While the spatial distribution pattern of fish is increasingly used for toxicological test o chemicals or wastewater,no ideal parameter is available for quantitative assessment of spa tial distribution,especially unev...While the spatial distribution pattern of fish is increasingly used for toxicological test o chemicals or wastewater,no ideal parameter is available for quantitative assessment of spa tial distribution,especially uneven distribution with multiple hotspots.Here,to develop a quantitative assessment parameter for spatial distribution,the zebrafish were exposed to ethanol,pentylenetetrazole(PTZ),paraquat dichloride(paraquat)and wastewater,followed by a behavioral test in a narrow tank.Behavioral data was acquired and analyzed by id Tracker and MATLAB.By comparing the effects of all treatments on behavior parameters we confirmed that the spatial distribution was more easily altered rather than general loco motor parameters,e.g.0.7-70 mg/L PTZ and 5-20 mg/L paraquat being effective for altering spatial distribution but having little effects on general locomotor parameters.Based on the heatmap,i.e.,the cumulative proportion of grids and that of frequency in grids,we calcu lated the behavioral Gini coefficient(G_(b))for quantitative assessment of fish spatial distri bution.The Gini coefficient ranged from zero to 1,with larger values meaning poorer even ness of spatial distribution.Of note,G_(b)showed smaller coefficient of variations(CV)with3%-19%between replicate tanks in all treatments than the highest frequency(4%-79%),dis playing well robustness.Especially,G_(b)addressed the challenge of the complicated heatmap with multiple hotspots.Overall,the behavioral Gini coefficient we established is an idea parameter to quantitatively assess spatial distribution of fish shoal,which is expected to be applied in toxicity testing for chemicals and wastewater and automatic quality monitoring for surface water and aquaculture water.展开更多
To support the explosive growth of Information and Communications Technology(ICT),Mobile Edge Comput-ing(MEC)provides users with low latency and high bandwidth service by offloading computational tasks to the network...To support the explosive growth of Information and Communications Technology(ICT),Mobile Edge Comput-ing(MEC)provides users with low latency and high bandwidth service by offloading computational tasks to the network’s edge.However,resource-constrained mobile devices still suffer from a capacity mismatch when faced with latency-sensitive and compute-intensive emerging applications.To address the difficulty of running computationally intensive applications on resource-constrained clients,a model of the computation offloading problem in a network consisting of multiple mobile users and edge cloud servers is studied in this paper.Then a user benefit function EoU(Experience of Users)is proposed jointly considering energy consumption and time delay.The EoU maximization problem is decomposed into two steps,i.e.,resource allocation and offloading decision.The offloading decision is usually given by heuristic algorithms which are often faced with the challenge of slow convergence and poor stability.Thus,a combined offloading algorithm,i.e.,a Gini coefficient-based adaptive genetic algorithm(GCAGA),is proposed to alleviate the dilemma.The proposed algorithm optimizes the offloading decision by maximizing EoU and accelerates the convergence with the Gini coefficient.The simulation compares the proposed algorithm with the genetic algorithm(GA)and adaptive genetic algorithm(AGA).Experiment results show that the Gini coefficient and the adaptive heuristic operators can accelerate the convergence speed,and the proposed algorithm performs better in terms of convergence while obtaining higher EoU.The simulation code of the proposed algorithm is available:https://github.com/Grox888/Mobile_Edge_Computing/tree/GCAGA.展开更多
Nowadays, robots generally have a variety of capabilities, which often form a coalition replacing human to work in dangerous environment, such as rescue, exploration, etc. In these operating conditions, the energy sup...Nowadays, robots generally have a variety of capabilities, which often form a coalition replacing human to work in dangerous environment, such as rescue, exploration, etc. In these operating conditions, the energy supply of robots usually cannot be guaranteed. If the energy resources of some robots are consumed too fast, the number of the future tasks of the coalition will be affected. This paper will develop a novel task allocation method based on Gini coefficient to make full use of limited energy resources of multi-robot system to maximize the number of tasks. At the same time, considering resources consumption,we incorporate the market-based allocation mechanism into our Gini coefficient-based method and propose a hybrid method,which can flexibly optimize the task completion number and the resource consumption according to the application contexts.Experiments show that the multi-robot system with limited energy resources can accomplish more tasks by the proposed Gini coefficient-based method, and the hybrid method can be dynamically adaptive to changes of the work environment and realize the dual optimization goals.展开更多
For the load modeling of a large power grid,the large number of substations covered by it must be segregated into several categories and,thereafter,a load model built for each type.To address the problem of skewed clu...For the load modeling of a large power grid,the large number of substations covered by it must be segregated into several categories and,thereafter,a load model built for each type.To address the problem of skewed clustering tree in the classical hierarchical clustering method used for categorizing substations,a fair hierarchical clustering method is proposed in this paper.First,the fairness index is defined based on the Gini coefficient.Thereafter,a hierarchical clustering method is proposed based on the fairness index.Finally,the clustering results are evaluated using the contour coefficient and the t-SNE two-dimensional plane map.The substations clustering example of a real large power grid considered in this paper illustrates that the proposed fair hierarchical clustering method can effectively address the problem of the skewed clustering tree with high accuracy.展开更多
