The environmental impact caused by local people (ecological footprint of consumption, EFc) and the actual environmental impact that the ecosystem burdens (ecological footprint of production, EFp) in West Jilin Pro...The environmental impact caused by local people (ecological footprint of consumption, EFc) and the actual environmental impact that the ecosystem burdens (ecological footprint of production, EFp) in West Jilin Province, Northeast China from 1986 to 2006 were evaluated by using ecological footprint (EF) method. And the major driving forces of EFc and EFp were analyzed by STIRPAT model. Both EFc and EFp showed increasing trends in 1986-2006, accompanied by decreasing ecological deficits but expanding ecological overshoots. Population (P), GDP per capita (A1), quadratic term of GDP per capita (A2), urbanization (Tα1), and quadratic term of urbanization (Ta2) were important influencing factors of EFc, among which Tα2 and Tα1 were the most dominate driving forces of EFc. A1, A2 and Tα2 were important influencing factors of EFp, among which A2 and A1 were the most dominate driving forces of EFp. In 1986-2006, the classical Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis did not exist between A2 and EF (both EFc and EFp), but did between Tα2 and EF. The results indicate that enhancing the urbanization process and diversifying economic sources is one of the most effective ways to reduce the environmental impact of West Jilin Province. Moreover, importance should be attached to improve the eco-efficiency of resource exploitation and consumption.展开更多
In order to evaluate whether or not the county units′ economy in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan(Chang-Zhu-Tan) Urban Agglomeration was growing as expected, this study analyzed the spatial economy pattern at county-lev...In order to evaluate whether or not the county units′ economy in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan(Chang-Zhu-Tan) Urban Agglomeration was growing as expected, this study analyzed the spatial economy pattern at county-level by using the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis(ESDA) method. In this process, the global Moran′s I and local Getis-Ord G*i indexes were employed to analyze indicators including per capita GDP and three industrials(i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary industry) from 2000 to 2010. The results show that: 1) the county units′ economy in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration has exhibited a strong spatial autocorrelation and an accelerated integration trend since 2008(Moran′ s I increased from 0.26 to 0.56); 2) there is a significant difference in economy development between the northern and southern county units in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration: the hotspot zone with high economic level was formed among the northern county units whereas the coldspot zone with low economic level was located in the southern areas. This difference was caused primarily by the increasingly prominent economic radiation effect of Changsha ′upheaval′; 3) town density, secondary industry, and the integration policy are the major contributors driving the evolution of the spatial economy pattern in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration.展开更多
This paper principally focuses on land use dynamics,urban expansion and underlying driving forces in the Natural Wetland Distribution Area(NWDA)of Fuzhou City in the southeastern China.Based on time series Landsat TM/...This paper principally focuses on land use dynamics,urban expansion and underlying driving forces in the Natural Wetland Distribution Area(NWDA)of Fuzhou City in the southeastern China.Based on time series Landsat TM/ETM+imageries and historical data,relationships between urban land expansion and its influencing factors from 1989 to 2009 were analyzed by using an integrated approach of remote sensing(RS)and geographic information system(GIS)techniques.The results showed that built-up land increased from 151.16 km2in 1989 to 383.76 km 2in 2009. Approximately 64.25%of the newly emerging built-up land was converted from cropland(29.47%),forest and shrub (25.78%),water(3.73%),wetland(4.61%),and bare land(0.66%)during 1989 and 2009.With a remarkable decrease in cropland,the proportion of non-agricultural population increased by 23.6%.Moreover,rapid development of infrastructures,facilities,industrial parks,and urban and rural settlements along the Minjiang River resulted in the eastward and southward expansion of built-up land.Additionally,the growth pattern of built-up land in the NWDA is highly correlated with socio-economic factors,including the gross domestic product(GDP),GDP per capita,and structure of industry.As a result,the observed environmental degradation such as loss of cropland and wetland due to heavy pressure of rapid urbanization have greatly impaired the carrying capacity of city.Thus,in addition to scientific and rational policies towards minimizing the adverse effects of urbanization,coordination between the administrative agencies should be urgently strengthened to balance the conflicts between urban development and ecological conservation to make sure the sustainable land use.展开更多
Social capital has played an increasingly important role in regional development.China is a country with high stocks of social capital.Using several different indicators of social capital,this study tries to research ...Social capital has played an increasingly important role in regional development.China is a country with high stocks of social capital.Using several different indicators of social capital,this study tries to research the regional disparities in social capital and the influence of social capital on economic growth of China in 1978-2004.Measuring social capital with indicators of associations,charities and blood donation rates,this study finds significant regional disparities in social capital at provincial level in China.Those indicators for social capital are highly correlated with regional economic performance.Statistical analysis shows that social capital has a significant and positive effect on a long-term provincial economic growth.This relationship exists after controlling policy,macro location factors,and per capita GDP in the initial year.The empirical findings indicate that institutions,culture and social relations are critical for regional development in China.Therefore,the creation and support of social capital should be paid more attention to when making regional policy.展开更多
