Factors associated with financial support in old age for young and middle-aged rural residents in China

This study examined the factors associated with financial support in old age from three primary mechanisms-personal savings,family support,and social insurance-to explore the implications for the future development of China’s rural social welfare system.Cross-sectional surveys of 1392 young and middle-aged rural residents were conducted in July and August2012.The results showed that while social insurance was increasingly acceptable,personal savings and family support still had fundamental value.Combining the three mechanisms,the rural old-age welfare system presented nontraditional features.China’s new rural endowment insurance is discussed as a means to address the need for financial support among the rural aging population.     

Factors influencing the quality of rural human settlements in a peripheral metropolitan area based on a structural equation model:A case study from Beijing

Rural human settlement is a significant indicator of the living standards of rural residents,and its improvement can contribute to promoting the positive interaction between inhabited environment and the social,economic,and resource environment in the countryside.Based on 557 valid questionnaires of satisfaction evaluation of human settlement in the peripheral metropolitan area of Beijing,this paper analyzed the elemental characteristics and factors influencing human settlement quality using multivariate statistical analysis and a structural equation model.The result shows that,first,the rural residents in a peripheral metropolitan area of Beijing are generally satisfied with the quality of human settlement(satisfaction rate is 66.2%).Specifically,the natural and social environment of the countryside is excellent and harmonious and corresponding standard of countryside infrastructure is advanced,but the quality of public services and follow-up management of facilities are in urgent need of improvement and the imbalance between revenue and expenditure of rural households has led to a continuous increase in the pressures of life.Second,factors such as social atmosphere,appearance of the village,entertainment,living costs,fundamental public services,and production costs have significant effects on human settlement quality in this peripheral metropolitan area,with social atmosphere as the main one.Living costs and supporting services are the main constraints to improvement in the quality of human settlement.     

Dynamic Changes, Regional Differences, and Influencing Factors of CO2 Emission Performance in China

This paper proposes to use DEA models with undesirable outputs to construct the Malmquist index that can be use to investigate the dynamic changes of CO 2 emission performance.With the index,the authors have measured the CO 2 emission performance of 28 provinces and autonomous regions in China from 1996 to 2007;with the convergence theory and panel data regression model,the authors analyze the regional differences and the influencing factors.It is found that the performance of CO 2 emissions in China has been continuously improved mainly due to the technological progress,and the average improvement rate is 3.25%,with a cumulative improvement rate of 40.86%.In addition,the CO 2 emission performance varies across four regions.As a whole,the performance score of eastern China is the highest.The northeastern and central China has relatively lower performance scores,and the western China is relatively backward.The regional differences are decreasing,and the performance of CO 2 emissions is convergent.The influence of some factors on the performance of CO 2 emissions is significant,such as the level of economic development,the level of industrial structure,energy intensity,and ownership structure.The influence of some factors,such as opening-up to the outside world,on the performance of CO 2 emissions is not significant..     

Evolution Rules of Urban-rural Development and Inspiration for China＇s Agriculture

Based on urban-rural contrast coefficient, this article designs the agriculture relative development index （ARDI） as indicators measuring the intensity of urban rural dual structure which is comparable among the countries of the world. This article calculates ARDI of 40 countries from 1980 to 2004. The result shows that ARDI in the developed countries and most of the middle-income countries are rising and yet there are declines in most of the low-income countries. The result also showed that most countries＇ ARDI will see a decline at the earlier stage of industrialization, so their dual economic structure will also aggravate and urban-rural gap will widen. With the economic development, the tendency will change and ARDI presents a U-shape change overall. The turning point is when a country becomes a middle-income one.     

Empirical Research on Factors Influencing Level of Environmental Protection Information Disclosure in Annual Reports by Listed Companies

Taking 248 A-share manufacturing listed companies in 2006 Shanghai Stock Exchange as example, using ＂index method＂ to measure level of environmental protection information disclosure, this paper examines the factors influencing level of environmental protection information disclosure. The findings show that the disclosure level has improved, but the overall level is still low and unable to satisfy information users; there is positive correlation between corporate size, industry type, accounting firm＇s type and corporate environmental disclosure index. The companies of large scale and heavy pollution and those audited by international ＂Big 4＂ and domestic ＂Big 10＂ accounting firms have a high level of environmental disclosure, while the profitability and financial leverage has no impact on the disclosure level. Finally some suggestions are put forward to establish environmental information disclosure system in China.     

Expansion and Change of Rural Settlements in Traditional Agricultural Regions： Based on Village Investigation in Pingdu County

The rural settlements accounted for a great proportion of overall building land in China, but it still expanded in recent years along with urbanization and gradually decreasing rural population. To explore the reason for this phenomenon, an analysis has been made based on the investigation in a traditional agricultural region. This study found that socioeconomic factors, including the scale of families and its quantity, the improvement of rural public infrastructure, the change of population and the pressure of arable land, have effects on the expansion. The view on land tenure which has shaped in farmers minds in the long haul makes them dispose their houses cautiously, and this was the main cause of the fact that one household own more than one plot. In addition, the limitations of rural land institution are unconducive to inspiriting the transfer of farmers＇ building land and redevelopment of the idle housing land.     

