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

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

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

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

Impact of coupling coordination development of port and city environments on urban economic competitiveness:Evidence from the coastal port cities in eastern China

Promoting the coupling coordination development of port and its hinterland city environments is an important way to improve urban economic competitiveness.Based on relevant data of 13 coastal port cities in eastern China from 2000 to 2018,this study explores the coupling coordination development of port and city environments and its impact on urban economic competitiveness by constructing the coupling coordination degree model and the panel threshold model.The research results show that:(1)In terms of the coupling coordination development of port and city environments,most coastal ports and their hinterland cities are in a state of moderate or serious disorder.Overall,the degree of coupling coordination of port and city environments needs to be further improved;(2)The coupling coordination degree of port and city environments has a significant impact on urban economic competitiveness,and this effect gradually increases with the development of the ports and the urban economy.Among the variables that impact the urban economic competitiveness,fixed assets investment and foreign trade are significant factors that can enhance urban economic competitiveness.(3)At present,there is a“U-shaped”relationship between the coupling coordination degree of port-city environments and the urban economic competitiveness.This relationship lies on the right side of the inflection point of the“U-shaped”curve.Therefore,following the concept of assigning priority to ecological development,expanding fixed assets investment and actively developing foreign trade can further enhance the urban economic competitiveness.

Exploring the Element Integration of Urban and Rural“Space of Flows”in the Context of Consumption Upgrading:A Case Study of Changsi Village in Anhui Province

The mobility and interaction between urban and rural areas are becoming more and more intensive,and their links and exchanges are increasingly closer due to constant flow of factors such as information,capital,personnel and technology.In this context,the element integration of urban and rural“space of flows”can promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas,improve the consumption environment and experience,and promote the industrial upgrading and technological progress.To realize the element integration of urban and rural“space of flows”,it is necessary to explore and innovate in infrastructure construction,information technology application,industrial cooperation and cultural exchanges.Government departments,enterprises and social organizations also need to work together to give play to their respective advantages and jointly promote the process of element integration of urban and rural“space of flows”.

Research on the Balanced Development of Urban and Rural Compulsory Education Through Education Resource Allocation

With the rapid development of our country’s economy,education has gradually become the focus of social attention.The problem of unbalanced distribution of urban and rural educational resources has become increasingly prominent,urban educational resources are relatively rich,while rural educational resources are relatively scarce,and the balanced development of urban and rural compulsory education has become an urgent task.This paper mainly investigates and studies the distribution of urban and rural educational resources,discusses the unbalanced distribution of urban and rural educational resources and analyzes the reasons,and puts forward a series of corresponding solutions to promote the balanced development of urban and rural compulsory education.

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

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

Spatial pattern of urban-rural integration in China and the impact of geography

Urban-rural integration (URI) is a global challenge that is highly related to inequalities, poverty, economic growth, and other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Existing research has evaluated the extent of URI and explored its influencing factors, but urban-rural linkages are seldom incorporated in evaluation systems, and geographical factors are rarely recognized as the influencing factors. We construct a URI framework including regional economy, rural development, urban-rural linkage, and urban-rural gap. Based on a dataset consisting of 1,669 counties in China in 2020, we reveal the spatial pattern of URI and find a high correlation between the spatial pattern of URI and the relief degree of land surface (RDLS). Using structural equation modeling, we discover that topography has direct ( − 0.18, p < 0.001) and indirect ( − 0.17, p < 0.001) effects on URI. The indirect negative effects are mediated through the infrastructure, and the combination of localized advantages and modern technical conditions could mitigate the negative impact of topography. Finally, we identify 742 counties as lagging regions in URI, which can be clustered into eight types. Our findings could facilitate policy designing for those countries striving for integrated and sustainable development of urban and rural areas.

Quantitative Analysis of the Coupling Coordination Degree Between Urbanization and Eco-environment in Mongolia

Mongolia is an important country in the Economic Corridor of China-Mongolia-Russia, a deep understanding of the coupling relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia is meaningful to achieve green development of the Belt and Road. The entropy method and coupling coordination degree model were integrated to evaluate the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia during 2000-2016. The results showed that the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and the eco-environment in Mongolia was generally at the stage of seriously unbalanced development, and that the main contributor of the urbanization and the eco-environment subsystem were demographic urbanization and eco-environment endowment, respectively. The southern part of Mongolia central zone should be paid more attention due to the lower degree of coupling coordination between urbanization and the eco-environment. To promote the healthy urbanization development in Mongolia, six-layer eco-city establishing green development pattern is proposed to provide scientific support for Mongolia.