Using retroactive adjustment approach of history data published by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）, this study has adjusted micro-level survey data of China Household Income Project Survey （CHIPS, 2007） an...Using retroactive adjustment approach of history data published by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）, this study has adjusted micro-level survey data of China Household Income Project Survey （CHIPS, 2007） and conducted point estimation on household income Gini coefficient using the NBS method. On this basis, the standard error of the point estimation of China＇s Gini coefficient is estimated using bootstrap method, creating a confidence interval of Gini coefficient. Results indicate that among five continuous declines of Gini coefficient between 2008 and 2013, only three declines are statistically significant. It is thus too early to jump at the conclusion that the Gini coefficient of China＇s household income distribution has already entered into a downward channel and at least the argument that China＇s Gini coefficient has been on the decline for five consecutive years is questionable.展开更多
This paper calculates the urban, rural and general Gini coefficients （hereinafter referred to as GC） of household income in 27provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China between 1995 and 2010 using GC ...This paper calculates the urban, rural and general Gini coefficients （hereinafter referred to as GC） of household income in 27provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China between 1995 and 2010 using GC calculation formulas. After calculating the GCs, this paper analyzes their trends using density function estimation in nonparametric econometrics. The results show that the GCs of household income in provincial regions tend to rise from coastal regions to inland regions. In other words, the GCs of household income in the regions tend to rise from the east to the west and they appear to be concentrated and region-specific. A discriminate analysis of economic growth and income distribution in the provincial regions by income level and GC also shows a regional characteristic, consistent with the division of eastern, central and western China and that as one analyzes household income from the east to the west, income distribution becomes more unequal and income level becomes lower.展开更多
Editorial note Income gap has been considered one of the most potent threats to China’s society and economy in the future.This paper finds that China’s residential income gap has exceeded the reasonable bound but st...Editorial note Income gap has been considered one of the most potent threats to China’s society and economy in the future.This paper finds that China’s residential income gap has exceeded the reasonable bound but still falls within the tolerable range.Following an analysis of the causes of widening income gap,the authors also attempt to lay out an institutional arrangement framework aimed at achieving fair and equitable distribution from the three respects of starting point,process and result.展开更多
Determining an upper bound,particularly the optimal upper bound of the Gini coefficient when dealing with grouped data without specified income brackets remains an important and open question.In this paper,we introduc...Determining an upper bound,particularly the optimal upper bound of the Gini coefficient when dealing with grouped data without specified income brackets remains an important and open question.In this paper,we introduce an efficient algorithm to calculate the exact optimal upper bound of the Gini coefficient with provable guarantees.To exemplify these methods,we also offer computed results for the Gini coefficients of urban and rural China spanning the years 2003 to 2008.展开更多
In this paper,we focus on a critical problem in data envelopment analysis(DEA)and propose a simple resolution for it.The major problem of the DEA is the existence of several efficient decision-making units(DMUs).To de...In this paper,we focus on a critical problem in data envelopment analysis(DEA)and propose a simple resolution for it.The major problem of the DEA is the existence of several efficient decision-making units(DMUs).To deal with this issue,we introduce a method that involves cross-efficiency evaluation,Gini coefficient,and Bonferroni mean.First,a cross-efficiency matrix is developed.Then,mixing the Gini coefficient and Bonferroni mean,a Gini–Bonferroni(GB)index is proposed for ranking efficient DMUs,where the DMUs with bigger GB are ranked higher.The proposed method broke the tie between efficient DMUs.Finally,a numerical example and real application of this method are presented in the ranking of research and development(R&D)investment companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.展开更多
Using statistical data on the implementing conditions of China's educational expenditure published by the state,this paper studies the Gini coefficient of the budget educational public expenditure per student in o...Using statistical data on the implementing conditions of China's educational expenditure published by the state,this paper studies the Gini coefficient of the budget educational public expenditure per student in order to examine the concentration degree of the educational expenditure for China's basic education and analyze its balanced development condition.As the research shows,China's basic education is undergoing an unbalanced development due to diversified factors,which is mainly reflected as follows:firstly,the budget educational public expenditure presents a four-tiered appearance of the strong,the less strong,the less weak and the weak,which lead to a great discrepancy between the two opposing extremes;secondly,the compulsory education in rural areas is still confronted with great difficulties;thirdly,the general senior secondary education is loaded with the crisis of unbalance.Therefore,it is necessary to construct a balanced development policy framework of the basic education and pay close attention to the benefit and effectiveness of the educational input.In addition,it is also important to clearly stipulate the criterion of the government's educational allocation and to support the disadvantaged areas in order to promote the balanced development of the basic education.展开更多
