Evaluation of the sustainable development level of countries along the Belt and Road and its impact factors:Empirical analysis based on the Super-efficiency slacks-based measure and Tobit measure models

Sustainable development is an important component of the Belt and Road Initiative(BRI)and is of great significance for evaluating the levels of sustainable development of countries along this route(henceforth,BRI countries).Therefore,this study aims to identify the factors that influence the levels of sustainable development of BRI countries in a reasonable and objective manner.Eventually,this study employs the super efficiency slacks-based measure(Super-SBM)model,which considers unexpected outputs to measure the level of sustainable development of BRI countries.The dynamic change and composition of the sustainable development level of these countries are calculated using the global Malmquist-Luenberger index.Furthermore,the Tobit model is used to identify the factors influencing the level of sustainable development of BRI countries in general and in various categories.The empirical results suggest the following points.(a)The overall level of sustainable development of BRI countries is low,whereas those of high-income and middle-and high-income countries are relatively high.(b)The overall sustainable development levels of BRI countries declined to a certain extent in 2008 owing to the effect of the financial crisis,.However,the sustainable development level of other countries,barring low-income countries,has gradually increased since 2011.(c)Since 2008,technological progress has replaced technical efficiency as the main driving force behind the improvement of the sustainable development level of BRI countries.(d)A U-shaped relationship is observed between the economic and sustainable development levels of these countries.(e)The level of science and technology and the proportion of renewable energy consumption can promote the sustainable development of these countries.Moreover,a negative correlation exists between the level of opening to the outside world and that of sustainable development of countries that mainly export resource-based products and are dominated by labor-intensive export industries.Barring low-income countries,the energy structure plays an effective role in improving the level of sustainable development.Finally,the study presents suggestions for China in the process of coping with the sustainable development of relevant countries during its promotion of the BRI.

Associations of sleep duration with childhood obesity: findings from a national cohort study in China

Objective:Examine effect of sleep duration on children’s risk of overweight and obesity;and study associations between activities in the last hour before bedtime and sleep outcomes(sleep duration,sleep quality,and sleep onset latency).Methods:Children’s data were recruited using a questionnaire survey from a nationally representative sample of children(n=10279)in China in 2013‒2016.Mixed-effects models were used to test associations among variables stratified by sex.Results:Sleep duration was positively associated with BMI in boys(β=0.04,P=0.021).Girls with short sleep durations(<8 h/d)tended to have higher BMI values than those with normal sleep durations(8‒9 h/d)(β=0.12,P=0.063).The top three activities were playing electronic devices(Factor 1),doing homework,and reading(combined as Factor 2).Factors 1 and 2 were both significantly associated with sleep duration(β=0.17,P<0.001;β=−0.26,P<0.001,respectively).Conclusion:Sleep duration seems to affect BMI in Chinese children.Using electronic devices and reading before bedtime influenced sleep duration.Good bedtime habits and sleep duration can help weight management in children.

Implications of an Unlimited Fertility Policy in China:Lessons from Low Fertility and Population Aging in Japan and Korea

In 2016 China began implementing a new population strategy after having maintained a one-child policy for 35 years.This paper draws on the lessons we can learn about low fertility and population aging in Japan and South Korea to consider the implications of the newly announced'universal two-child'policy in China.Japan,Korea and China share many socio-cultural characteristics and have undergone similar processes with respect to low fertility and population aging at different periods of time.Many scholars argue that China's family planning program has greatly reduced China's fertility level,but the effects of other socioeconomic factors have,in fact,had a greater impact on the reduction of the fertility rate than the one-child policy had.Considering the effects of the fertility policy that limits the number of births in China and the lessons we can get from unsuccessful fertility boosting measures in Japan and Korea,this paper suggests that a fertility policy that puts no limits on births should be adopted in China.

