Integrated sustainable development evaluation based on human well-being indices and pressure indices: A case study of the South China Sea Neighboring Countries

To overcome the inherent shortcomings of the human development index (HDI) and to improve the comparability of evaluation results, in this study, an evaluation indicator system of regional sustainable development pressures was constructed based on catastrophe theory. An improved catastrophe model was used to calculate the sustainable development pressure index (SPI), which was combined with the human development index (HDI) proposed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to explore the human welfare and sustainable development pressures in 9 countries bordering the South China Sea in the period 2003–2015 based on statistical data provided by the World Bank. It was found that during the period of investigation, the level of human welfare in the region gradually increased and the HDI steadily rose, with an average annual growth rate between 0.29% and 2.50%. The sustainable development pressures in the South China Sea neighboring region were very high, and the development models in this region can be divided into 4 types: very high level human welfare with very high sustainable development pressures; high level human welfare with very high sustainable development pressures; medium level human welfare with very high sustainable development pressures; and low level human welfare with very high sustainable development pressures. It is recommended that a country should explore its own development path based on the actual situation in the country to reduce sustainable development obstacles. Moreover, bilateral or multilateral cooperation should be actively pursued to solve the bottleneck problems that restrict regional sustainable development.     

The dynamics of Human Development Index

In criticizing the nature of the Human Development Index, this paper proposes a different way of constructing the HDI in terms of capturing the pure flow of human development in the areas of material well-being, health, and education. Our comparison of the HDIF and the HDI shows that measuring human development with flow variables provides a better human development performance in terms of health and education than the traditional measure which is a mixture of stock and flow variables.     

教育对非农就业工资收入不平等的解释研究

基于分位数回归方法和1989~2009年CHNS的入户数据,根据明瑟方程的回归结果显示,低收入组的教育收益率高于高收入组的教育收益率。通过重新构建的工资不平等程度度量变量和教育不平等以及经验差异度量变量,对离差模型的分位数回归结果显示虽然教育能够提高低收入群体的工资收入,但是教育差距并不能很好地解释收入不平等的扩大。     

Value change: Analyzing national change in citizen secularism across four time periods in the World Values Survey

Convergence or divergence are two plausible but different views on how local cultures respond to the forces of globalization. In the present study, a newly formulated value dimension of secularism was used to investigate the direction of value change induced in members of national groups over the last two decades by the forward march of recent history. A culturally equivalent but single dimension of secularism was extracted from the items tapping the two dimensions of value originally proposed by Inglehart (1997) in the World Values Survey. No evidence of convergence or divergence in secularism was found, as there were no significant differences in standard deviations of citizen scores on secularism across any of the six time periods across which the World Values Survey was administered on the four occasions to date. In addition, there was evidence, though it was not consistent, showing that people across the planet are becoming more secular. Furthermore, a consistently significant relationship between change in HDI (Human Development Index) and change in secularism could not be consistently found for countries, suggesting that cultural value change is not determined by social-economic development. However, the secularism of a country's citizens was found to moderate the impact of social development on secular change during certain recent time period, such that only citizens in initially more secular countries increased their secularism. Future research agendas were proposed in light of these findings.     

Nonparametric modelling of biodiversity: Determinants of threatened species

This study uses a sample of 71 countries and nonparametric quantile and partial regressions to model a number of threatened species (reptiles, mammals, fish, birds, trees, plants) in relation to various economic and environmental variables (GDPc, CO₂ emissions, agricultural production, energy intensity, protected areas, population and income inequality). From the analysis and due to high asymmetric distribution of the dependent variables it seems that a linear regression is not adequate and cannot capture properly the dimension of the threatened species. We find that using OLS instead of non-parametric techniques over- or under-estimates the parameters which may have serious policy implications.     