The development of digital construction management is an important initiative to promote the digital transformation of the construction industry. But the attention to the regional differences in the development level ...The development of digital construction management is an important initiative to promote the digital transformation of the construction industry. But the attention to the regional differences in the development level of digital construction management in China from the industrial level is still relatively scarce. In this paper, the combination assignment method, Dagum’s Gini coefficient and Kernel density estimation method, are used to explore the regional differences and their dynamic evolution trends of China’s digital construction management development level. The study finds that the overall development level in China’s construction industry is on the rise, but it is still at a relatively low level. The overall Gini coefficient has increased, which is mainly due to uneven development between regions. There are large development differences between the eastern region and the other three regions. The interregional Gini coefficients for the Central-Northeastern and Central-Western regions are all growing at a higher rate.展开更多
Green and low-carbon development of construction industry is one of the important ways to achieve the"dual carbon"goal in China.This study first measured the carbon emissions of the construction industry in ...Green and low-carbon development of construction industry is one of the important ways to achieve the"dual carbon"goal in China.This study first measured the carbon emissions of the construction industry in 30 provinces in China,and then used the Dagum Gini coefficient and its decomposition method to explore the regional differences and sources of carbon emissions of the construction industry in China.The results show that the carbon emissions of construction industry in China generally show an upward trend,and there are significant differences in carbon emissions of construction industry among provinces,and the main source of regional differences is inter-regional differences.However,the contribution rate of inter-regional differences showed a significant downward trend,while the contribution rate of hyperbolic density increased day by day,and the contribution rate of intra-regional differences increased slightly.The results of this study will provide a reference for China to formulate more reasonable carbon emission reduction targets and differentiation strategies for the construction industry.展开更多
Decision tree is an effective supervised learning method for solving classification and regression problems. This article combines the Pearson correlation coefficient with the CART decision tree, replacing the Gini co...Decision tree is an effective supervised learning method for solving classification and regression problems. This article combines the Pearson correlation coefficient with the CART decision tree, replacing the Gini coefficient with the correlation coefficient to consider the correlation between conditional attributes, prioritizing the selection of conditional attributes with higher correlation coefficients as leaf nodes. The collected data on homebuyers is divided into age groups, including youth, middle-aged, and elderly groups. Both traditional CART decision tree and improved CART decision tree are applied to this problem, and after comparison, it is found that the depth of the CART decision tree in this study is reduced, the number of leaf nodes is decreased, the time complexity is shortened, efficiency is improved, and pruning issues are avoided. Finally, corresponding housing recommendations are given to homebuyers of different ages.展开更多
Objective Allocation of human resources to address inequalities in the public health system has increasingly attracted societal and political attention.Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDCs)system ...Objective Allocation of human resources to address inequalities in the public health system has increasingly attracted societal and political attention.Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDCs)system of China as an example,we evaluated inequality in the public health workforce distribution across different regions in China between 2008 and 2017,with the aim of providing information for policymakers to support resource allocation and address growing health inequities.Methods We used three standard public health workforce inequality indices-Gini coefficient,Theil L,and Theil T-and spatial autocorrelation analysis to explore spatial clusters of the workforce in different provinces,visualized with geographical tools.Results The aggregate workforce-to-population ratio decreased from 1.47 to 1.42 per 10,000 population from 2008 to 2017,and was consistently lower than the National Health Commission’s(NHC)recommended critical shortage threshold of 1.75.The workforce distribution inequality indices varied by regional socioeconomic and health system development.Geographic clustering of CDCs workforce distribution was evident,with H–H and L–L clusters in western China and the Guangdong-Fujian region,respectively.Conclusions Our study addressed key issues for government and policymakers in allocation of public health human resources.There is an urgent need for careful identification of analytic questions that will help carry out public health functions in the new era,alongside policy implications for an equitable distribution of the public health workforce focusing on the western region and low–low cluster areas.展开更多