Opportunities and challenges for development of urbanization in Western China

Urban and rural dual structure in Western China is obvious.The economic development of the central cities is relatively quick while that of the rural areas is lagging behind.The speeding up of urbanization contributes to the intensively uncoordinated development of urban and rural areas.Besides,the eco-fragile environment,shortage of available water resources,adverse geographic location,and relatively backward social economy restrict the development of urbanization in Western China.However,Western China also has the advantages of backwardness.This paper analyzes the present situation and development trend of urbanization in Western China.The results show that Western China has basically formed a development pattern with"industry promotes agriculture and urban leads to village".Therefore,combined with the present situation of Western China,this paper describes and analyzes the opportunities and challenges that may appear in the process of urbanization in Western China,puts forward the development pattern in which urban and rural areas can gain mutual support and co-development,and provides related recommendations.     

Analysis on the Evolution of Regional Economic Disparity in the West Coast of the Strait

With the implementation of reform and opening-up, the overall economy of China has made brilliant achievements; meanwhile, however, the economic disparity has been enlarging among some regions, and between the city and the countryside. The existence and evolution of this kind of economic disparity is concerned with social stability, sustainable development and the construction of harmonious society, which has gradually become the hotspot in social economic development. The West Coast of the Strait （WCS） located in southeast littoral areas is adjacent to the Pearl and Yangtze River Delta in the south and north and faces Taiwan Province in the east. The stability and development of this region has vital political and economic meaning in the social economic development of our country. It has important theoretical meaning and practical value to research the form, characteristics and evolution of regional economic disparity in the WCS. Based on insightful analysis on existing study results on the WCS, the paper defines the connotation and extension. By a series of absolute and comparative relative evaluation indexes and taking the WCS since 1992 as the study object, the paper makes analysis on different scales including three regions, four regions, 20 cities and 152 counties, quantitatively evaluates the level, characteristics and evolution of the regional economic disparity and compares the regional economic disparity on different scales. The main conclusions are as follows： the variation trend of the absolute disparity of the whole region is obvious and stable, which has presented an inflating trend; the comparative variation trend on a large scale has waved, The comparative disparity of the three regions increased annually from 1992 to around 2000, which had a decreasing trend from around 2000 to 2005; the comparative variation trend on a small scale was not stable, which showed an annual increase of four regions, 20 cities and 152 counties from 1992 to around 2003 and a decrease from around 2003 to 2005; the     

Evaluation of ecotourism development in rural regions of China

The current status of ecotourism in rural China was analyzed in this paper.Empirical surveys covering the whole country indicate that ecotourism in rural China has attracted a large number of tourists who,however,didn’t generate revenues that can match the number.Although the environmental quality of those rural ecotourism destinations is high with little negative impacts,several problems have already appeared,suggesting a need to monitor those areas.The current practice of interpretation in most rural ecotourism destinations did not provide environmental education opportunities to the tourists.And local communities need more effective ways to decide on the prospects of local ecotourism development by themselves.Finally,a few recommendations for improving the sustainability of ecotourism destinations were provided.     

Impacts of Social and Demographic Factors on Residents’ Subjective Well-being in Rural China

Abstract

The objective of social development is to construct a harmonious society. In China, the key to a harmonious society is the happiness of more than 900 million farmers living in the rural areas. This study aimed to measure rural residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) through the day reconstruction method, as well as to analyze SWB’s influencing factors through a variety of statistical methods. The results showed that the average U index was 12.79%, indicating that respondents were unhappy 12.79% of the time. Twenty-seven percent of the population had a U index greater than 0, with the average value being 47%, indicating that these people were unhappy 47% of the time. The study also found that SWB varied according to the characteristics of the respondents. Logistic regression analysis showed that social and demographic factors, including age, education, county, household size, generation number, per capita income, migration status and social networking, which significantly affected rural residents’ SWB. The size of the impact varied with the different factors.     

社会人口特征与环境关心:基于农村的数据

环境问题是一个可以跨越群体界分从而被全社会普遍关注的问题,还是一个只被具有某些特征的群体关注的问题?背后的机制是什么?这是环境研究领域一个广泛研究的主题.我国学者己就城市居民环境关心及其社会基础开展了一些研究,但仍缺乏基于农村的调查研究.本文利用农村环境的调查数据,就农村居民的社会人口特征对其环境关心的影响进行了回归分析.研究表明,与城市研究发现一致,在中国农村,教育对环境关心也有着积极影响.但与城市发现不同的是,在农村年龄对环境关心起着消极影响,而且尽管男性在环境知识和感知上高于女性,两性在环境态度上并无显著差异.另外,研究还发现主观社会地位对环境关心有积极影响,外出打工经历有消极影响,而主观经济地位和党员身份对环境关心都无显著影响.最后也是本研究最令人兴奋的发现是,政治价值观对环境关心各个因子都有非常显著的影响.     