The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production pe...The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production per capita(physical capital),and areas of fenced pasture,livestock shelter,grassland rodent control and planted grassland(physical capital) as proxy indicators of livelihood promotion,livelihood provision,and livelihood protection respectively.By developing a correlation model between pastoralists' livelihood protection and improvement,we found that(1) there is a statistically significant correlation between the pastoralists' livelihood protection and promotion;(2) based on the maximum effect of pastoralists' livelihood promotion and provision,there is a benchmark in the effect of the intervention intensity of livelihood capital(grassland resource protection) on livelihood improvement;(3) on basis of two indicators,i.e.net income per capita and meat production per capita,the reasonable scales of fenced pasture,livestock shelter and planted grassland are less than 843,860 and 46 thousand hectares(hm2) per year respectively.With the marginal effect of livelihood protection,moderately decreased areas of fenced pasture and planted grassland,and increased area of livestock shelter is a critical to ensure pastoralist's livelihood sustainability.展开更多
The Hani Rice Terraces System, based on gravity-flow irrigation, is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) pilot sites selected by FAO in 2010. The water resource plays an important role in...The Hani Rice Terraces System, based on gravity-flow irrigation, is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) pilot sites selected by FAO in 2010. The water resource plays an important role in the sustainable development of this system. The value of water conserved by the forest is influenced by natural, economic and social factors. In this paper, the water quality, per capita water resources, per capita GDP and population density are chosen as indices to construct an index system for a comprehensive evaluation of water resources value. The weights of these indices are 0.443, 0.31, 0.141 and 0.106 respectively, which are determined by the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) method. The water resources value has been assessed by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. The results show that the water resources value in the Hani Rice Terraces System is 4.25 RMB/m^3. Evaluating the value of water resources in the Hani Rice Terraces System can provide a reference for ecological compensation, for raising public awareness of the importance of protecting the system, and ultimately achieving its sustainable development.展开更多
In 2010, China entered what the World Development Bank Report of 2010 labeled as the upper-middle-income threshold with a GDP per capita of $4,396. China s current momentum will likely carry it through sustained grow...In 2010, China entered what the World Development Bank Report of 2010 labeled as the upper-middle-income threshold with a GDP per capita of $4,396. China s current momentum will likely carry it through sustained growth in the foreseeable future, but it remains unsure whether China will escape the middle-income trap and grow into a high-income country. The answer lies in China's ability to restructure its industrial and social structure.展开更多
In this paper,the authors have empirically analyzed the convergence in per capita GDP gap and the convergence in the variation of energy intensity with respect to the change of per capita GDP between China and eight d...In this paper,the authors have empirically analyzed the convergence in per capita GDP gap and the convergence in the variation of energy intensity with respect to the change of per capita GDP between China and eight developed countries.Then,the authors run a regression on the impact of decisive factors of economic growth on energy intensity and its change,so as to find out the economic mechanism of energy intensity gap changing with respect to the variation of economic growth.This study concludes that:First,there is a convergence in per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries.With the convergence in per capita GDP gap,the energy intensity gap between China and eight different countries also converge,and the convergence rate of the latter is faster than that of the former,i.e.if the per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries decreases by 1%,the energy intensity gap between them will correspondingly decrease by 1.552%.Second,the energy intensity decreases with the improvement of industrial structure,the rising of energy prices,the advances of technology,and the expansion of investment in fixed assets,and it slightly increases with the increase of FDI.Third,the energy intensity gap between China and eight developed countries narrows with the lessening of the difference in fixed assets investment,energy prices,and technological progress between China and eight developed countries,yet increases with the narrowing of the difference in FDI,and has no significant correlation with the difference in industrial structure.Fourth,the narrowing of difference in per capita GDP between China and the eight developed countries can result in the lessening of energy intensity gap,whose economic mechanism is that the decisive factors,such as difference in investment,technology,and the competition mechanism of prices,which can determine the difference in economic growth,can significantly affect the energy intensity gap.展开更多
The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-inc...The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-income trap when their per capita GDP reached 4,000-7,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices) as a result of long-term implemented import-oriented strategy and planned economic system. Fortunately, China adopted reform and opening-up policy beginning at a lower development phase and achieved sustained high-speed growth for more than thirty years. Currently, China has surpassed the phase which the above-mentioned countries fell into the middle-income trap. On the other side, experiences of successful runner-ups show that when per capita GDP reached II,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices), economic growth speed will present regularly "natural drop ". Without internal and external shocks, China's economy is expected to reach this level by 2015 and the potential growth rate will possibly drop significantly. In this regard, China's toughest challenges will be whether it can effectively prevent and solve the financial risks accumulated during high-speed growth and make a shift to innovation-driven growth model Time is pressing for addressing the above challenges. A fundamental change in the growth model depends on the intensification of reform, in particular, the promotion of an "participatory and facilitative reform "approach.展开更多