Income gaps in China kept widening over the past four decades of economic transition. First, this paper describes the change in income gaps before and after reform and opening-up in 1978 and found that income gaps had...Income gaps in China kept widening over the past four decades of economic transition. First, this paper describes the change in income gaps before and after reform and opening-up in 1978 and found that income gaps had been expanding between urban and rural areas, within cities and within the countryside. However, this did not lead to income polarization since low-income groups only had a slower income growth compared with highincome groups. The number of poor people continuously reduced thanks to rapid economic growth. Over the past decade, the widening of income gaps has been initially curbed. Accordingly, we explained the impact of economic transition on income distribution from the perspectives of market-based distribution, ownership structure, opening-up and internal income distribution. Lastly, this paper provides an in-depth analysis on urban-rural income gaps, excessive compensation in monopolistic sectors and income inequalities arising from corruption. To address these problems, it is important to enhance tax regulation, increase transfer payments to poor people, improve social security, equalize public services, enhance poverty relief and develop a fairer income distribution system.展开更多
Objective: To investigate the allocation and management of large medical equipment (LME) in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, in order to make the best use of LME to meet the medical needs of local people. Methods: The...Objective: To investigate the allocation and management of large medical equipment (LME) in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, in order to make the best use of LME to meet the medical needs of local people. Methods: The research collected data from all hospitals that have LME in Xuzhou using questionnaire; 38 (97.4%) hospitals returned the questionnaire. Results: In Xuzhou, there are a total of 71 pieces of LME, each serving 126 600 people in an area of 163 km2. Sixty-two percent of them are allocated in urban areas, with Gini coefficient at 0.52, indicating imbalance and biased allocation of LME. Conclusion: The al- location of LME in Xuzhou is out of control and unfairly allocated.展开更多
Assessing the changes in forest carbon stocks over time is critical for monitoring carbon dynamics,estimating the balance between carbon uptake and release from forests,and providing key insights into climate change m...Assessing the changes in forest carbon stocks over time is critical for monitoring carbon dynamics,estimating the balance between carbon uptake and release from forests,and providing key insights into climate change mitigation.In this study,we quantitatively characterized spatiotemporal variations in aboveground carbon density(ACD)in boreal natural forests in the Greater Khingan Mountains(GKM)region using bi-temporal discrete aerial laser scanning(ALS)data acquired in 2012 and 2016.Moreover,we evaluated the transferability of the proposed design model using forest field plot data and produced a wall-to-wall map of ACD changes for the entire study area from 2012 to 2016 at a grid size of 30 m.In addition,we investigated the relationships between carbon dynamics and the dominant tree species,age groups,and topography of undisturbed forested areas to better understand ACD variations by employing heterogeneous forest canopy structural characteristics.The results showed that the performance of the temporally transferable model(R^(2)=0.87,rRMSE=18.25%),which included stable variables,was statistically equivalent to that obtained from the model fitted directly by the 2016 field plots(R^(2)=0.87,rRMSE=17.47%).The average rate of change in carbon sequestration across the entire study region was 1.35 Mg⋅ha^(-1)⋅year^(-1) based on the changes in ALS-based ACD values over the course of four years.The relative change rates of ACD decreased as the elevation increased,with the highest and lowest ACD growth rates occurring in the middle-aged and mature forest stands,respectively.The Gini coefficient,which represents forest canopy surface structure heterogeneity,is sensitive to carbon dynamics and is a reliable predictor of the relative change rate of ACD.This study demonstrated the applicability of bi-temporal ALS for predicting forest carbon dynamics and fine-scale spatial change patterns.Our research contributed to a better understanding of the in-fluence of remote sensing-derived environmental variables on forest carbon dynamic patterns and the development of context-specific management approaches to increase forest carbon stocks.展开更多
How to allocate a resource efficiently and fairly attracts the attention of both researchers and practitioners. Data envelopment analysis（DEA） has been brought to bear on its solution. The existing literature applie...How to allocate a resource efficiently and fairly attracts the attention of both researchers and practitioners. Data envelopment analysis（DEA） has been brought to bear on its solution. The existing literature applies Gini coefficient to measure the fairness in the resource allocation process. However, the Gini coefficient is inapplicable in many applications. This paper proposes a novel centralized resource allocation model based on DEA that considers both the efficiency and the fairness. This paper adopts a notion of fairness, namely α-fairness that is well studied in welfare economics and is of practical significance. The new model integratesα-fairness with DEA to support resource allocation decisions. It aids decision makers in making a trade-off between the efficiency and the fairness. An illustrative application is used to validate the proposed approach.展开更多