The health status of the Chinese elderly and changes since 1990s:evidence from population censuses and sampling surveys

Employing data from the population census in 2010 and the 1%population sample survey in 2015,this paper examines the health status of China’s elderly including urban-rural differences and gender gaps in their health.In addition,sampling sur-veys from 1994 and 2004 are used to analyze the changes in the health status of the elderly since 1994.The results show that the health status of the urban elderly remained stable,but that of the rural elderly improved between the years 2010 and 2015.The health status of older males was generally better than that of older females.The health status of middle-aged elderly improved,but that of the oldest-old declined among male groups.The prevalence of disability of the elderly declined between 1994 and 2015,but the developmental pattern of disability changed in this period.

The Growth Paths and Mechanisms of Chinese Private Enterprise

During the past forty years of reform and opening up,China’s private economy has made remarkable strides.This paper introduces start-up organizational processes into the study of elite mobility in emerging markets,exploring the relationship between the social origins of entrepreneurs and their entrepreneurial outcomes.Our research finds that the initial scale,growth rate and current size of enterprises established by elite entrepreneurs are larger than those of grassroots entrepreneurs.With the deepening of economic reform and the growth of the private economy,the social origins of large business owners generally tend to be elitist and the scale advantage of the enterprises set up by elite entrepreneurs,especially endogenous or inside-track entrepreneurs,is ever more striking.The expansion of such enterprises’superior position is mainly due to their initial advantages of scale;after the start-up period,the advantage conferred by their pace of growth does not increase synchronously.In order to promote the further development of the private economy and release its innovative potential,it is necessary to give full play to the government’s function of regulating market operations and correcting market failure,and thus actively creating a good business environment.

Refl etions on the New Two-Child Fertility Policy

In conducting a more extensive and in-depth analysis of the new two-child policy,this article summarizes,and provides new interpretations and rethinking or the new family planning policy by looking at China's fertility level with lifetime and regional perspectives.Research shows that women's lifetime fertility level is not as low as the period fertility level,and China has not fallen into the "low fertility trap".A fundamental feature of China's fertility pattern is the large regional differences.Adjustment of fertility policy needs an overall consideration.It is too early to suggest that the new fertility policy has had effects that are far below expectations when the policy has just been implemented for one year.The new fertility policy is transitional,and plays a role of reducing birth accumulation when moving to a universal two-child policy.Policy adjustment and change will bring about a full range of social impacts.

Living together with children and elderly:the impact of family structure on the consumption of migrants and residents in urban China

Using data from the first wave of the“China Family Dynamic Survey”conducted in 2014,this study compares the impact on consumption of the presence of children or elderly people in migrant households and to that in urban resident households,and then examines the extent to which lack of access to public services might explain the differences in consumption patterns that do exist.The results indicate that migrant households with infants and toddlers increase their consumption of healthcare services,while those with preschool children increase their consumption of educational services.Migrant households with elderly members significantly increase their consumption of healthcare services.The comparison of migrant households with urban resident households shows that there are considerable differences between migrant households and urban resident households in terms of how educational and healthcare expenditures are affected by the presence of children and elderly.The differences grow out of a huge gap in the accessibility of low-cost,subsidized public preschool education and government-funded health insurance programs.

Parity,Timing and Level of Fertility:A Comparative Study on Mean Age at Childbearing in China,Japan and South Korea

Using fertility data from national surveys and population censuses for China,Japan and South Korea,this study analyzes the levels and trends of mean age at childbearing(MAC)in the three countries from 1990 to 2015.After using the decomposition technique to isolate the effects of parity composition and childbearing schedule in each of the three countries,the article presents a quantitative examination of the factors that underlie dynamic changes and cross-national differences of MACs.Results indicate that the MAC of China experienced a decrease between 1990 and 1995,followed by sustained growth afterwards.The increase of MAC in China has been driven by the postponement of childbearing and changes in parity composition,with the former playing a larger role.The mechanisms underlying the patterns since 2010 deserve special attention.Compared with Japan and South Korea,China has had relatively lower MAC during the last 25 years;the three countries demonstrate different patterns in terms of the roles of parity composition and birth timing.The accuracy of MAC in identifying the timing of period fertility and the policy implications of timing on upturning fertility level are discussed.

