Regional disparities in Malaysia

Visualizing the level of living as a level of satisfaction of the needs of the population assured by a given flow of goods and services in a unit of time, several sets of components which are judged capable of representing the various aspects of the level of living are chosen for eleven states of Malaysia. Indices of levels of living disparities, within the framework developed by Frederick Harbison and associates, which are called ‘pattern of development’ and ‘measure of development’ are established for eleven states of Malaysia based on 16 socio-economic indicators in order to get a clear picture of regional socio-economic disparities in this country.     

The Shape of South African Society and its Challenges

South Africa's negotiated settlement and its transition to democracy reads like a modern fairy tale. A brief review of South Africa's social indicators serves to temper some of optimism about the country's future. The indicators reflect the society's quality of life which has been shaped by its turbulent history. Political “caste formation”, changing political alliances, the reforms intended to forestall the demise of apartheid, and the race for global competitiveness have left indelible marks on the society's social indicators. A comparison of living conditions in South Africa with those of roughly comparable economies indicates that the country lags behind in securing overall and widespread socio-economic upgrading of the population at large. A review of a cross-section of South African indicators and their trends over time shows that South Africa is still a very deeply divided society with a very large backlog in socio-economic development. There is evidence of breakdown in the society's social cohesion. Popular expectations of future quality of life indicate that the euphoria following on the first democratic elections has been replaced by a sense of realism among all sectors of the population. It is concluded that quality of life as reflected in South Africa's social indicators may get worse before it improves. The challenge will be to avoid new forms of economic “apartheid” which would depress the quality of life of marginal sectors of the population at the expense of the economically privileged.     

A Measure of Trust: The Italian Regional Divide in a Latent Class Approach

Social differences within countries may partly explain the lack of economic convergence and the persistence of regional disparities. The case of Italy is emblematic: economic gap between North and South remains at high levels with large differences in social capital and in trust. In this paper, we use the micro data from the ISTAT “Aspects of Daily Life” Survey to build a measure of “trust in others” and a measure of “trust in institutions” through a latent class model to attribute a trust score to the Italian households and the Italian regions and, in this way, to add elements of knowledge useful to policies. Our measures confirm a persistent territorial divide although the regional mapping appears more complex than the classical North–South partition. At last, a discussion on the household typology shows that the territorial gaps of trust persist even among households with similar socio-economic characteristics.     

Pattern of Regional Disparities in Socio-economic Development in India: District Level Analysis

The study assesses the pattern of disparities in socio-economic development at the district level in India applying the Wroclow Taxonomic technique (following Ewusi. Social Indicators Research 3(1) 75–110, 1976, and Arief. Social Indicators Research 11(3) 259–267, 1982) based upon optimal combination of selected socio-economic development indicators. In order to get a clear picture of regional socio-economic disparities in India, the level of development is assessed separately for agriculture, industrial and infrastructural sectors and the districts are classified into four development categories according to the values of the constructed development index. For bringing about uniform regional development and improving the quality-of-life, model districts for disadvantaged districts have been identified and potential targets for various social amenities have been estimated. An attempt has also been made to compare the levels of socio-economic development among various regions in India. The constructed socio-economic development index shows that India’s Southern region is far more and symmetrically developed in comparison of Central and Northern regions. The results show that wide disparities in the level of socio-economic development exist among different districts within and between different regions of India. The level of development in infrastructural service sector is found to be positively and statistically significantly associated with the overall socio-economic development indicating that the growth and progress of the sectors have been going hand in hand in the country. The results show that in Northern and Central regions of India the level of industrial development does not significantly influence the agricultural and overall socio-economic development while agricultural development influences overall socio-economic development. The study suggests that low developed districts require improvement in most of the indicators for enhancing their levels of overall socio-economic development.     

Comprehensive Evaluation of the Objective Quality of Life of Chinese Residents: 2006 to 2009

This study performs a comprehensive evaluation of the objective quality of life (QOL) of the 31 provincial administrative divisions in Mainland China from 2006 to 2009 with principal component analysis (PCA). The objective QOL in China generally decreases gradually from the eastern coastal regions to the western inland regions, with a significant gap between the east and the west. Furthermore, the QOL shows an irrational developmental pattern with the natural conditions and the geographical position as the foundations, and economic development as the dominant factor. Cluster analysis is then used to analyze further the regional structural characteristics of the QOL in China. The results indicate the existence of mutual distinctions and internal differentiations among the eastern, middle, and western regions. The temporal analysis shows that the QOL in China demonstrates a continuous increase from 2006 to 2009, with a growth rate that speeds up annually. However, the increase does not mean a harmonious development in all aspects of society, but the rapid progress of socio-economic well-being, and the slow development or even deterioration of eco-environment and social security. The tendencies of the QOL in the four socio-economic regions coincide with that of the national average and the QOL of the middle and western regions increase significantly faster than that of the eastern region. However, the disparities between the eastern region and the middle and western regions expand because of the huge base of regional development differences in China.     