Static models of accessibility are usually based on the fixed distance or Average Travel Time(ATT)models.Because of ignoring the traffic as a dynamic process affecting the accessibility through the change of Travel Ti...Static models of accessibility are usually based on the fixed distance or Average Travel Time(ATT)models.Because of ignoring the traffic as a dynamic process affecting the accessibility through the change of Travel Time(TT),these models lead to unperceived temporal inequities.In contrast to the consideration of the temporal Variation of TT(VTT)in the previous studies,the variation of traffic-related TT and its relations with network distance has not been considered.In this study,relations between VTT and network distance to access urban parks in Tehran megacity has been modeled.Traffic maps at five times of day are used to produce TT maps of Traffic Analysis Zones(TAZs)to their 3-closest parks.Comparison of the Gini coefficients of accessibility show significant inequities of accessibility at different times of day.Relations between the distance,ATT,and TT_(max) are modeled by statistical analysis.Results show both TT and TTmax have significant positive relations with distance and traffic and reach their maximum at 6 p.m.Observation of significant relations between distance,ATT,TT_(max),and VTT provides interesting knowledge for the conversion of temporal measures of equity(TT)to a physical measure of equity(distance).A simple application of these findings for effective management of the spatiotemporal inequities is the definition of critical distances from public services.As an example,to decrease the TT_(max) of TAZs to less than 12 min,their maximum distance to the closest parks should be less than 4 km.The developed approach can be adopted for the accessibility evaluation of the other public services,particularly the health and education centers.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22076211)the National Key R&D Program of China(No.2017YFF0211203)。
文摘While the spatial distribution pattern of fish is increasingly used for toxicological test o chemicals or wastewater,no ideal parameter is available for quantitative assessment of spa tial distribution,especially uneven distribution with multiple hotspots.Here,to develop a quantitative assessment parameter for spatial distribution,the zebrafish were exposed to ethanol,pentylenetetrazole(PTZ),paraquat dichloride(paraquat)and wastewater,followed by a behavioral test in a narrow tank.Behavioral data was acquired and analyzed by id Tracker and MATLAB.By comparing the effects of all treatments on behavior parameters we confirmed that the spatial distribution was more easily altered rather than general loco motor parameters,e.g.0.7-70 mg/L PTZ and 5-20 mg/L paraquat being effective for altering spatial distribution but having little effects on general locomotor parameters.Based on the heatmap,i.e.,the cumulative proportion of grids and that of frequency in grids,we calcu lated the behavioral Gini coefficient(G_(b))for quantitative assessment of fish spatial distri bution.The Gini coefficient ranged from zero to 1,with larger values meaning poorer even ness of spatial distribution.Of note,G_(b)showed smaller coefficient of variations(CV)with3%-19%between replicate tanks in all treatments than the highest frequency(4%-79%),dis playing well robustness.Especially,G_(b)addressed the challenge of the complicated heatmap with multiple hotspots.Overall,the behavioral Gini coefficient we established is an idea parameter to quantitatively assess spatial distribution of fish shoal,which is expected to be applied in toxicity testing for chemicals and wastewater and automatic quality monitoring for surface water and aquaculture water.
文摘To support the explosive growth of Information and Communications Technology(ICT),Mobile Edge Comput-ing(MEC)provides users with low latency and high bandwidth service by offloading computational tasks to the network’s edge.However,resource-constrained mobile devices still suffer from a capacity mismatch when faced with latency-sensitive and compute-intensive emerging applications.To address the difficulty of running computationally intensive applications on resource-constrained clients,a model of the computation offloading problem in a network consisting of multiple mobile users and edge cloud servers is studied in this paper.Then a user benefit function EoU(Experience of Users)is proposed jointly considering energy consumption and time delay.The EoU maximization problem is decomposed into two steps,i.e.,resource allocation and offloading decision.The offloading decision is usually given by heuristic algorithms which are often faced with the challenge of slow convergence and poor stability.Thus,a combined offloading algorithm,i.e.,a Gini coefficient-based adaptive genetic algorithm(GCAGA),is proposed to alleviate the dilemma.The proposed algorithm optimizes the offloading decision by maximizing EoU and accelerates the convergence with the Gini coefficient.The simulation compares the proposed algorithm with the genetic algorithm(GA)and adaptive genetic algorithm(AGA).Experiment results show that the Gini coefficient and the adaptive heuristic operators can accelerate the convergence speed,and the proposed algorithm performs better in terms of convergence while obtaining higher EoU.The simulation code of the proposed algorithm is available:https://github.com/Grox888/Mobile_Edge_Computing/tree/GCAGA.
基金supported by the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China(863 Program)(2015AA015403)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61404069,61401185)the Project of Education Department of Liaoning Province(LJYL052)
文摘Nowadays, robots generally have a variety of capabilities, which often form a coalition replacing human to work in dangerous environment, such as rescue, exploration, etc. In these operating conditions, the energy supply of robots usually cannot be guaranteed. If the energy resources of some robots are consumed too fast, the number of the future tasks of the coalition will be affected. This paper will develop a novel task allocation method based on Gini coefficient to make full use of limited energy resources of multi-robot system to maximize the number of tasks. At the same time, considering resources consumption,we incorporate the market-based allocation mechanism into our Gini coefficient-based method and propose a hybrid method,which can flexibly optimize the task completion number and the resource consumption according to the application contexts.Experiments show that the multi-robot system with limited energy resources can accomplish more tasks by the proposed Gini coefficient-based method, and the hybrid method can be dynamically adaptive to changes of the work environment and realize the dual optimization goals.
