The trend of the Gini coefficient of China (1978–2010)

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a new approach to analyse the effects of an overlap term on the calculation of the overall Gini coefficient and estimates China’s Gini ratios since the adoption of the economic reform and open-door policies. A decomposition of the Chinese Gini coefficient for 1978–2010 reveals that the key factor contributing to income inequalities is the income disparity between rural and urban inhabitants. We further investigate the features of this income inequality between rural and urban areas and employ statistical approaches to evaluate the effects of urbanisation and rural-to-urban average income on nationwide income inequality. The results show that accelerating the pace of urbanisation is mainly responsible for decreasing China’s income disparity. Drawing on these results, we conclude with suggestions for related policies.     

Decomposing Income Inequality and Policy Implications in Rural China

Using village data from samples covering 6 provinces,36 counties and 216 townships,the income inequalities within and between townships in rural China are assessed. The Theil index and the mean logarithmic deviation methods enable us to test income inequality at the township level,and to decompose it into intra-regional and inter-regional at county and provincial levels. In the present paper,we also decompose income inequalities between and within the nationally designated poor counties (NDPC). The results show that approximately two-thirds of the income inequality in rural China would be eliminated if measures and policies were targeted at the county level. This study also confirms the rationale that China's poverty alleviation strategy of focusing on poor counties based on the inequalities between NDPC and non-NDPC accounts for the most inter-province inequality.     

基于星载极化SAR数据的农作物分类识别进展评述

［目的］农作物播种面积信息不仅可为农情监测和作物估产提供重要的数据保障,还是国家制定粮食政策和经济计划的重要依据。快速、准确地获取农作物播种面积信息能为农业生产管理提供决策支持。极化SAR不受云雨天气的影响,在农作物遥感监测方面具有巨大的应用潜力,有效利用极化SAR数据进行农作物识别研究对促进雷达技术在国家农业遥感监测和农业供给侧结构性改革中发挥更大作用具有重要意义。［方法］以星载极化SAR技术的发展过程为论述主线,从单、双极化SAR数据,单、双极化SAR数据结合光学影像,全极化SAR数据三个发展阶段,对极化SAR数据在农作物分类识别中的研究与应用进行总结,并对比分析不同的识别特征、融合算法以及分类算法的优缺点。［结果］以往研究存在以下不足：当前研究多以识别水稻为主,对于难以识别的旱地作物研究较少;目前对旱地作物识别精度不高,平均识别精度不足85%;缺乏对不同作物散射机制及其随时相变化的研究,导致分类算法机理性不足,普适性较差。［结论］在今后的研究中,旱地作物散射机制的定量确定,如何利用散射机制及其变化来提高旱地作物遥感识别精度和普适性;目前分类算法大都是基于光学影像设计,如何利用SAR特殊的成像方式优化设计适用于极化SAR数据的分类算法,得到更高的分类精度;如何更好的跟光学遥感等多源数据（光学数据、GIS数据等）结合来提高精度,将成为未来极化SAR农作物识别中三个亟需重点解决的问题。     

Decomposing Vulnerability to Poverty

This paper applies the decomposition of the Foster–Greer–Thorbecke poverty index to the measurement of individual vulnerability to poverty. I highlight that poverty risk can be expressed as a function of expected incidence, expected intensity, and expected variability below the poverty line, three essential aspects for improving the design of appropriate risk‐management policies. An empirical illustration is provided using the British Household Panel Survey and the Italian Survey on Household Income and Wealth.     

Does Age Exacerbate the Gender-Wage Gap? New Method and Evidence From Germany, 1984–2014

ABSTRACT

Given theoretical premises, the gender-wage gap adjusted for individual characteristics is likely to vary according to age. This study adapts John DiNardo, Nicole M. Fortin, and Thomas Lemieux's (1996) semi-parametric technique to disentangle year, cohort, and age effects in adjusted gender-wage gaps. The study relies on a long panel of data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) covering 1984–2015. The results indicate that, in Germany, the gender-wage gap increases over a birth cohort's lifetime, including in the post-reproductive age for some birth cohorts. The results suggest that age and gender are overlapping handicaps in the labor market and call for a policy intervention.     