Social indicators for housing and urban development in Africa: Towards a new development model

Social indicators as a new measuring tool for socio-economic development is a recent innovation. While numerous scholars have applied this new technique in studying the development aspects in developed countries, few scholars have tested this new methodology in Africa. This paper reviews the literature on social indicators and shows how it can be applied to measuring the social progress in urban and housing development in the international, national, regional and local environment. We believe very strongly that social indicators will evaluate the degree of progress that is being made in achieving a wide range of social goals in Africa.     

What state,what markets,for what development?

The collapse of “real socialism” and “peripheric late capitalism” and the exhaustion of the various models of “Welfare capitalism” demand the theoretical and practical reconstruction of the entire field of the eco-socio-economy of development and planning. Among the criteria for a new approach would be social equity and environmental prudence. This project should be then translated into a strategy for development which implies in turn a re-definition of state, market and the role of civil society and the forms of interaction between social actors. At the same time, the ways of articulation between the various areas - local, national, global — of development should be defined. In this framework, planning should be seen as a set of procedures for promoting societal debate on the “project”, in order to elaborate long-term strategies and identify the range of the decisions to be taken.     

Development Disparities and Peculiarities: An Empirical Investigation

The vast, sprawling and densely populated province of Punjab, while predominantly agricultural, is marked by considerable regional disparities. An attempt has been made in this paper to see to what extent the differences in the human and social development in its various districts is there. The study exhibits that those regions which are ranked as lagging districts have high disparities in terms of human development and social development with high urban and rural poverty estimates. It is clearly revealed that aggregate national figures mask vast sub regional disparities and speedy development in some regions may not necessarily elevate lagging regions.     

The Dynamics of Social Indicator Research for California’s Central Valley in Transition

How can social indicator research improve understanding of community health as well as inform stakeholders about the assets disadvantaged communities have for coping with disparities? This paper describes the development and evolution of the Partnership for Assessment of Communities (PAC) and its best practices for social indicator research. The PAC will be of interest to researchers across multiple disciplines for a number of reasons. First, PAC is a working model of best practices for multidisciplinary scholarly inquiry. Second, it has developed an integrated model of quantitative and qualitative methodology to define and measure community health as compared to traditional quality-of-life indicators. Third, it serves as an example of “action research,” in that the findings have the potential to make an impact on community stakeholders and policy outcomes in the greater Central San Joaquin Valley of California, a region characterized by deep social and economic disparities.     

A Population Policy Rationale for the Twenty‐First Century

I propose that the primary goal of twenty‐first‐century population policies should be to strengthen the human resource base for national and global sustainable development. I discuss the shortcomings of the three dominant twentieth‐century population policy rationales: acceptance of replacement‐level fertility as a demographic goal; realizing a “demographic dividend” from the changing age structure; and filling the “unmet need” for family planning. I demonstrate that in all three cases the explicit incorporation of education into the model changes the picture and makes female education a key population policy priority. Population policies under this new rationale could be viewed as public human resource management. I argue that 20 years after the Cairo ICPD the international community needs a new rationale for population policies in the context of sustainable development and that a focus on human capital development, in particular education and health, is the most promising approach.     

美国社会保障退休金确定机制——方法、特点与启示

养老金待遇确定机制是公共养老金制度的核心内容之一。从三个方面系统研究了美国社会保障退休金确定机制:在退休年龄方面,实现了劳动关系和社会保障关系的相对分离,通过引入“全额领取年龄”建立了“早减晚增”式初始退休金调节机制;在计算办法方面,建立了基于个体的、全国统一的基本保险金额计算办法,并通过分级加权实现了收入再分配和减少老年贫困等功能;在待遇调整方面,建立了基于生活成本调整的退休金指数化自动调整机制。立足我国基本养老保险制度实践、借鉴美国退休金制度设计经验,本文认为我国基本养老保险待遇确定机制改革的方向是引入较为宽松灵活的退休政策、待遇计发与全国性指标挂钩以促进全国统筹和制度公平、增强待遇计发对参保和缴费行为的激励作用、尽快建立科学合理的待遇调整机制。     