基金supported by the Major Science and Technology Project of Yunnan Province entitled“Research and Application of Key Technologies of Power Grid Operation Analysis and Protection Control for Improving Green Power Consumption”(202002AF080001)the China South Power Grid Science and Technology Project entitled“Research on Load Model and Modeling Method of Yunnan Power Grid”(YNKJXM20180017).
文摘For the load modeling of a large power grid,the large number of substations covered by it must be segregated into several categories and,thereafter,a load model built for each type.To address the problem of skewed clustering tree in the classical hierarchical clustering method used for categorizing substations,a fair hierarchical clustering method is proposed in this paper.First,the fairness index is defined based on the Gini coefficient.Thereafter,a hierarchical clustering method is proposed based on the fairness index.Finally,the clustering results are evaluated using the contour coefficient and the t-SNE two-dimensional plane map.The substations clustering example of a real large power grid considered in this paper illustrates that the proposed fair hierarchical clustering method can effectively address the problem of the skewed clustering tree with high accuracy.
文摘Using retroactive adjustment approach of history data published by the National Bureau of Statistics （NBS）, this study has adjusted micro-level survey data of China Household Income Project Survey （CHIPS, 2007） and conducted point estimation on household income Gini coefficient using the NBS method. On this basis, the standard error of the point estimation of China＇s Gini coefficient is estimated using bootstrap method, creating a confidence interval of Gini coefficient. Results indicate that among five continuous declines of Gini coefficient between 2008 and 2013, only three declines are statistically significant. It is thus too early to jump at the conclusion that the Gini coefficient of China＇s household income distribution has already entered into a downward channel and at least the argument that China＇s Gini coefficient has been on the decline for five consecutive years is questionable.
文摘This paper calculates the urban, rural and general Gini coefficients （hereinafter referred to as GC） of household income in 27provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions of China between 1995 and 2010 using GC calculation formulas. After calculating the GCs, this paper analyzes their trends using density function estimation in nonparametric econometrics. The results show that the GCs of household income in provincial regions tend to rise from coastal regions to inland regions. In other words, the GCs of household income in the regions tend to rise from the east to the west and they appear to be concentrated and region-specific. A discriminate analysis of economic growth and income distribution in the provincial regions by income level and GC also shows a regional characteristic, consistent with the division of eastern, central and western China and that as one analyzes household income from the east to the west, income distribution becomes more unequal and income level becomes lower.
文摘Editorial note Income gap has been considered one of the most potent threats to China’s society and economy in the future.This paper finds that China’s residential income gap has exceeded the reasonable bound but still falls within the tolerable range.Following an analysis of the causes of widening income gap,the authors also attempt to lay out an institutional arrangement framework aimed at achieving fair and equitable distribution from the three respects of starting point,process and result.
文摘Determining an upper bound,particularly the optimal upper bound of the Gini coefficient when dealing with grouped data without specified income brackets remains an important and open question.In this paper,we introduce an efficient algorithm to calculate the exact optimal upper bound of the Gini coefficient with provable guarantees.To exemplify these methods,we also offer computed results for the Gini coefficients of urban and rural China spanning the years 2003 to 2008.
文摘In this paper,we focus on a critical problem in data envelopment analysis(DEA)and propose a simple resolution for it.The major problem of the DEA is the existence of several efficient decision-making units(DMUs).To deal with this issue,we introduce a method that involves cross-efficiency evaluation,Gini coefficient,and Bonferroni mean.First,a cross-efficiency matrix is developed.Then,mixing the Gini coefficient and Bonferroni mean,a Gini–Bonferroni(GB)index is proposed for ranking efficient DMUs,where the DMUs with bigger GB are ranked higher.The proposed method broke the tie between efficient DMUs.Finally,a numerical example and real application of this method are presented in the ranking of research and development(R&D)investment companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
文摘Using statistical data on the implementing conditions of China's educational expenditure published by the state,this paper studies the Gini coefficient of the budget educational public expenditure per student in order to examine the concentration degree of the educational expenditure for China's basic education and analyze its balanced development condition.As the research shows,China's basic education is undergoing an unbalanced development due to diversified factors,which is mainly reflected as follows:firstly,the budget educational public expenditure presents a four-tiered appearance of the strong,the less strong,the less weak and the weak,which lead to a great discrepancy between the two opposing extremes;secondly,the compulsory education in rural areas is still confronted with great difficulties;thirdly,the general senior secondary education is loaded with the crisis of unbalance.Therefore,it is necessary to construct a balanced development policy framework of the basic education and pay close attention to the benefit and effectiveness of the educational input.In addition,it is also important to clearly stipulate the criterion of the government's educational allocation and to support the disadvantaged areas in order to promote the balanced development of the basic education.