In this paper,the authors have analyzed the relationship between energy intensity gap and GDP per worker gap of China's western and eastern provinces over the period 1997-2006.Using panel data model with lag adjus...In this paper,the authors have analyzed the relationship between energy intensity gap and GDP per worker gap of China's western and eastern provinces over the period 1997-2006.Using panel data model with lag adjustment,taking the above provinces and six industrial sectors (agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry,and fisheries,industry,construction industry,transport,storage and post & telecommunications,wholesale and retail trades & catering industry,and other sectors of tertiary industry.) as the investigated subjects,the authors have conducted empirical study on the convergence of GDP per worker gap and the convergence of energy intensity gap with respect to the variation of GDP per worker gap,and have concluded that:First,the GDP per worker gap of the six industrial sectors and provinces are convergent,and of this,the convergence rate of GDP per worker gap of Construction Industry is the fastest,while that of Industry is the slowest.Second,the overall energy intensity gap between eastern and western provinces is convergent,that is,with the narrowing of GDP per worker gap between eastern and western provinces,the energy intensity gap converges,but its convergence rate is slower than that of GDP per worker gap.Third,energy intensity gap between various industrial sectors of the east and the west is either convergent or divergent,and there are differences.The energy intensity gap of agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry,and fisheries,industry,and construction industry is convergent,while that of the other three industrial sectors is divergent.Fourth,the convergence of the overall energy intensity of the western provinces is not in conformity with the convergence of the various industrial sectors,and there are significant differences,indicating that the western provinces and autonomous regions should take measures to more effectively improve their overall energy utilization efficiency at the industrial sector level.展开更多
The economy of the equestrian sector encompasses all the activities related to the equine world. All activities revolving around the use of a horse as entertainment, sport or business play a role in the "horse indus...The economy of the equestrian sector encompasses all the activities related to the equine world. All activities revolving around the use of a horse as entertainment, sport or business play a role in the "horse industry". These activities take place due to the existence of people demanding horses and a variety of goods and services associated with them Previous studies reveal that as income per capita becomes larger, the equestrian demand increases and, consequently, the global expenditure incurred by those individuals interested in horses. More than 500,000 horse, 9,000 breeders and 50,000 equestrian businesses, show the economic importance of the equestrian sector in Spain. That part of global expenditure that adds to the GDP of a country is what is generally defined as economic impact of the sector. Its relation will depend mostly on: the percentage of the expenditure that adds to national production and the participation in the country's global expenditure of those domestic goods and services associated with the equestrian demand. The activities related to sports are those with most economic impact, about 8,000 ∈ per horse, measured as total expenditure or with respect to the employment that they generate in the economy.展开更多
This paper was made using a descriptive analysis of some indicators from the data basis of Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), CEPAL and answers the question: Have there been enough foreign trade dynamic...This paper was made using a descriptive analysis of some indicators from the data basis of Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), CEPAL and answers the question: Have there been enough foreign trade dynamics during the last years (1999-2006) in order to reduce social inequality gaps? The results here shown correspond to the first stage of a research that relates poverty to countries' economic productivity. The article presents foreign trade, economic growth, and social inequality overview in the countries of the Andean Community of Nations during the years 1999-2006. In considering this period, the last international crisis is overlooked, but it takes in account the importance of the Millennium Development Goals set by the UNDP. The analysis of the basic indicators reflects that the dynamics of economic integration and foreign trade do not translate into better social equality and poverty reduction. This paper shows an economic and social contrast obtained from the results by countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) during the years 1999-2006, comprised by Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela, though the last country is not currently part of CAN. These indicators are exports, imports, relative commercial balance, gross domestic product, gross domestic product per capita, unemployment, GINI index, population, urban development index, and poverty. The paper presents a succinct conceptual framework where the relationship between foreign trade and social inequality is established, from which the description and analysis of the proposed indicators is formulated, permitting the establishing of an apparent practical connection between economic behavior and social results from the CAN countries.展开更多
The aim of this research was to value, using a multiple regression model, the role of knowledge to guarantee the development in rural areas of European Union countries over 10 years. The main question was to find out ...The aim of this research was to value, using a multiple regression model, the role of knowledge to guarantee the development in rural areas of European Union countries over 10 years. The main question was to find out relationships among some variable, as the percentage of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) used to improve the high training, and rural development in terms of agricultural labour units. The results underlined in 2001 as an high value of rural development, in terms of working force in agriculture, was identified in some countries of European Union characterised by a low value both in high training investments and also by a low value of Human Development Index, according to the definition of The Economist. The results in 2010 pointed out an inverse correlation among the dependent variable development in rural areas and the independent variables per capita GDP and national expenditure in advanced training, in percentage of national GDP. The learning by doing and by using, the introduction of advanced training in agriculture, using Long Life Learning measures of European Union, are important to improve the development of European rural areas but, sometimes, these actions are not perceived as something of useful.展开更多