The Psychiatric 'Caseness' of Clients Referred to an Urban Social Services Department

Correspondence should be sent to Dr. Peter Huxley, Mental Health Social Work Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Manchester University, Stopford Building, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PT. Summary Of 158 clients referred to two area offices and six generalpractice attached social workers, 141 weré interviewedusing standardized social and psychiatric research interviews.The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was completed by 138clients. Their social worker completed the Case Review Form.Scores of 5 or more on the PSE Index of Definition (for theclient) were used to indicate psychiatric caseness. Using IDscores of 5 or more, 53% of the sample were identified as ‘cases’.The GHQ (cut-off 4/5) identified 73% of the clients as cases;and the GHQ (cut-off 10/11) identified 51% cases. Morbidity was significantly greater in the general practicesetting. Social workers' judgement (about the presence or absenceof mental illness/emotional disorder) was not significantlybetter than chance in the identification of specific disorders,but was significant in relation to the whole sample. The results are discussed and further studies are being conductedusing more sophisticated judgements of ’caseness’,and extending the enquiry beyond an inner city population.     

Long maternal working hours were linked to obesity,underweight and stunting in children under age 5 in China

This study assessed the relationship between maternal working hours and stunting, underweight and obesity in children under age 5 in China, using data from the China Nutrition and Health Survey (CNHS) conducted in 2002 and multivariable logistic regression. We found that maternal work hours 25–40 or >40 h per week were associated with a higher risk for underweight and stunting (under growth) in children under age 5. The association between working 25–40 h per week and stunting was somewhat stronger for children from low-income families and the effect of working >40 h per week on underweight was larger among children from mothers with lower education, although with marginal significance (90% confidence). In contrast, we found that long maternal work hours (>40 h per week) were associated with a lower risk for overweight and obesity in children under age 5. This association was stronger among children from mothers with lower education.     

Parenting stress and anger: the Hong Kong experience

This paper examines the relationship between parenting stress and anger. A study was done on parenting stress and anger and its form of expression among Hong Kong Chinese parents. Three measures were used in the study: Abidin's Parental Stress Index/Short Form (PSI/SF; 1990), the Maternal Social Support Index (Pascoe et al. 1981) and Spielberger's State Trait Anger Expression Inventory (STAXI; 1991). A total of 475 parents of children in a primary school participated in the study. The Chinese PSI/SF and the STAXI showed good inter-item reliability. The study helped to provide a profile of the parenting stress and the style of anger expression of Hong Kong Chinese parents. Stress was not found to be related to the year of the children in school or the general socio-economic conditions of the family. But stress correlated positively with anger expression. Multiple regression showed that anger expression was most strongly related to Trait Anger, the Difficult Child scores and the social support available to respondents. Rather than blaming the parent or the child, it is suggested more services should be provided to enhance the anger management, problem-solving skills and social support of the parents.     

Vyāghranomics in space and time: Estimating habitat threats for Bengal,Indochinese, Malayan and Sumatran tigers

The wild tiger population in tropical Asia has dropped from about 100,000 to 3500 in the last century, and the need to conserve tiger habitats poses a challenge for the Global Tiger Recovery Program. This paper develops and uses a high-resolution monthly forest clearing database for 74 tiger habitat areas in ten countries to investigate habitat threats for Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan and Sumatran tigers. The econometric model links forest habitat loss and forest clearing to profitability calculations that are affected by market expectations, environmental conditions and evolving patterns of settlement, among others. It uses new spatial panel estimation methods that allow for temporal and spatial autocorrelation. The econometric results emphasize the role of short-run market variables, including the exchange rate, real interest rate and prices of agricultural products in forest clearing, with considerable variation in the estimated timing for response and impact elasticities across countries. The results highlight a critical message for the conservation policy community: Changes in world agricultural-product markets and national financial policies have significant, measurable effects on tropical forest clearing, with variable time lags and degrees of responsiveness across countries. Measuring these effects and pinpointing areas at risk can provide valuable guidance for policymakers, conservation managers, and donor institutions.     

The Structure of Subjective Well-Being of Elderly Hispanics

This study examines the structure of a model of subjective well-being in an oversample of the elderly Hispanics from the data of a cross-sectional survey. The covariation among the items of the Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA) was viewed as a function of three correlated latent dimensions of subjective well-being including mood tone, zest for life and congruence. Confirmatory factor analysis via LlSREL VI was used to evaluate the measurement model of subjective well-being. The findings reveal that the model encompassing 10 observed items and three latent factors of subjective well-being was highly supported by the data. In addition, a second-order factor model of subjective well-being was not suitable for the data. Several important methodological issues are discussed.     

