential health index （RHI） decreased from 0.404 to 0.295 in 2003-2013 at an annual rate of 2.698%. Spatially, resident health status, based on the RHI, has improved faster in the western region than in the eastern and central regions. Inequality in resident health status continued to in- crease between 2003 and 2013; inequality between regions decreased, but health status inequality expanded within regions. Furthermore, disparities in health status grew faster in western regions than in the eastern and central regions. The spatial distribution of resident health status formed a ＂T-shaped＂ pattern across China, decreasing from east to center then to the west with a symmetric decrease north and south. Using the change in Moran＇s / from 2003 to 2008 and 2013, we found that the distribution of resident health status across China has narrowed. All the hot spots and cold spots have decreased, but they are also stable. Resident health status formed a stable cold spot in the western regions, while the east coastal area formed a stable hot spot. Selected explanatory variables have significant direct impacts on resident health status in China： increasing per capita GDP, per capita spending on health, and urbanization, and improving environmental quality all lead to better resident health status. Finally, we highlight the need for additional research on regional inequality of resident health status across multiple time, spatial, and factor domains.