National high-tech industrial development zones represent a major strategy of the Chinese government in developing high-tech industries and spurring regional economic growth. The effect of this policy is yet to be pro...National high-tech industrial development zones represent a major strategy of the Chinese government in developing high-tech industries and spurring regional economic growth. The effect of this policy is yet to be proven. Based on the panel data of 283 Chinese cities between 1984 and 2012, this paper investigates the effect of high-tech zones on regional economic development. Empirical results suggest that first, national hightech zones have remarkably enhanced regional GDP and per capita GDP growth, and this conclusion still holds true after multiple rounds of robustness test; second, the economic effect of national high-tech zones is subject to diminishing marginal return and compared with higher-tier cities, lower-tier cities benefited more from the creation of national hightech zones. This paper concludes that national high-tech zones where special policies are experimented and offered not only drive economic development but, if properly distributed across regions, may help reduce regional economic disparities as well. The results of this study provide important implications for the future distribution of national high-tech zones and the creation of other relevant policies.展开更多
CHINA’s achievements in economic development and poverty reduction are historically unprecedented.But,it must never be forgotten from what an extremely low base China began its development in 1949 after a century of ...CHINA’s achievements in economic development and poverty reduction are historically unprecedented.But,it must never be forgotten from what an extremely low base China began its development in 1949 after a century of foreign invasions and wars.In 1950 only 10 countries for which there is data had lower per capita GDPs than China.展开更多
Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil...Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian(in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai(in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.展开更多
According to the authoritative data involving social economic indicators and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the international universal database, the levels and processes of economic development and GHG emission...According to the authoritative data involving social economic indicators and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the international universal database, the levels and processes of economic development and GHG emission in major economic groups, nations and regions of the world are simultaneously analyzed. Obtaining Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and emission per capita from various countries and regions in the past 40 years as the standard, countries and regions in the world are divided into six groups: countries with low emission per capita and low economic level (IA), countries with low emission per capita and medium economic level (IIA), countries with low emission per capita and high economic level (IIIA), countries with high emission per capita and medium economic level (liB), countries with high emission per capita and high economic level (IIIB), countries with high emission per capita and low economic level (IB). Countries belong to IB are quite rare in the study period, while the first five groups correspond to the poor regions, main developing countries, economically transitional countries with rapid economic development, rich islands and developed North America and Europe respectively. Data analysis shows that there is a close relationship between emission and economic development of different countries and regions. The composition relationship between economic development of different countries and regions is relatively stable over a long period of time. From 1970 to 2005, rising trends existed in the economic development of most countries and regions. However, the emission had a significant increase in a small part of countries and regions. In other words, for those with high emission, the emission level is always high. But for those with low GHG emission, the emission does not increase too much. The main processes of the change of countries pattern from IA to IIA and from II B to IIIB, occurring in the 1970s and from the late 1970s to the 1980s respectively. That result has .a significant enlightening effect in understanding the relationship between emission and eco- nomic development and its historical process of various countries and in choosing the position of our country in the future climate diplomatic negotiations.展开更多
The ability to speak two languages in the non-English-speaking countries is a remarkable achievement. There is a good reason to believe that bilingualism is the norm for the majority of people in the world, because 70...The ability to speak two languages in the non-English-speaking countries is a remarkable achievement. There is a good reason to believe that bilingualism is the norm for the majority of people in the world, because 70% of the earth's population are supposed to be bilingual or multilingual. Our purpose of the study was to determine the participants' awareness of using true and false cognate words of L 1 (the first language) & L2 (the second language) in learning English. Three hundred and eighty-five selected people from 3,789 statistical population participated in 2014--2015 at three levels of A.D., B.A., and M.A. of Islamic Azad University as well as teachers of English in English educational institutions in Zanjan (Iran). Each educational level was considered as one category with the total sample calculated by using Kokran Formula, and the amount of each category was determined by using appropriate proportion and randomized categorical sampling method. The participants' age was between from 18 to 52, with a mean age of 29 years. The materials were 45 words of true and false cognate's words from 500 words by doing CVR (content validity ratio) and CVI (content validity index) (Lawshe's table with the index of 88% and 82% respectively) for being reliable and valid. ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was used for studying the effect of educational level on the rate of awareness. In other words, the awareness level has been compared in different educational levels. The results of Dankan test show that: There is no significant difference between the awareness of A.D., B.A., and M.A. levels, but there is a significant difference between the level of awareness of teachers group and the other groups (in true cognate words) and for false cognate words, there is no significant difference between the level of awareness of the four groups in this regard.展开更多