中国城乡一体化水平的省区分异

推进形成城乡经济社会发展一体化新格局,是全面建设小康社会、实现城乡社会经济发展方式转型的重要举措。本文采用城乡发展差异系数、城乡一体化水平指数等指标,分析了中国城乡一体化水平的省区差异,揭示了这种地域分异所产生的影响因素,进一步探讨推进全国城乡一体化新格局形成的科学机制。研究表明,中国城乡发展无论是东部相对发达省区,还是西部欠发展省区,差异显著,呈现不均衡特点;城乡一体化水平受自然环境、经济社会发展综合实力和公共政策等因素影响明显;加快建构城乡一体化发展新格局,需要进一步纠正"城市偏向"的发展观,加大城乡统筹力度,推进城乡基本公共服务均等化进程,并根据变化趋势,调整公共政策的着力点,提升城乡一体化发展的区域协调性。     

基于结构方程模型的农户清洁能源应用行为决策研究

推进农户应用清洁能源对于促进农村生态建设至关重要。本文将农户清洁能源应用行为视为是一个"外部情境因素-内部心理因素-农户清洁能源应用行为"的过程,基于环境行为理论和技术接受模型,构建出农户清洁能源应用行为影响因素概念模型。利用江西省农户的调查数据,运用结构方程模型从农户购买行为和使用行为两个维度,研究农户清洁能源应用行为的影响因素,以及这些因素的作用机理。研究表明,情境因素(经济激励政策、自愿活动、宣传教育、清洁能源产品属性)以农户感知为中介,进而正向影响农户清洁能源使用行为,从众心理、行为便利性直接正向影响农户清洁能源使用行为;生态价值观和感知因素在经济激励政策与农户清洁能源购买行为之间起到部分中介效应,行为便利对农户清洁能源购买行为有直接正向影响;相对于经济激励政策,农户自愿活动对提升农户生态价值观会更有效;在影响农户感知的四个情景因素(经济激励政策、自愿活动、宣传教育、清洁能源产品属性)中,自愿活动对农户感知的正向影响程度最大;对农户清洁能源购买行为正向影响程度最大的是经济激励政策,对农户清洁能源使用行为正向影响程度最大的是行为便利性。基于上述结论,提出以下政策建议:政府要扩大清洁能源产品补贴的范围,加大农户购买清洁能源产品的补贴力度,降低农户购买清洁能源产品的成本;加强清洁能源知识、环境保护的宣传教育,提升农村居民的环境责任感,增强农村居民的生态环境价值观;完善农村清洁能源应用服务体系,提升农户应用清洁能源的易用性感知;充分发挥清洁能源示范村的辐射效应,增强农户应用清洁能源有用性感知;引导基层村干部、党员或环保意识强的农户率先应用清洁能源,在从众心理作用下,促使更多的农户应用清洁能源。     

农地整理项目治理绩效及影响因素研究——以浙江省48个国投项目为例

从农村土地整理的内涵及现实情境出发构建投入产出绩效评价指标体系,运用DEA方法对浙江省已竣工验收的48个国家投资土地整理项目效率水平进行测度,借此深入分析农村土地整理项目的治理绩效以及影响因素,旨在为改善我国农村土地整理项目治理绩效研究提供新的理论与方法。研究结果显示:(1)浙江省48个国家投资项目的综合效率均值为0.851、技术效率均值为0.903、规模效率均值为0.936,说明项目总体治理绩效较好,但项目之间的差异比较明显;(2)超效率分析发现,杭州北部、宁波南部和温州东南部等自然和社会条件较好地区的项目绩效水平较高,衢州西部和奉化西南等丘陵地区绩效水平较低;(3)影响因素分析发现,生态防护林种植数量、灌溉渠系长度、土地平整土方量、田间道路长度等工程投入过量,作物总产值增加量、单位面积涉及人口数、植被覆盖率等产出不足是导致绩效不高的主要原因;(4)DEA分析法是一种有效的治理绩效分析法,有助于从技术改进和规模调整角度来理解农村土地整理项目治理绩效内涵。根据结论,提出应该从生产技术上增强项目投入产出的转化能力,以改善绩效水平。     