Health literacy of college students in Beijing and the demands of health education

Health literacy is the main component of health quality and a comprehensive health indicator reflecting related idea,cognition,behavior and skills.In this paper,we investigated the overall level and characteristics of health literacy based on the survey data of college students in Beijing.The differences of health literacy level among sub-groups were compared,and the influencing factors of health literacy were discussed.The results showed that college students had a higher level in overall health literacy than other peers,but a lower level in the prevention of chronic disease and infectious disease.The level of health literacy of college students was mainly affected by their major,hometown,and situation of health-related elective.Besides,we also found that the way college students used to acquire health knowledge was inconsistent with their expectations,and the requirements for health education were also very high.More systematic and comprehensive health education should be provided in universities,with an emphasis on the knowledge of lifestyle and daily habits.

Changes in family structure in China:the impact of residence patterns and demographic factors

Based on census data from China,this paper uses SOCSIM microscopic simulation method to decompose the key factors of family transition into demographic and residence pattern factors.The former are further broken down into demographic inertia,fertility,mortality and marriage rate.The results indicate that the current demographic changes are relatively small and,thus,the small fluctuations caused by demographic changes contribute much less than residence pattern to the family transition.Among the demographic factors,demographic inertia and fertility have a greater effect on family transition and the impacts caused by fertility and marriage rate are consistent with the direction of the overall influence of demographic factors:increasing the proportion of single-person households,one-generation households,and two-generation households,and decreasing the proportion of three-generation or more households.In contrast,the effect of mortality rate was opposite to that of fertility rate,which increased the proportion of populations living in single-person,one-generation,and two-generation households,but the decreased the proportion of the population living in three-generation or more households.

Diverging destinies:changing trends of induced abortion in China

In the era of the second demographic transition,“diverging destinies”theory states that women with the most economic opportunities often obtain gains while women with the least economic opportunities suffer from losses.Using nationally represent-ative data from the 2017 China Fertility Survey,we attempted to examine if diverg-ing destinies theory can explain differences in the incidence of induced abortion among women with differing economic opportunities.We found that women with good economic opportunities(i.e.,well-educated and holding urban hukou)were more likely to have induced abortions between 1980 and 2010 and less likely to do so between 2015 and 2017.Moreover,younger cohorts were far more likely to have induced abortions at a younger age and before marriage.These findings provide sup-portive evidence for diverging destinies in induced abortion scenarios in China.We thus advocate that sexual and reproductive health policy making shows an overarch-ing concern for the interests of disadvantaged groups.

lntergenerational Mobility Modes and Changes in Social Class in Contemporary China

本文利用3次中国综合社会调查数据，分析了60多年来我国社会阶层代际流动的基本状况及其变迁。研究发现，我国总体社会流动率逐步提升，社会开放性呈波浪式变化，尽管如此，代际继承在各个时期都是代际流动的主导模式。随着社会经济体制的转型，社会排斥的主要机制从“体制排斥”转向“市场排斥”，从而导致了社会机会结构的变迁，代际流动形态也发生重要变化，主要表现：特定阶层的代际继承优势逐渐下降，跨阶层的循环流动越来越困难。一方面，社会排斥机制的转变能够提高社会开放性，从而激发社会活力，增强社会合法性；另一方面，随着社会优势阶层学会利用市场排斥机制实现阶层再生产，未来中国社会仍然存在阶层固化的可能性。

Market Transition, Labor Market Segmentation and Organizational Mobility

利用CGSS2008年调查数据，分析社会成员在分割劳动力市场中的工作组织流动模式及其变迁。劳动力市场分割结构的基础在于不同劳动部门社会资源分配权力的差异，这种差异进一步导致不同劳动部门的“吸引力”与“排斥力”有所不同，从而影响了人们的组织流动。首要劳动力市场的“吸引力”与“排斥力”都更高，那么劳动者的离职可能性更低，而跨部门流动可能性更高。在中国市场转型过程中，由于分配社会资源的权力形式发生了转变，故劳动力市场分割结构也会随之改变，而且这种改变将折射到人们的工作组织流动方面。通过考察社会成员工作组织流动模式的变化，发现中国城镇社会劳动力市场分割结构从改革之初以体制分割为主，转变为现在体制分割与市场分割并存的结构。