Business analysts worldwide use the standard theories and tools of macroeconomics and finance to determine the investment, trade or production possibilities in foreign markets. These evaluations are generally supporte...Business analysts worldwide use the standard theories and tools of macroeconomics and finance to determine the investment, trade or production possibilities in foreign markets. These evaluations are generally supported by three sources: estimations of using country-specific macroeconomic data on which they can determine patterns of growth, inflation, unemployment, productivity, income per capita, etc.; timely data on current conditions and developments in production, income and spending; and institutional information on policy makers, business practices and financial markets. This paper focuses on the first two where we examine the publically available macroeconomic data for the Kingdom of Bahrain to determine their reliability. Among our findings are: (1) creating a reliable data base of macroeconomic data is difficult due to data revision and incomplete data gathering; (2) the movement of standard macro-variables is often unusual, leading one to question further the reliability of the data; (3) based on available data it appears that the growth in Bahrain has been driven almost solely by an increase in the number of people working, with little to no apparent rise in productivity; and (4) the growth of GDP will eventually be constrained by physical limits on population growth, and can be improved only if ways can be found to increase the productivity of the workforce.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of Major State Basic Research Development Program of China(No.2004CB418507)
文摘The environmental impact caused by local people (ecological footprint of consumption, EFc) and the actual environmental impact that the ecosystem burdens (ecological footprint of production, EFp) in West Jilin Province, Northeast China from 1986 to 2006 were evaluated by using ecological footprint (EF) method. And the major driving forces of EFc and EFp were analyzed by STIRPAT model. Both EFc and EFp showed increasing trends in 1986-2006, accompanied by decreasing ecological deficits but expanding ecological overshoots. Population (P), GDP per capita (A1), quadratic term of GDP per capita (A2), urbanization (Tα1), and quadratic term of urbanization (Ta2) were important influencing factors of EFc, among which Tα2 and Tα1 were the most dominate driving forces of EFc. A1, A2 and Tα2 were important influencing factors of EFp, among which A2 and A1 were the most dominate driving forces of EFp. In 1986-2006, the classical Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis did not exist between A2 and EF (both EFc and EFp), but did between Tα2 and EF. The results indicate that enhancing the urbanization process and diversifying economic sources is one of the most effective ways to reduce the environmental impact of West Jilin Province. Moreover, importance should be attached to improve the eco-efficiency of resource exploitation and consumption.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41201384)Hunan Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.12JJ3034)State Key Laboratory of Resources and Environmental Information System,Nieying Talent Program of Central South University(No.7601110176)
文摘In order to evaluate whether or not the county units′ economy in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan(Chang-Zhu-Tan) Urban Agglomeration was growing as expected, this study analyzed the spatial economy pattern at county-level by using the Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis(ESDA) method. In this process, the global Moran′s I and local Getis-Ord G*i indexes were employed to analyze indicators including per capita GDP and three industrials(i.e. primary, secondary and tertiary industry) from 2000 to 2010. The results show that: 1) the county units′ economy in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration has exhibited a strong spatial autocorrelation and an accelerated integration trend since 2008(Moran′ s I increased from 0.26 to 0.56); 2) there is a significant difference in economy development between the northern and southern county units in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration: the hotspot zone with high economic level was formed among the northern county units whereas the coldspot zone with low economic level was located in the southern areas. This difference was caused primarily by the increasingly prominent economic radiation effect of Changsha ′upheaval′; 3) town density, secondary industry, and the integration policy are the major contributors driving the evolution of the spatial economy pattern in the Chang-Zhu-Tan Urban Agglomeration.
基金Under the auspices of National Science&Technology Pillar Program during the Eleventh Five-year Plan Period(No.2008BAJ10B1)
文摘This paper principally focuses on land use dynamics,urban expansion and underlying driving forces in the Natural Wetland Distribution Area(NWDA)of Fuzhou City in the southeastern China.Based on time series Landsat TM/ETM+imageries and historical data,relationships between urban land expansion and its influencing factors from 1989 to 2009 were analyzed by using an integrated approach of remote sensing(RS)and geographic information system(GIS)techniques.The results showed that built-up land increased from 151.16 km2in 1989 to 383.76 km 2in 2009. Approximately 64.25%of the newly emerging built-up land was converted from cropland(29.47%),forest and shrub (25.78%),water(3.73%),wetland(4.61%),and bare land(0.66%)during 1989 and 2009.With a remarkable decrease in cropland,the proportion of non-agricultural population increased by 23.6%.Moreover,rapid development of infrastructures,facilities,industrial parks,and urban and rural settlements along the Minjiang River resulted in the eastward and southward expansion of built-up land.Additionally,the growth pattern of built-up land in the NWDA is highly correlated with socio-economic factors,including the gross domestic product(GDP),GDP per capita,and structure of industry.As a result,the observed environmental degradation such as loss of cropland and wetland due to heavy pressure of rapid urbanization have greatly impaired the carrying capacity of city.Thus,in addition to scientific and rational policies towards minimizing the adverse effects of urbanization,coordination between the administrative agencies should be urgently strengthened to balance the conflicts between urban development and ecological conservation to make sure the sustainable land use.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.40871065,40830747)
文摘Social capital has played an increasingly important role in regional development.China is a country with high stocks of social capital.Using several different indicators of social capital,this study tries to research the regional disparities in social capital and the influence of social capital on economic growth of China in 1978-2004.Measuring social capital with indicators of associations,charities and blood donation rates,this study finds significant regional disparities in social capital at provincial level in China.Those indicators for social capital are highly correlated with regional economic performance.Statistical analysis shows that social capital has a significant and positive effect on a long-term provincial economic growth.This relationship exists after controlling policy,macro location factors,and per capita GDP in the initial year.The empirical findings indicate that institutions,culture and social relations are critical for regional development in China.Therefore,the creation and support of social capital should be paid more attention to when making regional policy.