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

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

Analyzing the transportation infrastructure-rural industry integration relationship in China

Transportation infrastructure is crucial to China’s economic growth because it substantially contributes to the holistic development of rural primary,secondary,and tertiary industries.This study innovatively examines transportation infrastructure and urbanization levels to explore,both theoretically and empirically,their relationship with the holistic development of primary,secondary,and tertiary industries in rural China,and the mediating role of urbanization on this relationship.We employed fixed-effects models,the entropy weight approach,mixed regression,and generalized method of moments to analyze the data of 30 provinces across China from 2013 to 2020.The results indicate that the construction of transportation infrastructure directly fosters the collective advancement of such industries in rural areas and that urbanization partially mediates the transportation infrastructure-rural industry integration relationship.However,the western region shows disparities in the integrated development of these sectors.Further analysis reveals that foreign investments amplify the positive influence of transportation infrastructure on rural industry integration.Essentially,the enhancement of rural transportation infrastructure,promotion of urbanization,implementation of strategic planning,and strengthening of support mechanisms are crucial aspects in the comprehensive development of rural industries and the achievement of rural revitalization in China.

Analysis of Influencing Factors on Fruit Consumption of Urban and Rural Residents in Beijing

In light of the rapid expansion of China s economy,there has been a notable shift in the consumption patterns of urban and rural residents.This is evident in the increased consumption of agricultural products,with fruit consumption representing a particularly pronounced trend.The 2023 Beijing Consumption Statistics indicate that demand for fruit is increasing,accompanied by heightened competition for quality and brands.The paper is based on research that examines the current situation of fruit consumption among urban and rural residents in Beijing.The results indicate that when urban and rural residents in Beijing purchase fruits,price is the most significant factor influencing fruit consumption.Taste,appearance,and variety are also considered to be important influencing factors,while the influence of factors such as fruit type,consumption pattern,and fruit brand is relatively minor.

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

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

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

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

The Division of Labor and Cooperation between Market and Government in the Unified Urban and Rural Construction Land Market

In the process of establishing the unified market of construction land between city and countryside,both of the market mechanism and the government mechanism are indispensable to the allocation of resources,but they are both powerless in some ways. This paper starts from the related theory of economics,and draws a conclusion that the unified market of construction land between urban countryside will be established unless the market mechanism and the government mechanism work collaboratively. Finally,the paper puts forward the recommendations for ensuring the coordination between market mechanism and government mechanism: reforming the agricultural land property rights system; reforming the existing land law system; establishing the modern land tax system; transforming the government functions.

Analysis of Coordination between the Public Service in Rural Areas and Socio-economic Development——A Case Study of Sichuan Province

Taking Sichuan Province as an example,by using the overall evaluation function of Sichuan's rural public service equalization development level and rural socio-economic development level,we conduct profound analysis on coordination between public service in Sichuan's rural areas and socio-economic development from 2003 to 2008.The results show that the coordination between rural public service and socio-economic development in Sichuan Province is not high,and the equalization phenomenon of rural public service construction and socio-economic development is very prominent.The equalization development of public service in rural areas of Sichuan Province from 2003 to 2008 lags behind socio-economic development.The coordination between public service equalization system in rural areas of Sichuan Province and socio-economic development system abates continuously;the coordination between infrastructure and socio-economic development increases slowly;the coordination between education and socio-economic development declines sharply;the coordination between public culture and socio-economic development tends to decrease;the coordination between ecological environment construction and socio-economic development decreases continuously with great amplitude;the coordination between public health and socio-economic development decreases continuously;the coordination between science and technology and socio-economic development lingers at low level;the coordination between social security and employment,and socio-economic development increases in fluctuation,but with small amplitude.

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

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

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

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

The Differences in Alcohol Use between Urban and Rural Students of Inner Mongolia Medical University, China

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the difference in alcohol use between urban and rural students of Inner Mongolia Medical University. Methods: A cross-sectional census was conducted on medical students on campus in 2013. We use multivariate logistic regression models to assess the factors associated with alcohol use. We further use chi-square test assess on differences in alcohol use between urban and rural people among significance factors in logistic regression models. Results: The prevalence of alcohol use among students in rural area was higher than that in urban area (p = 0.016). Alcohol use was associated with Gender, monthly expenses, residence, ethnic and faculty. The odds of alcohol use for Mongolia students were 1.139 times higher than that for Han students. The prevalence of alcohol consumption among students from pharmacy or Traditional Chinese Medicine and Mongolian Medicine faculties in rural area was higher than that among student in urban area (p = 0.03;p = 0.001). The prevalence of alcohol use among female students in rural area was higher than that among female students in urban area (p < 0.043). The proportion of alcohol use among students with <600 in rural area was higher than that among students in urban area (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Considering the differences in the prevalence of alcohol use between rural area and urban area, university administrators aiming at students from various regions develop various approaches.

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

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

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

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