The causal relationship among electricity consumption,economic growth and capital stock in Iran

Due to the progress in industries, electricity consumption (EC) plays a vital role in economic growth (EG) as one of the important components of production. Furthermore, the influence of capital stock (CS) and labor is significant in EG. The main purpose of this paper is to examine causality and relationship among EG, EC, and CS, to forecast these variables and to propose related policy viewpoints for Iran. The empirical findings indicate the lack of short-run causality between pairwise variables. The results of standard Granger-causality (SGC) test demonstrate a bi-directional long-run causality between EC and EG and a uni-directional long-run causality from EC to CS. To forecast variables, the vector auto regression (VAR) model is estimated using logged variables. The Ariño and Franses approach is applied to transform time series data and forecast variables. The performance of the estimated VAR model is investigated and it clarified a highly accurate estimation with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPEs) of less than 4% for all variables. The results of the impulse response function (IRF) analysis indicate the dynamic behavior of long-run causalities. Therefore, to reduce EC and avoid negative impact on EG, Iran should adopt appropriate and affordable policies to raise efficiency optimization of EC. Finally, four policies including privatization, industrialization, supervision of banking resources and allocation of credits and liberalization of electricity prices are proposed.     

Social attitudes in southern Spain to shape EU agricultural policy

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is one of the most important European policies. Since its inception, the CAP has been reformed in response to high budgetary costs, international trade pressures and socio-economic changes. Despite the reforms, this policy did not always serve the best interests of farmers and provoked social criticisms. In anticipation of the post 2013 design, it is widely agreed that the forthcoming CAP should be more understandable to taxpayers. In this study, the social preferences towards the budgetary allocation of this policy, its equity, and its co-financing are investigated by means of the Choice experiment methodology to shed light on how to shape the future CAP to gain social legitimacy. Results reveal that the CAP post 2013 proposal is more in line with public preferences, although alternative measures are needed to tailor it effectively to regional needs.     

Determinants of the demand for health screening in Malaysia: The case of the aged population

The increase in the prevalence of heart disease has become a serious public health issue. Hypercholesterolemia and hypertension are two main modifiable health risk factors for heart disease. In a fast ageing society, proper preventive measures should be adopted, particularly to achieve healthy aging. The objective of the present study is to examine the factors affecting the use of two health tests, namely blood cholesterol and blood pressure screenings among adults aged 60 years and above in Malaysia. Nationally representative data collected through the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2011 (NHMS, 2011) by the Ministry of Health, Malaysia were analysed. The survey used a two-stage stratified sampling method. Enumeration Blocks were selected in the first stage, while the second stage involved selection of Living Quarters. The proportions of those not using the blood cholesterol (45.4%) and blood pressure (30.8%) tests are alarmingly high. A bivariate probit model is applied to examine the determinants of the use of these two health screening tests. The results show that education, ethnicity, location of residence, employment status, health insurance and smoking significantly affect the decision of the aged population to undergo these tests. Key findings are, first, time is a more dominant factor than income in determining health screening behaviour among the aged population. Second, being covered by insurance increases the propensity to undergo health screening. Third, smokers have a lower likelihood of screening than non-smokers. The findings suggest that intervention programmes should be targeted at the less-educated, employed individuals, individuals not covered by health insurance and smokers.     

A land of the ‘fair go’? Intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia

This paper contributes to the existing literature on income mobility by developing and applying a two‐stage panel regression model and assessing the effects of using different levels of occupational (dis)aggregation and different earnings measures on the magnitude of father–son earnings elasticities in Australia. We find that the overall intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia between 2001 and 2013 ranges from 0.11 to 0.30. Our preferred estimates lie between 0.24 and 0.28. Elasticity estimates vary depending on the level of occupational (dis)aggregation and earnings measure used: they are highest when two‐digit level occupations and hourly earnings are used, and lowest when four‐digit level occupations and annual earnings are used. We read these findings as indicating that elasticity estimates are sensitive to the use of different data and methods, and researchers should be careful when undertaking cross‐study, cross‐temporal or cross‐national comparisons.     

