Innovation Analysis of Rural Agricultural Economic Management Model in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative

[Objectives]To explore innovative strategies for rural agricultural economic development in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative.[Methods]This research adopts the method of literature review and field research,systematically combs the research results related to the Belt and Road Initiative and rural agricultural economic management,and deeply understands the actual situation of rural agricultural economic management.[Results]The research shows that in the context of the Belt and Road Initiative,the rural agricultural economy is facing new development opportunities and challenges,but there are also some problems.In the new period,we should accelerate the innovative development of rural agricultural economy by promoting market-oriented reform,strengthening scientific and technological innovation,optimizing the industrial structure,deepening international cooperation and other measures.The Belt and Road Initiative provides an important opportunity for the innovation of rural agricultural economic management.Rural agricultural economic management should be actively integrated into the Belt and Road construction to improve the level of rural agricultural economic management.[Conclusions]This study provides useful exploration and reference for the innovation of rural agricultural economic management models,which helps to promote the healthy development of rural agricultural economy and achieve the goal of rural revitalization.

The Value of Rural Access Roads: The Case Study of Chepyuk and Mitira Wards in Bungoma and Kirinyaga Counties

In this paper we assess the impact of road network on rural regions development using a case study of Chepyuk and Mitira wards. The two case study areas were selected owing to their comparable agro ecological conditions but different political orientation. The wards have identical agro economic activities due to their similarity in climatic and ecological conditions. Household incomes earned from agricultural enterprises and bid rent per unit area of land are used as indicators of development. The condition of road network is used as an indicator of accessing the rural regions in various seasons of the year. The study provides evidence of the economic advantages associated with better market access, primarily due to the good road infrastructure in Mitira compared to Chepyuk. The good road condition is advantageous to Mitira ward residents allowing them to access other markets hence improving the farm gate value of their products. On the other hand, the prices for Chepyuk products are cheap due to constrained market access necessitated by the poor road condition. For instance, the average price of a liter of milk in Chepyuk ward is Kshs.36.65 compared to Mitira where it goes at Kh.55.08. It therefore implies in Chepyuk milk has to be sold at lower price since access to alternative markets is constrained by poor road condition. The disparity in the road network quality has been occasioned by investment policy by both colonial and consecutive post-independence governments which have given preference to the region where Mitira region is located. This is against the constitutional requirement which proposes an equalization fund for infrastructure development to regions lagging behind in terms of development.

A Novel Network Screening Methodology for Rural Low-Volume Roads

Low-volume roads (LVRs) are an integral part of the rural transportation network providing access to remote rural areas and facilitating the movement of goods from farms to markets. These roads pose unique challenges for highway agencies including those related to safety management on the highway network. Specifically, traditional network screening methods using crash history can be effective in screening rural highways with higher traffic volumes and more frequent crashes. However, these traditional methods are often ineffective in screening LVR networks due to low traffic volumes and the sporadic nature of crash occurrence. Further, many of the LVRs are owned and operated by local agencies that may lack access to detailed crash, traffic and roadway data and the technical expertise within their staff. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and practical network screening approaches to facilitate safety management programs on these roads. This study proposes one such approach which utilizes a heuristic scoring scheme in assessing the level of risk/safety for the purpose of network screening. The proposed scheme is developed based on the principles of US Highway Safety Manual (HSM) analysis procedures for rural highways and the fundamentals in safety science. The primary application of the proposed scheme is for ranking sites in network screening applications or for comparing multiple improvement alternatives at a specific site. The proposed approach does not require access to detailed databases, technical expertise, or exact information, making it an invaluable tool for small agencies and local governments (e.g. counties, townships, tribal governments, etc.).

The Supply-Demand Analysis and Mechanism Innovation of Chinese Rural Public Goods

The connotation of rural public goods is expounded.The rural public goods refer to the products and labors that satisfy the production and living of rural residents,economic growth and social progress.The rural public goods is characterized by non-excludability,non-competitiveness and indispensability of other general public goods.The supply situation of Chinese government to rural public goods is analyzed,as well as the demand situation of rural public goods,which includes farmers' demand on training,the assistance demand of rural weak groups,farmers' demand on comfortable living conditions and farmers' demand on "soft" public goods.The paths for innovating the supply mechanism of rural public goods are put forward,which cover perfecting the decision mechanism of public goods supply;scientifically distributing the supply responsibility of rural public goods;facilitating the reform of each supporting equipment and exploring the multiple capital collecting channels of rural public goods.