文摘The development of digital construction management is an important initiative to promote the digital transformation of the construction industry. But the attention to the regional differences in the development level of digital construction management in China from the industrial level is still relatively scarce. In this paper, the combination assignment method, Dagum’s Gini coefficient and Kernel density estimation method, are used to explore the regional differences and their dynamic evolution trends of China’s digital construction management development level. The study finds that the overall development level in China’s construction industry is on the rise, but it is still at a relatively low level. The overall Gini coefficient has increased, which is mainly due to uneven development between regions. There are large development differences between the eastern region and the other three regions. The interregional Gini coefficients for the Central-Northeastern and Central-Western regions are all growing at a higher rate.
基金Supported by School-level Natural Science Project of Jiangxi University of Technology(232ZRYB02).
文摘Green and low-carbon development of construction industry is one of the important ways to achieve the"dual carbon"goal in China.This study first measured the carbon emissions of the construction industry in 30 provinces in China,and then used the Dagum Gini coefficient and its decomposition method to explore the regional differences and sources of carbon emissions of the construction industry in China.The results show that the carbon emissions of construction industry in China generally show an upward trend,and there are significant differences in carbon emissions of construction industry among provinces,and the main source of regional differences is inter-regional differences.However,the contribution rate of inter-regional differences showed a significant downward trend,while the contribution rate of hyperbolic density increased day by day,and the contribution rate of intra-regional differences increased slightly.The results of this study will provide a reference for China to formulate more reasonable carbon emission reduction targets and differentiation strategies for the construction industry.
文摘Decision tree is an effective supervised learning method for solving classification and regression problems. This article combines the Pearson correlation coefficient with the CART decision tree, replacing the Gini coefficient with the correlation coefficient to consider the correlation between conditional attributes, prioritizing the selection of conditional attributes with higher correlation coefficients as leaf nodes. The collected data on homebuyers is divided into age groups, including youth, middle-aged, and elderly groups. Both traditional CART decision tree and improved CART decision tree are applied to this problem, and after comparison, it is found that the depth of the CART decision tree in this study is reduced, the number of leaf nodes is decreased, the time complexity is shortened, efficiency is improved, and pruning issues are avoided. Finally, corresponding housing recommendations are given to homebuyers of different ages.
基金funded by China CDC’s Public Health and Emergency Response Mechanism Programme[131031001000150001]。
文摘Objective Allocation of human resources to address inequalities in the public health system has increasingly attracted societal and political attention.Using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDCs)system of China as an example,we evaluated inequality in the public health workforce distribution across different regions in China between 2008 and 2017,with the aim of providing information for policymakers to support resource allocation and address growing health inequities.Methods We used three standard public health workforce inequality indices-Gini coefficient,Theil L,and Theil T-and spatial autocorrelation analysis to explore spatial clusters of the workforce in different provinces,visualized with geographical tools.Results The aggregate workforce-to-population ratio decreased from 1.47 to 1.42 per 10,000 population from 2008 to 2017,and was consistently lower than the National Health Commission’s(NHC)recommended critical shortage threshold of 1.75.The workforce distribution inequality indices varied by regional socioeconomic and health system development.Geographic clustering of CDCs workforce distribution was evident,with H–H and L–L clusters in western China and the Guangdong-Fujian region,respectively.Conclusions Our study addressed key issues for government and policymakers in allocation of public health human resources.There is an urgent need for careful identification of analytic questions that will help carry out public health functions in the new era,alongside policy implications for an equitable distribution of the public health workforce focusing on the western region and low–low cluster areas.
文摘Income gaps in China kept widening over the past four decades of economic transition. First, this paper describes the change in income gaps before and after reform and opening-up in 1978 and found that income gaps had been expanding between urban and rural areas, within cities and within the countryside. However, this did not lead to income polarization since low-income groups only had a slower income growth compared with highincome groups. The number of poor people continuously reduced thanks to rapid economic growth. Over the past decade, the widening of income gaps has been initially curbed. Accordingly, we explained the impact of economic transition on income distribution from the perspectives of market-based distribution, ownership structure, opening-up and internal income distribution. Lastly, this paper provides an in-depth analysis on urban-rural income gaps, excessive compensation in monopolistic sectors and income inequalities arising from corruption. To address these problems, it is important to enhance tax regulation, increase transfer payments to poor people, improve social security, equalize public services, enhance poverty relief and develop a fairer income distribution system.