印度洋海权格局与中国海权的印度洋拓展

印度洋海权格局对中国的远海战略通道安全有着至关重要的影响。保卫印度洋航线安全、维持国家经济运行稳定是未来中国海权发展必须实现的基本目标,也是当前中国海权发展的现实动力。本文认为,向印度洋发展是中国海权远洋拓展的必由之路,印度是现实的战略竞争者,但双方仍有合作的空间。中国应充分考虑印度洋的现实形势,尽最大努力维持中美印海权三角关系的相对平衡。本文建议采取"精心选点、低调布局、合作为先、缓慢渗透"的策略,逐步推动中国海权向印度洋方向拓展。     

Carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth in the U.S.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the relationship of the carbon Kuznets curve. We discuss two potential flaws in past carbon Kuznets curve studies: one, the potential misspecification of energy consumption as a control variable; and, two, the use of vector error correction models as an empirical specification. Given these potential flaws we estimate a dynamic ordinary least squares model of monthly carbon dioxide emissions, personal income, and energy production in the U.S. from 1981 to 2003. Our results suggest that economic growth drives emissions intensities, not absolute emissions as is often implied in past studies.     

Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards*

Objective. County‐level socioeconomic and demographic data were used to construct an index of social vulnerability to environmental hazards, called the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) for the United States based on 1990 data. Methods. Using a factor analytic approach, 42 variables were reduced to 11 independent factors that accounted for about 76 percent of the variance. These factors were placed in an additive model to compute a summary score—the Social Vulnerability Index. Results. There are some distinct spatial patterns in the SoVI, with the most vulnerable counties clustered in metropolitan counties in the east, south Texas, and the Mississippi Delta region. Conclusion. Those factors that contribute to the overall score often are different for each county, underscoring the interactive nature of social vulnerability—some components increase vulnerability; others moderate the effects.     

中国的印度洋战略:动因、挑战与应对

受"中国威胁论"及所谓的"珍珠链"战略影响,以美国为首的西方大国以及印度洋沿岸包括印度在内的周边国家对中国崛起的疑惧与防范心态正在不断弥漫,中国经略印度洋将面临巨大挑战。为了充分利用中国在印度洋的优势与机会,应对中国在印度洋面临的劣势和威胁,应以"构建共同价值观、寻找共同利益、促进共同发展"为原则,努力塑造和主动经营一个"和谐、合作、共赢"的印度洋,以化解中美印未来在印度洋可能出现的冲突与中国面临的"安全困境"。     

High Life Satisfaction: Exploring the Role of Health,Social Integration and Perceived Safety among Mexican Midlife and Older Adults

We sought to investigate the relationship of high life satisfaction with important physical health, mental health, social integration and perceived safety factors among midlife and older Mexican adults. We examined 2,200 midlife and older adults (aged 50–101 years) from the Mexican arm of the Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE) and used binary logistic regression models to identify key factors associated with high LSA. Our final logistic regression model revealed self-rated health, affect, interpersonal activities and perceived safety on street to be significantly associated with high life satisfaction. Results from this study add to the nascent literature on subjective well-being of midlife and older Mexicans. Although social work with older adults is not well established in Mexico, researchers and practitioners should collaborate on the development and implementation of social worker-led strategies for prevention and intervention to enhance well-being among midlife and older Mexicans.     

Impact of older adults' mobility and social participation on life satisfaction in South Korea

South Korea has been experiencing rapid population aging. In an aging society, the need for healthy lives is greater. Two of the fundamental factors to enable independent and active life for the elderly are mobility and social participation. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between older adults’ mobility, social participation, and quality of life in South Korea. We used data from the 2017 National Survey of Older Koreans conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs and applied hierarchical regression. The major finding was that older adults’ mobility had a positive impact on their life satisfaction. After controlling for older adults’ mobility, social participation was positively associated with life satisfaction regardless of the place of residence. The findings of this study not only make a valuable contribution to further research on mobility and social participation but also provide new insight into improving older adults’ quality of life.