The Theoretical Foundation and its Mode Transformation of Rural Public Goods Supply in the Perspective of Organizational Competition

Theoretical expositions of public goods supply by the liberalism,new institutionalism and the school of public choice are conducted in the perspective of organizational competition.And the theoretical foundation of rural public goods is put forward.Then,the changes of the supply mode of rural public goods are discussed before and after the tax reform,that is,the "Community Cooperation" supply mode of rural public goods before the tax reform and the "Organization Cooperation" supply mode of rural public goods after the tax reform.Finally,the diversification of rural public goods supply in China in future is forecasted.

High-Risk Rural Road Safety Study and Determining the Crash-Reduction Factors for High-Risk Rural-Road Usage

More than 32,000 motorists are killed on U.S. roads and streets annually, and approximately 54% of the accidents occur on rural roads. In an attempt to address and reduce these fatalities, the current transportation act, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equality Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETY-LU), elevated the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) to a core program and included a $90,000,000 High-Risk Rural Road Program (HRRRP) to address and significantly reduce traffic fatalities and incapacitating injuries on rural major or minor collectors, and/or rural local roads. While there were many challenges to properly implement the HRRRP in counties, this study provided important information that was needed to identify the predominant crash types on HRRRP-eligible roads and compiled a list of countermeasures for the predominant crash types that were identified on Kansas’ high-risk rural roads. For the gathered countermeasures, crash reduction factors (CRFs) were also provided from the literature review, and their values were validated by conducting interviews with Kansas county engineers/officials. This study provided valuable information for the county engineers and local government officials while they worked on improving the safety of high-risk rural roads using HRRRP funds.

Improvement of Rural Human Settlements and Rural Planning Strategies From the Perspective of Public Goods

Rural human settlements cover the environment and facilities related to rural production, life and ecology, and belong to the category of rural public goods. Due to the long-term implementation of the strategy of giving priority to the development of cities, the supply of rural public goods in China has been in a state of inadequacy. From the perspective of public goods supply, rural human settlement projects can be divided into three categories: public welfare projects, quasi-public welfare projects and operational projects. Because of its particularity and complexity, quasi-public welfare projects often become weak links in rural human settlements. We should give full play to the respective advantages of the government, enterprises and village collectives, and work together to promote the effective supply of rural public goods. In this process, rural planning should shoulder the responsibility as a means of public policy and governance. Rural planning needs to clearly define the future-oriented rural system, pay attention to peopleoriented facility needs, and provide a variety of services. Through guiding rural construction and allocating public resources, the countryside planning will be an important part of rural revitalization strategy.

Study on Problems and Countermeasures of Rural Public Goods Supplying System

In current China, the main problem existing in the rural public goods supplying system is the unbalanced condition of public goods supply, and the chief reason for which is unitary system of supply main body. Thus the leading countermeasure for comer of public goods supply is to reform the present unitary rural public goods supplying system, to strengthen functional transfer of rural grass-roots directive organization, to adopt diversified mode and provide public goods on the base of overall planning of urban and rural areas and to implement unitary and diversified supplying strategy. In this way, supplying efficiency of the rural public goods will be improved.

Difficulties in Implementing Supply Mechanism of Rural Public Goods in the Context of Urban-rural Integration

Through in-depth interviews and questionnaires,we take Mianyang City,Aba Prefecture,and Suining City in Sichuan Province as the study object,to analyze the relationship between the basic situation of farmers and the supply mechanism implementation of rural public goods.The research results show that the younger the farmers,the higher the educational level,the higher the annual household income,and the higher the enthusiasm in participating the discussion of the supply of rural public goods.And the correlation between farmers'annual household income and participation in the supply of public goods is the highest.Finally corresponding countermeasures and proposals are put forth based on farmers' educational level and annual household income,the two difficulties in supply mechanism implementation of rural public goods.