基金Funding for this research was provided by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2010CB 951704)
文摘The interaction among different livelihood capitals is a key to generate a deeper understanding of the livelihood sustainability.In this paper,we use net income per capita(economic capital),meat and milk production per capita(physical capital),and areas of fenced pasture,livestock shelter,grassland rodent control and planted grassland(physical capital) as proxy indicators of livelihood promotion,livelihood provision,and livelihood protection respectively.By developing a correlation model between pastoralists' livelihood protection and improvement,we found that(1) there is a statistically significant correlation between the pastoralists' livelihood protection and promotion;(2) based on the maximum effect of pastoralists' livelihood promotion and provision,there is a benchmark in the effect of the intervention intensity of livelihood capital(grassland resource protection) on livelihood improvement;(3) on basis of two indicators,i.e.net income per capita and meat production per capita,the reasonable scales of fenced pasture,livestock shelter and planted grassland are less than 843,860 and 46 thousand hectares(hm2) per year respectively.With the marginal effect of livelihood protection,moderately decreased areas of fenced pasture and planted grassland,and increased area of livestock shelter is a critical to ensure pastoralist's livelihood sustainability.
基金financially supported by the National Natural Science Fund, China (Grant Nos. 31200376, 41201586)the CAS Visiting Professor-Ship for Senior International Scientists (Grant No. 2013T2Z0011)
文摘The Hani Rice Terraces System, based on gravity-flow irrigation, is one of the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems(GIAHS) pilot sites selected by FAO in 2010. The water resource plays an important role in the sustainable development of this system. The value of water conserved by the forest is influenced by natural, economic and social factors. In this paper, the water quality, per capita water resources, per capita GDP and population density are chosen as indices to construct an index system for a comprehensive evaluation of water resources value. The weights of these indices are 0.443, 0.31, 0.141 and 0.106 respectively, which are determined by the analytic hierarchy process(AHP) method. The water resources value has been assessed by the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model. The results show that the water resources value in the Hani Rice Terraces System is 4.25 RMB/m^3. Evaluating the value of water resources in the Hani Rice Terraces System can provide a reference for ecological compensation, for raising public awareness of the importance of protecting the system, and ultimately achieving its sustainable development.
文摘In 2010, China entered what the World Development Bank Report of 2010 labeled as the upper-middle-income threshold with a GDP per capita of $4,396. China s current momentum will likely carry it through sustained growth in the foreseeable future, but it remains unsure whether China will escape the middle-income trap and grow into a high-income country. The answer lies in China's ability to restructure its industrial and social structure.
文摘In this paper,the authors have empirically analyzed the convergence in per capita GDP gap and the convergence in the variation of energy intensity with respect to the change of per capita GDP between China and eight developed countries.Then,the authors run a regression on the impact of decisive factors of economic growth on energy intensity and its change,so as to find out the economic mechanism of energy intensity gap changing with respect to the variation of economic growth.This study concludes that:First,there is a convergence in per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries.With the convergence in per capita GDP gap,the energy intensity gap between China and eight different countries also converge,and the convergence rate of the latter is faster than that of the former,i.e.if the per capita GDP gap between China and the eight developed countries decreases by 1%,the energy intensity gap between them will correspondingly decrease by 1.552%.Second,the energy intensity decreases with the improvement of industrial structure,the rising of energy prices,the advances of technology,and the expansion of investment in fixed assets,and it slightly increases with the increase of FDI.Third,the energy intensity gap between China and eight developed countries narrows with the lessening of the difference in fixed assets investment,energy prices,and technological progress between China and eight developed countries,yet increases with the narrowing of the difference in FDI,and has no significant correlation with the difference in industrial structure.Fourth,the narrowing of difference in per capita GDP between China and the eight developed countries can result in the lessening of energy intensity gap,whose economic mechanism is that the decisive factors,such as difference in investment,technology,and the competition mechanism of prices,which can determine the difference in economic growth,can significantly affect the energy intensity gap.
文摘The history of international industrialization shows that Latin American countries and former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries experienced a siginificant drop in economic growth and fell into the middle-income trap when their per capita GDP reached 4,000-7,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices) as a result of long-term implemented import-oriented strategy and planned economic system. Fortunately, China adopted reform and opening-up policy beginning at a lower development phase and achieved sustained high-speed growth for more than thirty years. Currently, China has surpassed the phase which the above-mentioned countries fell into the middle-income trap. On the other side, experiences of successful runner-ups show that when per capita GDP reached II,000 international dollar (based on the 1990 prices), economic growth speed will present regularly "natural drop ". Without internal and external shocks, China's economy is expected to reach this level by 2015 and the potential growth rate will possibly drop significantly. In this regard, China's toughest challenges will be whether it can effectively prevent and solve the financial risks accumulated during high-speed growth and make a shift to innovation-driven growth model Time is pressing for addressing the above challenges. A fundamental change in the growth model depends on the intensification of reform, in particular, the promotion of an "participatory and facilitative reform "approach.