Basic Minimum Needs,Quality of Life and Selected Correlates: Explorations in Villages in Northern India

For those involved in international development, one of the major goals is an improvement in the quality of life of the poor. Bhargava and Chakrabati (1992: 133) see the “primary objective of development at any given time is to improve the quality of life”. Indeed, the mission statement for an international development organization explicitly commits itself to the improvement of the quality of life for the “poorest of the poor” (DID, 1994). Social indicators, as “transeconomic” measures of quality of life, have “become an integral part of 'development indicators”' (Kao and Liu, 1984: 400; see, also Kahn, 1991). The connection between quality of life and development extends beyond the Third World. For example, in the U.S. Myers (1987) found quality of life influenced inmigration to Austin, Texas, thus affecting its economic development. Undoubtedly the majority of the connections between social indicators and development has been examined at the macro, or national levels using economic, health, education and other objective, comparative indices. Recognizing that such measures as GNP are oftentimes inadequate, assorted indices have been derived to gauge the changes in social development over time, e.g., the well-known Physical Quality of Life Index (PQLI) constructed by the Overseas Development Council (Morris, 1976). Many of these tend to focus on objective, material indicators (commodity possessions) as opposed to the more subjective ones (Anand and Ravallion, 1993). It is not the purpose of this paper to examine the various critics' arguments about the strengths and weaknesses of extant macro versus micro indices, but rather to lend support for the general need to assess development and social change through social indicators, whether macro or micro, objective or subjective. Ultimately, the purpose of the assessment should guide which social indicators are selected. The purpose of this paper is to examine several issues arising from the linkages between development efforts and quality of life (QOL). Using empirical data which were gathered to evaluate a community development project in the Garhwal region of Northern India, several issues, germane to both social indicators and development, will be investigated. These include: (1) the relationship between “Basic Minimum Needs” (BMNs) and QOL, (2) some methodological innovations for measuring both BMNs and QOL, and (3) selected correlates of BMNs and social indicators of QOL for Garhwali villagers. Before describing the project and its findings, we will first place it in the overall development context.     

Spatial Differentiation and Driving Forces of Migrants’ Socio-Economic Integration in Urban China: Evidence from CMDS

Migrants’ socio-economic integration is a major theme in migration research, which can provide economic and cultural benefits. And it will contribute to social stability. The investigation from the spatial perspective should also be considered. This paper aims to examine the spatial differentiation of the socio-economic integration of migrants and identify its driving forces to provide crucial evidence and policy recommendations to urban policymakers and further improve migrants’ socio-economic integration. Based on the latest China Migrants Dynamic Survey, this paper uses global Moran’s I index, hot spot analysis and GWR model to explore spatial differentiation and driving forces of the socio-economic integration of 155,789 migrants in 291 cities at prefecture level and above in China. The results show that: (1) The socio-economic integration of migrants consists of five dimensions, which are economic integration, cultural integration, social security, social relation and psychological integration. Among them, psychological integration is the highest (73.16) and economic integration is the lowest (13.38). (2) The socio-economic integration of migrants is mainly influenced by their own characteristics instead of the destination characteristics. Four factors (age, education, length of stay and population growth rate) positively affect migrants’ socio-economic integration, while three factors (inter-provincial mobility, proportion of tertiary industry in GDP, and ratio of teacher to student in middle school) negatively impact the socio-economic integration of migrants. (3) The socio-economic integration of migrants shows the distribution pattern of agglomeration. And the integration also presents a significant spatial heterogeneity. The driving forces of the socio-economic integration exhibit various zonal spatial differentiation patterns, including “E–W”, “SE–NW”, “NE–SW”, and “S–N”. Finally, some useful recommendations are given for improving migrants’ socio-economic integration.

     

此心安处是吾乡--流动人口身份认同的区域差异研究

身份认同是流动人口社会融合的重要组成部分,受客观社会环境和主观意愿等多方面因素的影响。利用2014年“流动人口社会融合及心理健康调查”数据,使用线性回归和二元逻辑斯蒂回归方法,分析当前制度区隔与结构排斥下流动人口身份认同的地区差异,文章发现,流动人口身份认同的现状较为复杂,呈现认同意愿“内部有别”与认同结果“人地一致”的特点,即“居留意愿”较低的城市中流动人口的“入籍意愿”较高,“融入于地”状况较好的城市中流动人口“本地人身份认同”度同样较高。从区域分割视角来看,除“入籍意愿”较高外,东部大城市流动人口的身份认同状况不容乐观。同时,受流动跨越行政距离的影响,省内流动人口具有较强的“内部优势”,其身份认同状况优于跨省而来的流动人口。     