The Rural Elite and the Supply of Public Goods in Rural Areas

Based on the theory of collective action and social capital theory,social capital is introduced into the game analysis of the supply of public goods between the rural elite and ordinary villagers.I establish the income model of public goods utility concerning the rural elite and ordinary villagers;research the incentive of social capital for the rural elite and villagers,and impact of social capital on the rural elite and villagers.Three inferences can be drawn from the model:the precondition for the elite to prompt the collective cooperation is having " good reputation" ;" good reputation" of the elite in the supply of public goods can abate farmers' motive of " free rider" ;the role of the elite in organizing the supply of public goods can save the transaction costs in the process of collective action.Taking the case of Shunhe Village,Panyu District,Guangzhou City,I explain this model.Finally,some policy recommendations are put forth as follows:rebuilding the community credit;giving full play to the role of the rural elite in the supply of public goods in rural areas.

Innovation of Adult Education Supply in Rural Areas from the Aspect of Rural Public Goods——A Case Study of Quzhou City,Zhejiang Province,China

Status of rural adult education in Quzhou City is analyzed from three aspects of supply main body,supply method and fund source.Problems in the rural adult education in Quzhou City are pointed out.Firstly,the top-down supply decision model can not fully meet the needs of farmers.Secondly,education resources can not be best allocated.Thirdly,both rural labor force market and employment service are not perfect.In order to promote the development of rural adult education,the education supply mode of rural adults should be established,which is "supplied by the government,coordinated by the government,participated by the society,operated according to market mechanisms".This needs to set up the leading position of government,to establish the pattern of diversified main bodies of adult education supply in rural areas,and to construct the market operation mechanism driven by interests.

Demand of Rural Public Goods in Western Ethnic Minority Areas

In the context of Development of the West Regions and the construction of new countryside,on the basis of defining the concept of public goods,this article analyzes the status quo and layers of demand of rural public goods in western ethnic minority areas:the demand of rural public goods in ethnic minority areas shows "pyramid" structure,that is,the most basic layer is production-based rural public goods,followed by life-based rural public goods and democratic-management-based rural public goods.Finally the countermeasures for achieving effective demand of rural public goods are put forward as follows:adhere to customers(farmers)-oriented principle;innovate upon the rural residents' demand expression mechanism of public goods in ethnic minority areas;achieve diversification of supply subject of rural public goods in ethnic minority areas.

Structural Design of Asphalt Pavement for Low Cost Rural Roads

On the basis of the equivalent axle load action frequency, the traffic classifications of rural roads as well as their corresponding types are classified. The asphalt pavement structure, road surface types and thickness of the rural roads are suggested for the various action frequency of the equivalent axle load. Furthermore, the roadbase thickness graphs are provided according to different equivalent axle load action frequency with different roadbed modulus and road surface modulus taken into account.

Sustainable Maintenance of Rural Roads in Slovakia

Systematic approach to the maintenance of rural road network is a very important issue from the viewpoint of public costs. Most countries developed custom PMS （pavement management systems） based on deterministic or probabilistic approach. The main goal is to ensure safety and continuity of road traffic on road network with low intensity and lower technical requirements. Article presents PMS used for Slovakia rural road network based on road construction diagnostics, traffic volume, climate factors and evaluation of maintenance works economics effectives by using of software tools like HDM-4 developed by World Bank. Local road administrators of rural road networks often lack the software equipment, most PMS, however effective, are often cumbersome, demanding in regard to energy, know-how and software equipment. The majority of local road administrators of rural road networks thus resort to non-effective reactive maintenance strategies. This article describes an easy to use method, based on predetermined maintenance repair and rehabilitation standards. A simple method, based on road user cost, is introduced that administrator can use to prepare a list of road section eligible for repair according to their repair priority.

Rural Road Investment and Economic Growth

The relationship between rural road①systems and economic systems is interconnectedness.The stimulating effects of investments in rural road infrastructure can be divided into three stages:investment,use,and upgrading.This paper presents this three-stage model of rural road construction to explain the process of stimulating economic growth by investing in rural roads.The investment stage produces a multiplier effect as the investment stimulates the economy.The use stage promotes the development of industries,which determines the stimulation effects of the investment.The upgrading stage produces economic growth leading to the upgrading of additional infrastructure,which generates more investments and also has a multiplier effect.Finally,the total revenue from the three stages,minus their total costs,allows for the calculation of Net Present Value(NPV).The investments can be deemed effective if the NPV is greater than zero.