人与自然和谐是构建和谐社会的物质基础

在剖析和谐社会及人与自然和谐基本内涵的基础上。通过分析资源短缺、生态破坏和环境污染对社会和谐的破坏作用。阐明了人与自然和谐是构建和谐社会的基本前提；通过分析加强环境保护、合理开发利用资源可以促进民主法治和公平正义。促使社会充满活力、安定有序。促进经济繁荣和持续发展。阐明了以人与自然和谐推进和谐社会的构建。进而全面论述了人与自然和谐是构建和谐社会的物质基础。     

Factors influencing the quality of rural human settlements in a peripheral metropolitan area based on a structural equation model: A case study from Beijing

Rural human settlement is a significant indicator of the living standards of rural residents, and its improvement can contribute to promoting the positive interaction between inhabited environment and the social, economic, and resource environment in the countryside. Based on 557 valid questionnaires of satisfaction evaluation of human settlement in the peripheral metropolitan area of Beijing, this paper analyzed the elemental characteristics and factors influencing human settlement quality using multivariate statistical analysis and a structural equation model. The result shows that, first, the rural residents in a peripheral metropolitan area of Beijing are generally satisfied with the quality of human settlement (satisfaction rate is 66.2%). Specifically, the natural and social environment of the countryside is excellent and harmonious and corresponding standard of countryside infrastructure is advanced, but the quality of public services and follow-up management of facilities are in urgent need of improvement and the imbalance between revenue and expenditure of rural households has led to a continuous increase in the pressures of life. Second, factors such as social atmosphere, appearance of the village, entertainment, living costs, fundamental public services, and production costs have significant effects on human settlement quality in this peripheral metropolitan area, with social atmosphere as the main one. Living costs and supporting services are the main constraints to improvement in the quality of human settlement.     

Critical success factors of sustainable manufacturing practices in Malaysian automotive industry

The purpose of this study is to examine the critical success factors of sustainable manufacturing practices (SMPs) in Malaysian automotive industry. The questionnaires were designed and distributed to the 50 respondents. The pilot study sample consists of 26 respondents from 50 questionnaires, with an average response rate of 52%. The results of reliability analysis show that social responsibility is critical factor influencing the direct SMPs implementation success. By implementing SMPs in Malaysian automotive industry, it can assist company to improve the quality of management. Thus, this study recommends that the future research explore the influence of SMPs on sustainable performance in Malaysian automotive industry.     

洞庭湖区血吸虫病疫水人水相互作用关系及防控方案研究

研究洞庭湖区血吸虫病人水相互作用关系及传染防控,是推进湖区社会经济稳定健康发展的重要保障。从水文情势、产业发展、居民行为、城乡建设四方面探讨了洞庭湖区血吸虫病疫水人水相互作用关系,并运用系统动力学模型,设置教育优先方案、生态保护优先方案和城镇化推进方案对其防控方案进行系统仿真模拟和对比分析,研究结果表明:(1)水文等生态因素对于人水接触的影响逐步减少,而社会经济因素则显得越来越重要。(2)系统动力学模型能有效展示血吸虫病各影响因素之间的关系,是研究血吸虫病防控的有效方法之一。(3)依据仿真模拟结果,城镇化推进方案是经济增长、城乡协调、环境友好的最优血防方案。     

中国城乡贫困变动:2004—2012

本文基于2004—2012年中国综合社会调查数据,根据家庭人均年收入2 300元的国家贫困标准线和"1天1.5美元"的亚洲贫困标准线,使用FGT指数和脱贫时间两种贫困指数评估了我国城乡贫困整体变动趋势,并从城乡和地区、个体和家庭特征层面分解贫困人口构成;也考察了贫困变动的增长效应和收入分配效应;最后定量地分析收入增长的影响因素。结果表明,根据两种贫困标准线,两种贫困指数测度结果一致反映我国贫困人口规模显著减少;按国家贫困标准线,我国城乡贫困发生率下降了8.8%,但到2012年的依然高达8.6%,农村贫困人口平均脱贫时间为5.4年,而相对贫困发生率有所上升。不同地区的贫困变动差异较大,西部地区和中部地区贫困发生率依然高于全国平均水平3.41个百分点和0.22个百分点,贫困强度和贫困深度现象都还较为严重;东部地区的减贫效应十分明显,但贫困人口内部收入差距拉大问题较为突出。经济增长的脱贫效应较为显著,但增长的亲贫性有待提高;城乡、地区和贫困人口内部居民收入差距逐渐拉大,并成为反贫困的严重障碍。外出非农工作经历、性别差异和教育程度是影响收入增长的关键因素。基于此,本文建议反贫政策应瞄准西部地区的教育程度和健康水平较低、家庭规模较大的农村居民,尤其是女性户主家庭,也应加强养老保险、社会帮扶和人力资本投资,形成改善收入分配为重点的社会保障性扶贫政策体系;中部地区可以借助邻近东部地区的地理优势,通过承接产业转移持续实施"开发式扶贫"政策体系;同时,也可将扶贫标准线提高为每人"1天1.5美元"的亚洲贫困线。