An ongoing journey: review of ICPD + 25 in China

The present review is the first to be conducted since the adoption of UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;it examines the implementation of the PoA/ICPD in China since 1994 and its contributions to the achievement of the SDGs in China in the areas of population and development,gender equality,and health improvement.The review demonstrated that China has made tremendous progress in implementing the principles of the PoA in its national context over the past 25 years since ICPD in Cairo in 1994.Still,the ICPD agenda remains unfinished in some respects and further efforts are required,particularly given the changing situation in China.

Disability trajectories in activities of daily living of elderly Chinese before death

This study aims to analyze the changes in activities of daily living(ADL)of the Chinese elderly before death,and to explore the heterogeneity in this process.Using data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey(CLHLS),we quantify disability trajectories of ADL using a group-based trajectory model and find that there are three types of disability trajectory for ADL.The elderly who differ by socioeconomic status,childhood experiences,health behaviors,ages and birth cohorts show significant differences in their disability trajectories.Long duration of disability is found to be more prevalent in older females and people with high socioeconomic status.Good and stable status of ADL is more common among males and people of low socioeconomic status,while the elderly in an early cohort who died at older ages were more likely to have experienced a long duration of disability.Selective and protective effects contribute to the observed differences in trajectories.

The impact of demographic changes on the unbalanced development of the national public pension system in China’s provinces

China’s public pension system is managed at the provincial level.In recent years,the development of public pension system in the provinces has become more unbalanced.The increase in the gap between the developed and less developed regions of China has become increasingly evident.Based on an analysis of changes to population structure in each province during the 20 year period 1995-2015,combined with research focused on public pension policy,this paper finds that there are great differences in the structure of population in each province with respect to age,type(the ratio of local residents to migrants),and quality(the proportion of the population with higher education).All of these are important factors that help to explain the unbalanced development of the public pension system.China’s developed regions have cumulative advantages in these three areas,and this study found that the gap between developed and less developed regions was growing.Among the three factors,the influences of population age and quality structure were a reflection of normal social phenomenon,while variations of population type structure in the provinces were largely a result of the way in which China’s public pension transfer policy is designed.In this paper,the author argues that if barriers to migration were removed,greater population mobility would help realize national management of the public pension system.

血亲价值观及中国老年人对非正式支持资源的选择——基于北京市老年人相关调查数据的分析(英文)

非正式支持是解决老年人问题的重要方式和资源。中国老年人在选择非正式支持资源时会受到血亲价值观的影响,在总体上表现出网络中的血亲核心性、心理中的血缘偏执性、关系中的血缘扩展性、目标中的需求综合性和交往中的伦理交换性等特点;而在具体实践上则形成了两类资源、区别性功能、递降式选择的基本模式以及不断分割非正式支持资源网络的文化特征。这种选择模式和文化特征既有利于老年人在一定程度上利用非正式支持资源,也限制了老年人对非正式支持资源的充分利用。

Gender differences in the impact on subjective well-being in China

This article examines the relationship among subjective well-being(SWB),income and education in China through self-perceived social status.Men and women appear to use different socioeconomic markers to determine their self-perceived social status,which ultimately affects their subjective reports of well-being.By using the data from the 2010 China General Social Survey(CGSS),this study finds a positive association between income and SWB for women.The result also shows a positive association between education and SWB for men.Moreover,for women self-perceived social status is a strong mediator of income and happiness;while for men,selfperceived social status mediates the relationship between education and SWB.This study highlights the importance of the cultural influence in understanding the differences in self-perceived social status outcomes by gender and how these differences ultimately influence the subjective measures of well-being in China.