A New Road to Rural Prosperity

AT peak tourist season, 32-year-old Li Lianfen sees her husband and son just once a week. She has converted her home in Shicheng (Stone City) Village in Beijing’s Miyun County into an inn. City people come here to stay and enjoy the beauty and tran-quility of the mountains around her village. As she has no time to look after her son, he attends a primary school in the county seat 20 kilometers away. His father is a teacher at the middle school nearby. They both stay there in the accommodation provided.

Evaluation on the Efficiency and Fairness of Coordinating Public Goods Supply in Urban and Rural Areas

By setting the urban-rural public goods supply model,this paper evaluates the effects of coordinating supply public goods on resource allocation and welfare from efficiency and fairness,and examines the necessity and possibility of coordinating public goods supply in urban and rural areas. The model assumes that the population size of urban and rural areas is different,and the population can not flow freely between urban and rural areas; there are different degrees of spillover in the public goods supply. Model results show that coordinating public goods supply in urban and rural areas is the result of optimizing resource allocation efficiency,but the residents' individual utility level will not necessarily improve,so residents' willingness to support coordinated urban-rural supply is different,and public goods spillover and different tax systems are the factors that affect the residents' utility level. Finally,this paper uses the practice of coordinating urban and rural compulsory education in Chengdu City to confirm the above conclusions.

Contribution of Rural Roads to Access to-and Participation in Markets:Theory and Results from Northern Ethiopia

Road accessibility is considered to be one of the major factors influencing (or correlated to) rural households’ access to- and participation in markets. However, there are few studies that investigate this important topic. This paper, therefore, explores the issue from both theoretical and practical perspectives with household and village level data from Northern Ethiopia. It is generally assumed that road accessibility significantly contributes to both access to- and participation in markets by rural households. The results in this study, however, suggest that neither participation in major markets nor the amount of purchased agricultural inputs use are significantly different for households with respect to the degree of road accessibility in the study area. Nevertheless, the situation seems somewhat better in locations with good access to roads. On the other hand, the results in this study confirm that road accessibility significantly contributes to reducing farm gate prices of manufactured goods and increasing farm gate prices of agricultural goods.

Analysis of Public Goods Supply of New Generation Migrant Workers' Urban and Rural Double Marginalization

Status quo of urban and rural public goods supply in China is analyzed.Firstly,public goods supply in rural areas is inadequate,for example,inadequate supply of agricultural infrastructure,lack of expenditure in agricultural science and technology,problems of rural drinking water safety,problems of rural roads and transportation,low levels of health care,weak rural public culture,short supply of farmers' education.Secondly,the system and level of urban public goods provision can't meet migrant workers' demand,for example,less migrant workers are employed by the governments' direction;migrant workers are isolated by urban housing project and these workers have difficulty in receiving city social security.One reason of new generation migrant workers facing the double marginalization of rural and urban crisis is that urban and rural public goods supply are different in particular the inadequate supply of public goods in rural areas.Three countermeasures are put forward in order to relieve new generation migrant workers' double marginalization of urban and rural,which include increasing financial input in rural areas in order to achieve equalization of urban and rural public goods,perfecting the preferential agricultural policy to increase rural public goods supply,making urban public goods supply as a guide to promote the new generation migrant workers into the city.

An Unfortunate Patient's Good Luck——Story of a Rural Woman and a Pharmaceutical Company

Xi Jianying is unfortunate and fortunate at the same time. Now in her late 60s, the woman in Shandong Province, eastern China, has suffered an unknown pain in her head since young. She is fortunate in that for the past 20 years, a pharmaceutical company in Jinan, the provincial capital, has done everything it can to relieve her of the pain. Believe it or not, the Dongfeng (meaning East Wind) Pharmaceutical Factory has been producing a "miracle" medicine just for one patient, for Xi, who lives in a mountainous village on the suburbs of Tai’an City, in total disregard of the huge cost involved and the loss thus incurred.