基于MRCI的中国能源消费变动及驱动因素分析

如何减缓能源消费的过快增长是应对能源安全和气候变化的重要课题。通过对投入产出分析原理和无残差的完全结构分解法（MRCI）量化分析发现,产出规模效应和生产结构效应对中国能源消费增长起到主导作用,是主要驱动因素,而中国能源强度效应能有效抑制中国能源消费的增长;人口规模效应和人均生活能耗效应对中国能源消费增长的影响相对较小,但也有一定的促进作用。因此,依靠技术创新、提高能源使用效率,控制人口增长、引导居民向低能耗方向发展有利于减少中国能源消费水平。     

Explaining personality pay gaps in the UK

Using the British Household Panel Survey we estimate the effect on pay of each of the Big Five personality traits for employed men living in the UK. We add to the existing literature by estimating the role of factors such as education and occupation in explaining personality pay gaps, by allowing the personality traits to affect wage differently across occupations, education levels and other workers characteristics, and by investigating personality pay gaps for high- and low-paid workers. We find that openness to experience is the most relevant personality trait in explaining wages, followed by neuroticism, agreeableness, extroversion and conscientiousness. Openness and extroversion are rewarded while agreeableness and neuroticism are penalized, but the openness pay gap is totally explained by differences in worker characteristics, particularly education and occupation.     

城镇内部行业收入差距成因的实证研究

运用2012年中国劳动力动态调查微观数据,结合Heckman样本选择方法,估计垄断行业和竞争行业的收入方程,结果发现,垄断对行业收入的影响远大于性别、教育、工作经验等个人特征。运用Shapley值分解方法,考察各因素对我国城镇内部行业工资差距的贡献,结果发现,人力资本因素对行业收入差距的贡献最大。分行业看,人力资本因素能够解释垄断行业收入差距的一半左右,管理岗位对竞争行业收入差距的贡献最大,性别因素对竞争行业收入差距的贡献高出垄断行业两倍,非农户口在解释垄断行业收入差距时的贡献要远大于竞争行业。因此,缩小我国行业收入差距,亟需打破行业垄断壁垒,提高劳动者的受教育水平,减轻劳动者地区间流动障碍。     

THE IMPACT OF FOREIGN CAPITAL ON MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE IN CENTRAL ASIA

This paper investigates the short‐run impact of shocks in international capital flows channeled through foreign direct investment (FDI) and foreign aid on national output and export performance in five Central Asian economies under a dynamic multivariate structural vector autoregressive (SVAR) framework. The identification of structural shocks is implemented by AB model based on IS‐LM‐BP postulates. The main message is that external capital shocks are persistent and small open economies are weak to absorb them. Overall, the aid shocks reduce national outputs, while FDI increase it, on average. The expansion of global demand (G20) leads to an increase in domestic GDPs, notably in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The impact is augmented by a positive effect of FDI on export channel (and net exports) that shift the IS curve upwards. We cannot find any significant aid‐FDI nexus in the region, except in Kazakhstan. The structural variance decomposition (SFEVD) results suggest that external flows and foreign demand together explain the bigger part of variability in domestic GDP and exports. Finally, variations in foreign capital, aid and FDI, are mainly explained by series themselves. The role of domestic activities is found to be weaker for aid and greater for FDI. The results could be attributed to rigid exchange rates, high trade dependence, and necessity for foreign capital to explore natural resources in Central Asian region. Our results provide some valuable suggestions to improve an investment climate for boosting economic growth.     

区域经济增长差异的结构分析方法

基尼系数、加权变异系数、锡尔系数具有特殊的可分解性,我们利用这一特殊性质有助于对区域经济增长差异进行结构分析,进行区域经济增长差异结构分析的方法中,比较有代表性的方法有基尼系数分解方法、加权变异系数分解方法和锡尔系数分解方法,通过分解可以进一步分析区域经济增长差异的地区结构因素和产业结构因素。