Household Expenditure on Education in China:Key Findings From the China Institute for Educational Finance Research-Household Surveys(CIEFR-HS)

Purpose:This study uses data from the 2019 China Institute for Educational Finance Research-Household Survey to investigate expenditure on children's education in China.Design/Approach/Methods:Using descriptive and regression analysis,this study analyzes the level and structure of household expenditure on children's education,the associated disparities,and household financial burden.Findings:The average household expenditure on regular full-time education nationwide was RMB 8,139 per child,accounting for 10.8%of total household expenditure.On average,24.4%and 15.5%of elementary and high school students participated in out-of-school subject-and interest-oriented tutoring in AY 2018-2019,respectively.On an average,it costs a household approximately RMB 233,000 to educate a child from preschool to the undergraduate level.The total investments in regular full-time education nationwide were estimated to be RMB 6.2 billion-6.87%of the national Gross Domestic product.Moreover,based on an overview of various statistics on school funding,this study found that several years of public investments in compulsory education and rural schools have significantly reduced the disparities in school funding among income groups.OriginalityValue:This research is the first report giving a comprehensive picture of household expenditures on education nationwide in China.It provides empirical evidence for exploring policy tools to realize the balanced development of education.

Estimating the pre-and post-diagnosis costs of tuberculosis for adults in Pakistan:household economic impact and costs mitigating strategies

Background:Despite free tuberculosis(TB)care in Pakistan,patients still have to bear high costs,which push them into poverty.This study estimated the pre-and post-diagnosis costs households bear for TB care,and investigated coping mechanisms among adults≥18 years in Karachi,Pakistan.Methods:We conducted a cross-sectional study comprising of 516 TB patients identified with completion of at least one month intensive treatment from four public sector health facilities from two institutes in Karachi,Pakistan.A standardized questionnaire to estimate patient’s costs was administered.The study outcomes were direct medical and non-medical costs,and indirect costs.The costs were estimated during pre-diagnostic and post-diagnostic phase which includes diagnostic,treatment,and hospitalization phases.A descriptive analysis including mean and standard deviation(±SD),median and interquartile range(IQR),and frequencies and proportions(%)was employed.Results:Out of 516 TB patients,52.1%were female with a mean age of 32.4(±13.7)years.The median costs per patient during the pre-diagnostic,diagnostic,treatment and hospitalization periods were estimated at USD63.8/PKR7,377,USD24/PKR2,755,USD10.5/PKR1,217,and USD349.0/PKR40,300,respectively.The total household median cost was estimated at USD129.2/PKR14,919 per patient.The median indirect cost was estimated at USD52.0/PKR5,950 per patient.Of total,54.1%of patients preferred and consulted private providers in the first place at the onset of symptoms,while,36%attended public healthcare services,5%and 4.1%went to dispensary and pharmacy,respectively,as a first point of care.Conclusions:TB patients bear substantial out-of-pocket costs before they are enrolled in publically funded TB programs.There should be provision of transport and food vouchers,also health insurance for in-patient treatment.This advocates a critical investigation into an existing financial support network for TB patients in Pakistan towards reducing the burden.

The Empirical Analysis on the Dynamic Effect of Rural-urban Migration on the Consumption Growth of Residents in China——Based on Varying Parameter State-space Model

The research constructed varying parameter state-space model and per- formed estimation on dynamic relationship between urban-rural migration and aggre- gate consumption expenditure on basis of dual economic structure. The results showed that urban consumption growth made the most contribution to aggregate consumption growth, followed by urban-rural migration caused consumption. The role of rural consumption growth kept stable, but consumption caused by population growth was decreasing. Therefore, China consumption growth mainly relies on urban consumption expenditure and urban-rural migration.

Economic growth and nutrition transition: an empirical analysis comparing demand elasticities for foods in China and Russia

This study provides empirical evidence on the link between economic growth and nutrition transition in two emerging economies, China and Russia. Both countries have experienced rising average incomes, accompanied by an increasing rate of nutrition-related chronic diseases in recent years. Given the regional heterogeneity between these two countries, we analyze the extent to which income growth as a major driver of nutrition transition has a significant effect on the consumption of different food aggregates and how these effects differ between Chinese and Russian consumers. Our results indicate that with increasing household incomes over time the demand for carbohydrates decreases, while the demand for meat and dairy products, as well as fruits increases. This is a development generally known as nutrition transition. Further, we estimate a Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System（QUAIDS） for nine different food aggregates for China and Russia. Our results indicate that in both countries all food aggregates have positive expenditure elasticities and are thus normal goods. Moreover, our results indicate that in 2008/2009 meat is still a luxury good in China yet a necessity good in Russia. For 2009, the highest own-price elasticities in China are found for non-meat protein sources and dairy products. Within the meat group, beef, poultry and mutton have the highest price elasticities in China. In Russia, the milk and dairy group, together with the vegetable group, is the most price-elastic food group in 2008. In line with the definition of a nutrition transition, our overall results underscore the finding that income growth in China and Russia tends to increase the demand for animal-based products much stronger than, for example, the demand for carbohydrates. Despite being a positive signal for problems of malnutrition in rural China, this trend of increasing meat consumption might further increase the incidence of chronic diseases in urban areas since there is convincing scientific evidence that increasing meat consumption, especially red and processed meat, is associated with an increased risk of chronic diseases.

Nonlinear dynamics of pork price in China

This paper primarily analyzes the evolution path of China＇s pork price by employing the threshold autoregression model（TAR）. Considering the unit root test with a threshold effect and heteroskedasticity of the TAR model, we show that the pork price series is a unit root process in each regime, and the heteroskedasticity in the TAR model greatly affects the results of linearity test. We find that the changing process of pork price has two regimes： mild regime and expansion regime. In particular, a change belongs to an expansion regime if it is larger than 0.5881; otherwise, it falls in the mild regime.

Development of the Insurance Industry in Europe in Economic and Financial Crisis

This paper analyzes the evolution of the insurance sector in Europe, focuses on the European Union （EU） member states, and considers the impact of economic and financial crisis on that sector. The European private insurance market is a developed market having an investment portfolio of 7,740 billion euros in 2011, an amount corresponding to 55% of the gross domestic product （GDP） of the 32 European markets members of Insurance Europe. Therefore, the importance of this sector as a long-term investor and major employer is obvious for the stability and growth of European economy. However, the insurance sector has been considerably affected since 2009 due to the global economic and financial crisis, which has had negative effects not only on the evolution of the value of insurance premiums underwritten, but also on the return on investment of the insurance companies.