基金sponsored by"Project Fund of Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Edu-cation"(Grant No.:09YJA790157)"Proprietary Research Project of Humanities and Social Sciences of Wuhan University"(Grant No.:09ZZKY032)
文摘In this paper,the authors have analyzed the relationship between energy intensity gap and GDP per worker gap of China's western and eastern provinces over the period 1997-2006.Using panel data model with lag adjustment,taking the above provinces and six industrial sectors (agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry,and fisheries,industry,construction industry,transport,storage and post & telecommunications,wholesale and retail trades & catering industry,and other sectors of tertiary industry.) as the investigated subjects,the authors have conducted empirical study on the convergence of GDP per worker gap and the convergence of energy intensity gap with respect to the variation of GDP per worker gap,and have concluded that:First,the GDP per worker gap of the six industrial sectors and provinces are convergent,and of this,the convergence rate of GDP per worker gap of Construction Industry is the fastest,while that of Industry is the slowest.Second,the overall energy intensity gap between eastern and western provinces is convergent,that is,with the narrowing of GDP per worker gap between eastern and western provinces,the energy intensity gap converges,but its convergence rate is slower than that of GDP per worker gap.Third,energy intensity gap between various industrial sectors of the east and the west is either convergent or divergent,and there are differences.The energy intensity gap of agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry,and fisheries,industry,and construction industry is convergent,while that of the other three industrial sectors is divergent.Fourth,the convergence of the overall energy intensity of the western provinces is not in conformity with the convergence of the various industrial sectors,and there are significant differences,indicating that the western provinces and autonomous regions should take measures to more effectively improve their overall energy utilization efficiency at the industrial sector level.
文摘The economy of the equestrian sector encompasses all the activities related to the equine world. All activities revolving around the use of a horse as entertainment, sport or business play a role in the "horse industry". These activities take place due to the existence of people demanding horses and a variety of goods and services associated with them Previous studies reveal that as income per capita becomes larger, the equestrian demand increases and, consequently, the global expenditure incurred by those individuals interested in horses. More than 500,000 horse, 9,000 breeders and 50,000 equestrian businesses, show the economic importance of the equestrian sector in Spain. That part of global expenditure that adds to the GDP of a country is what is generally defined as economic impact of the sector. Its relation will depend mostly on: the percentage of the expenditure that adds to national production and the participation in the country's global expenditure of those domestic goods and services associated with the equestrian demand. The activities related to sports are those with most economic impact, about 8,000 ∈ per horse, measured as total expenditure or with respect to the employment that they generate in the economy.
文摘This paper was made using a descriptive analysis of some indicators from the data basis of Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL), CEPAL and answers the question: Have there been enough foreign trade dynamics during the last years (1999-2006) in order to reduce social inequality gaps? The results here shown correspond to the first stage of a research that relates poverty to countries' economic productivity. The article presents foreign trade, economic growth, and social inequality overview in the countries of the Andean Community of Nations during the years 1999-2006. In considering this period, the last international crisis is overlooked, but it takes in account the importance of the Millennium Development Goals set by the UNDP. The analysis of the basic indicators reflects that the dynamics of economic integration and foreign trade do not translate into better social equality and poverty reduction. This paper shows an economic and social contrast obtained from the results by countries of the Andean Community of Nations (CAN) during the years 1999-2006, comprised by Colombia, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Venezuela, though the last country is not currently part of CAN. These indicators are exports, imports, relative commercial balance, gross domestic product, gross domestic product per capita, unemployment, GINI index, population, urban development index, and poverty. The paper presents a succinct conceptual framework where the relationship between foreign trade and social inequality is established, from which the description and analysis of the proposed indicators is formulated, permitting the establishing of an apparent practical connection between economic behavior and social results from the CAN countries.
文摘The aim of this research was to value, using a multiple regression model, the role of knowledge to guarantee the development in rural areas of European Union countries over 10 years. The main question was to find out relationships among some variable, as the percentage of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) used to improve the high training, and rural development in terms of agricultural labour units. The results underlined in 2001 as an high value of rural development, in terms of working force in agriculture, was identified in some countries of European Union characterised by a low value both in high training investments and also by a low value of Human Development Index, according to the definition of The Economist. The results in 2010 pointed out an inverse correlation among the dependent variable development in rural areas and the independent variables per capita GDP and national expenditure in advanced training, in percentage of national GDP. The learning by doing and by using, the introduction of advanced training in agriculture, using Long Life Learning measures of European Union, are important to improve the development of European rural areas but, sometimes, these actions are not perceived as something of useful.
基金sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation Program(Approval No.71303185)the Social Sciences Planning Foundation Program of the Ministry of Education(Approval No.13XJA790003)+2 种基金the Social Sciences Foundation Program of Shaanxi Province(Approval No.12D124)the Program of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Education(Approval No.12JK0152)the Support Program for Outstanding Young Teachers of Northwest University(Approval No.PR12152)
文摘National high-tech industrial development zones represent a major strategy of the Chinese government in developing high-tech industries and spurring regional economic growth. The effect of this policy is yet to be proven. Based on the panel data of 283 Chinese cities between 1984 and 2012, this paper investigates the effect of high-tech zones on regional economic development. Empirical results suggest that first, national hightech zones have remarkably enhanced regional GDP and per capita GDP growth, and this conclusion still holds true after multiple rounds of robustness test; second, the economic effect of national high-tech zones is subject to diminishing marginal return and compared with higher-tier cities, lower-tier cities benefited more from the creation of national hightech zones. This paper concludes that national high-tech zones where special policies are experimented and offered not only drive economic development but, if properly distributed across regions, may help reduce regional economic disparities as well. The results of this study provide important implications for the future distribution of national high-tech zones and the creation of other relevant policies.