Social indicators and social management

The social indicators movement, which has attained world-wide significance, is based on awareness of the increasing necessity for a conscious regulation of social processes, as well as on the successful utilization of the social sciences. Both of these processes depend on: the character of the social order in the different countries, conceptions of the nature and functions of science, and the nature and functions of social indicators. Irrespective of international differences, however, many common problems exist; this makes their discussion possible despite different philosophical and sociological paradigms. Two main problems are addressed: (1) the definition of the concept of “system of social indicators” and especially “unity of objective and subjective indicators”, and (2) the definition of the conditions for their most effective involvement in the purposeful regulation of the social processes.     

Abortion,Family Planning,and Population Policy: Prospects for the Common‐Ground Approach

For the past several decades those engaged in shaping the Program of Action documents at international conferences on population have muted their voices when the topic of abortion has been raised. In a desire to side‐step entanglement in a bitter debate over the morality of abortion, great care has been taken to define “family planning” in ways that explicitly exclude abortion. The “common‐ground” approach to treating abortion can be summarized in two directives found in all contemporary international population documents: “in no case should abortion be promoted as a method of family planning”; and all governments should work “to reduce the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved family‐planning services.” This article has three goals: first, to examine the appropriateness of these directives with respect to what is currently known about the relationship between abortion, family planning, and population policy; second, to trace how this “contraception‐only” definition of family planning became de rigueur at international population conferences; and third, to discuss the prospects for the emergence of a more appropriate “common‐ground” approach to abortion and population policy.     

Socio-Economic Disparities in the Development of the Romania’s Border Areas

The Romanian border areas include 898 Local Administrative Units 2 (LAU2), of which 88 are urban and 810 rural. Romania has borderline with the following countries: Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Serbia, Ukraine, Hungary, of which 63.5 % is Non-European Union boundary. According to the population structure, 51.6 % of the total population is urban and the rest of 48.4 % is rural. In order to assess the socio-economic territorial disparities in the development of the urban space of Romanian border areas, several research stages were carried out: selecting 22 relevant statistical indicators, analyzing territorial disparities, standardizing the absolute values of the indicators, grouping the elementary indicators by 7 multiple indicator clusters (secondary indexes) in order to reflect the main socio-economic development aspects: (1) housing, (2) public utilities infrastructure and green areas, (3) health, (4) labour market, (5) demography, (6) education and (7) local economy. Finally, the authors were able to compute secondary indexes and the Index of Socio-Economic Development as Hull Score with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 14, revealing the levels of socio-economic development (high, average and low). Generally, the outcomes of the current study are in line with Romania’s complex socio-economic disparities, rooted in the historic background of the country. Spatially, the economic development follows a West–East direction, the less developed areas being concentrated in the Eastern and Southern part of the country.     

Social indicators of racial parity

Using the U.S. Census' Social Indicators III (73 indicators) and the OECD List of Social Indicators (33 indicators), a modified Delphi panel was surveyed in two rounds to rank 106 items and 19 “areas of major social concerns” as to how “essential” or “unnecessary” each indicator was in measuring racial parity in the U.S. A hypothesis about how much consensus was reached overall between the first- and second-round responses and hypotheses about comparative views among Academics, minority Advocates and Government researchers-administrators were tested (See Table I). From the second-round returns, the top 15 indicators (selected by the panel) and the 19 major areas of social concerns were analyzed. Secondary data were gathered and built into a Dissimilarity Index. Comparisons were analyzed statistically in increments of 5 indicators (quintiles), and overall to determine how much parity, or equality, between Afro-Americans and Whites had been obtained between the “early 1980s” and the “early 1990s”.     

论“计划生育”的“善”与“恶”—《大国空巢》批判

人口质量的提高、“国家力量”的形成存在人口规模障碍,中国与西欧因人口状况的不同而走上了不同道路;“人口爆炸”是中国“百年屈辱”的总根源;老龄化并非衰亡,西方文明衰落,东方、伊斯兰文明兴起根本不会出现在可预见的将来。计划生育是道德的—在高层级、总体上直接就是“善”,低层级、部分的“恶”,也指向和被转化为高层级、总体上的“善”;自由生育则会把中国推向毁灭的深渊。作为“拾荒集”的《大国空巢》,只是被用来“砸”计划生育的一块“砖”。