Research on the impact of climate change on the income gap between urban and rural areas-empirical analysis based on provincial panel data in China.

Narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas is the key to achieving common prosperity in China. On the basis of analyzing the mechanism of climate change's impact on urban-rural income gap, this article empirically analyzes the impact of climate change on urban-rural income gap using provincial-level panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020. Research indicates that climate change significantly impacts the urban-rural income gap at the 1% significance level, implying that climate change exacerbates the urban-rural income gap. This widening effect varies significantly across different regions, particularly in the western regions and areas with lower fiscal support for agriculture. Further analysis reveals that there is a mediating role between the total agricultural output value and resource mismatch in the impact of climate change on urban-rural income inequality; the digital rural construction plays a regulatory role in the impact of climate change on the urban-rural income gap. On this basis, policy recommendations are proposed to promote the development of climate-resilient agriculture, improve the meteorological forecast and early warning system, increase financial support, and optimize the allocation of agricultural resources.

Exploring the impact of China-Europe Railway Express on the urban-rural income gap.

The China-Europe Railway Express (CRexpress) has established a new land transportation route between Asia and Europe as part of China's westward expansion. The resulting trade promotion effect has the potential to improve industrial development and factor flows, ultimately leading to a reduction in the income disparity between urban and rural areas in cities that use the CRexpress. The impact of the CRexpress on income disparities between urban and rural areas in cities that use the service is of particular interest, as the empirical evidence on the relationship between international trade and these disparities is inconsistent. Using a difference-in-differences model and macro panel data, this study found that the CRexpress significantly narrowed the urban-rural income gap in cities where it was operational, and that this effect had a spillover effect on nearby cities. However, the magnitude of this effect decreased with distance. The mechanism analysis indicated that the CRexpress narrowed the income gap by promoting secondary industry development, but this effect varied significantly by region, with pronounced effects in eastern coastal cities and less pronounced effects in inland cities in the central and western region. The study suggests that local governments in these regions should focus on improving the institutional environment and providing industrial support to promote industrial transfer in order to narrow the urban-rural income gap and promote overall economic development.

Could ecological restoration reduce income inequality? An analysis of 290 Chinese prefecture-level cities.

Ecosystem degradation and the serious wealth gap caused by rapid economic development have become problems that cannot be neglected during the progress of pursuing sustainable development and reducing income inequality in China. To determine whether ecological restoration such as vegetation cover could affect the income gap, we used data for 290 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2018 and analyzed the effect of ecological restoration on income inequality in China. In addition, we chose the year 2012 as a boundary and performed heterogeneity analysis to permit a detailed comparison of the variation in the effect over time. We found that ecological restoration can reduce income inequality in general, but this effect was not statistically significant until 2012. However, due to some practical obstacles (e.g., employment opportunities, educational attainment, social discrimination), reducing income inequality through ecological restoration will be a time consuming process and requires constant effort from the Chinese government and local managers such as funding green industries, providing more targeted technical training for the poor and social services for the rural migrant workers.

How does the urban-rural income gap affect regional environmental pollution?--Re-examination based on the experience of cities at prefecture level and above in China.

Based on the traditional "EKC" theory, this paper examines the impact of urban-rural income disparity on environmental pollution in Chinese cities above the prefecture level from 2005 to 2015 using nonlinear models and spatial correlation models and tests the mechanism of action from two perspectives: demand scale and human capital. The results show that the urban-rural income gap has an obvious "inverted U-shaped" trend on environmental pollution. Both demand size and human capital are the main mechanisms affecting the environmental pollution effect of the urban-rural income gap, and the marginal pollution effects of both are "negative first and then positive" as the urban-rural income gap widens. The pollution effects of the urban-rural income gap are significantly spatially correlated at both the national and regional scales. The strength of environmental regulation is an important factor affecting the urban-rural income gap and has a significant "U-shaped" effect on regional pollution through the urban-rural income gap.

Does haze pollution aggravate urban-rural income gap? Evidence from 283 prefecture-level cities in China.

Urban-rural income gap and haze pollution concerns are remained at top priority to achieve sustainable development objectives in China. Based on the panel data of 283 cities in China from 2008 to 2018, the quantile regression model is used to study the impact of haze pollution on the urban-rural income gap. In addition, we adopt ventilation coefficients as the instrumental variable of haze pollution to control for potential endogeneity. Findings obtained from the quantile regression estimator suggest that haze pollution can significantly increase the urban-rural income gap. The effect of haze pollution on urban-rural income gap is more significant in the low quantile than the high quantile state. After alleviating endogenous bias through instrumental variables, the promotion effect is more obvious. Furthermore, haze pollution affects the urban-rural income gap through healthy human capital. Our results shed new light on the relationship between haze pollution and urban-rural income gap and provide support for policymakers in tackling the dual tasks of urban-rural income gap and haze pollution. A less haze pollution, our findings suggest, may exert positive effects in relation to the mitigation of urban-rural income gap in China.

The mathematical treatment for effect of income and urban-rural income gap on indirect carbon emissions from household consumption.

Climate change and income inequality are global problems with a huge impact on the environment, society, and economic development. Many studies have shown a correlation among income, the income gap, and carbon emissions, but the influence mechanism remains unclear of income and the income gap on carbon emissions. Using the input-output method, we introduce residents' consumption tendency to construct a mathematical model to discuss the mechanism of the influence of income and the income gap on indirect carbon emissions from household consumption (ICEH). Data at the national and provincial levels are used to conduct empirical research based on the model. Our model indicates four scenarios in which income and the income gap affect ICEH through residents' consumption tendency. When richer urban residents have a greater consumption tendency, a decrease in the income gap would reduce carbon emissions. The empirical results show that a decrease in the income gap is correlated with an increase in ICEH in China from 2002 to 2012. Therefore, the win-win situation of "increased income and narrowed income gap-reduced carbon emissions" is hard to achieve in China. Policymakers must urgently explore other ways to reduce carbon emissions.