文摘Objective: To investigate the allocation and management of large medical equipment (LME) in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, in order to make the best use of LME to meet the medical needs of local people. Methods: The research collected data from all hospitals that have LME in Xuzhou using questionnaire; 38 (97.4%) hospitals returned the questionnaire. Results: In Xuzhou, there are a total of 71 pieces of LME, each serving 126 600 people in an area of 163 km2. Sixty-two percent of them are allocated in urban areas, with Gini coefficient at 0.52, indicating imbalance and biased allocation of LME. Conclusion: The al- location of LME in Xuzhou is out of control and unfairly allocated.
基金We acknowledge grants from the National Key R&D Program of China(Project Number:2020YFE0200800)National Science and Technology Major Project of China's High Resolution Earth Observation System(Project Number:21-Y20B01-9001-19/22-1).
文摘Assessing the changes in forest carbon stocks over time is critical for monitoring carbon dynamics,estimating the balance between carbon uptake and release from forests,and providing key insights into climate change mitigation.In this study,we quantitatively characterized spatiotemporal variations in aboveground carbon density(ACD)in boreal natural forests in the Greater Khingan Mountains(GKM)region using bi-temporal discrete aerial laser scanning(ALS)data acquired in 2012 and 2016.Moreover,we evaluated the transferability of the proposed design model using forest field plot data and produced a wall-to-wall map of ACD changes for the entire study area from 2012 to 2016 at a grid size of 30 m.In addition,we investigated the relationships between carbon dynamics and the dominant tree species,age groups,and topography of undisturbed forested areas to better understand ACD variations by employing heterogeneous forest canopy structural characteristics.The results showed that the performance of the temporally transferable model(R^(2)=0.87,rRMSE=18.25%),which included stable variables,was statistically equivalent to that obtained from the model fitted directly by the 2016 field plots(R^(2)=0.87,rRMSE=17.47%).The average rate of change in carbon sequestration across the entire study region was 1.35 Mg⋅ha^(-1)⋅year^(-1) based on the changes in ALS-based ACD values over the course of four years.The relative change rates of ACD decreased as the elevation increased,with the highest and lowest ACD growth rates occurring in the middle-aged and mature forest stands,respectively.The Gini coefficient,which represents forest canopy surface structure heterogeneity,is sensitive to carbon dynamics and is a reliable predictor of the relative change rate of ACD.This study demonstrated the applicability of bi-temporal ALS for predicting forest carbon dynamics and fine-scale spatial change patterns.Our research contributed to a better understanding of the in-fluence of remote sensing-derived environmental variables on forest carbon dynamic patterns and the development of context-specific management approaches to increase forest carbon stocks.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(7117118171301155)+1 种基金the Fundamental Research Fundsfor the Central Universities(WK2040160008J2014HGBZ0172)
文摘How to allocate a resource efficiently and fairly attracts the attention of both researchers and practitioners. Data envelopment analysis（DEA） has been brought to bear on its solution. The existing literature applies Gini coefficient to measure the fairness in the resource allocation process. However, the Gini coefficient is inapplicable in many applications. This paper proposes a novel centralized resource allocation model based on DEA that considers both the efficiency and the fairness. This paper adopts a notion of fairness, namely α-fairness that is well studied in welfare economics and is of practical significance. The new model integratesα-fairness with DEA to support resource allocation decisions. It aids decision makers in making a trade-off between the efficiency and the fairness. An illustrative application is used to validate the proposed approach.
文摘Static models of accessibility are usually based on the fixed distance or Average Travel Time(ATT)models.Because of ignoring the traffic as a dynamic process affecting the accessibility through the change of Travel Time(TT),these models lead to unperceived temporal inequities.In contrast to the consideration of the temporal Variation of TT(VTT)in the previous studies,the variation of traffic-related TT and its relations with network distance has not been considered.In this study,relations between VTT and network distance to access urban parks in Tehran megacity has been modeled.Traffic maps at five times of day are used to produce TT maps of Traffic Analysis Zones(TAZs)to their 3-closest parks.Comparison of the Gini coefficients of accessibility show significant inequities of accessibility at different times of day.Relations between the distance,ATT,and TT_(max) are modeled by statistical analysis.Results show both TT and TTmax have significant positive relations with distance and traffic and reach their maximum at 6 p.m.Observation of significant relations between distance,ATT,TT_(max),and VTT provides interesting knowledge for the conversion of temporal measures of equity(TT)to a physical measure of equity(distance).A simple application of these findings for effective management of the spatiotemporal inequities is the definition of critical distances from public services.As an example,to decrease the TT_(max) of TAZs to less than 12 min,their maximum distance to the closest parks should be less than 4 km.The developed approach can be adopted for the accessibility evaluation of the other public services,particularly the health and education centers.