文摘CHINA’s achievements in economic development and poverty reduction are historically unprecedented.But,it must never be forgotten from what an extremely low base China began its development in 1949 after a century of foreign invasions and wars.In 1950 only 10 countries for which there is data had lower per capita GDPs than China.
基金the Foundation of National Key Science and Technology Program (2011BAD31B03)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41001163)+1 种基金Western Light Western Doctor of CAS, the international cooperation program of Sichuan province (2013HH0016)CAS West Action: Experimental and Demonstrational study on soil and water losses and non-point pollution in the Three Gorges (KZCX2-XB3-09)
文摘Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian(in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai(in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.
文摘According to the authoritative data involving social economic indicators and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission from the international universal database, the levels and processes of economic development and GHG emission in major economic groups, nations and regions of the world are simultaneously analyzed. Obtaining Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and emission per capita from various countries and regions in the past 40 years as the standard, countries and regions in the world are divided into six groups: countries with low emission per capita and low economic level (IA), countries with low emission per capita and medium economic level (IIA), countries with low emission per capita and high economic level (IIIA), countries with high emission per capita and medium economic level (liB), countries with high emission per capita and high economic level (IIIB), countries with high emission per capita and low economic level (IB). Countries belong to IB are quite rare in the study period, while the first five groups correspond to the poor regions, main developing countries, economically transitional countries with rapid economic development, rich islands and developed North America and Europe respectively. Data analysis shows that there is a close relationship between emission and economic development of different countries and regions. The composition relationship between economic development of different countries and regions is relatively stable over a long period of time. From 1970 to 2005, rising trends existed in the economic development of most countries and regions. However, the emission had a significant increase in a small part of countries and regions. In other words, for those with high emission, the emission level is always high. But for those with low GHG emission, the emission does not increase too much. The main processes of the change of countries pattern from IA to IIA and from II B to IIIB, occurring in the 1970s and from the late 1970s to the 1980s respectively. That result has .a significant enlightening effect in understanding the relationship between emission and eco- nomic development and its historical process of various countries and in choosing the position of our country in the future climate diplomatic negotiations.
文摘The ability to speak two languages in the non-English-speaking countries is a remarkable achievement. There is a good reason to believe that bilingualism is the norm for the majority of people in the world, because 70% of the earth's population are supposed to be bilingual or multilingual. Our purpose of the study was to determine the participants' awareness of using true and false cognate words of L 1 (the first language) & L2 (the second language) in learning English. Three hundred and eighty-five selected people from 3,789 statistical population participated in 2014--2015 at three levels of A.D., B.A., and M.A. of Islamic Azad University as well as teachers of English in English educational institutions in Zanjan (Iran). Each educational level was considered as one category with the total sample calculated by using Kokran Formula, and the amount of each category was determined by using appropriate proportion and randomized categorical sampling method. The participants' age was between from 18 to 52, with a mean age of 29 years. The materials were 45 words of true and false cognate's words from 500 words by doing CVR (content validity ratio) and CVI (content validity index) (Lawshe's table with the index of 88% and 82% respectively) for being reliable and valid. ANOVA (Analysis of variance) was used for studying the effect of educational level on the rate of awareness. In other words, the awareness level has been compared in different educational levels. The results of Dankan test show that: There is no significant difference between the awareness of A.D., B.A., and M.A. levels, but there is a significant difference between the level of awareness of teachers group and the other groups (in true cognate words) and for false cognate words, there is no significant difference between the level of awareness of the four groups in this regard.
文摘Business analysts worldwide use the standard theories and tools of macroeconomics and finance to determine the investment, trade or production possibilities in foreign markets. These evaluations are generally supported by three sources: estimations of using country-specific macroeconomic data on which they can determine patterns of growth, inflation, unemployment, productivity, income per capita, etc.; timely data on current conditions and developments in production, income and spending; and institutional information on policy makers, business practices and financial markets. This paper focuses on the first two where we examine the publically available macroeconomic data for the Kingdom of Bahrain to determine their reliability. Among our findings are: (1) creating a reliable data base of macroeconomic data is difficult due to data revision and incomplete data gathering; (2) the movement of standard macro-variables is often unusual, leading one to question further the reliability of the data; (3) based on available data it appears that the growth in Bahrain has been driven almost solely by an increase in the number of people working, with little to no apparent rise in productivity; and (4) the growth of GDP will eventually be constrained by physical limits on population growth, and can be improved only if ways can be found to increase the productivity of the workforce.