Increasing political returns and rural-urban migrations

This paper analyzes the different equilibria in rural-urban migrationsand political redistribution that result from the interaction betweenincreasing political returns, the distribution of land, and creditmarket imperfections. Governments that put a special weight on thewelfare of urban workers when setting agricultural prices generate apolitical externality in the urban sector, giving peasants anincentive to migrate in anticipation of policy determination. Ifcredit markets are imperfect, land ownership confers higherproductivity to peasants, who require large price changes to migrate.In this context, land inequality would lead to large migrations and tolarge policy change, while an egalitarian land distribution would leadto no migration and to a small policy change. This interaction shedslight on the contrasting experience of Latin America and East Asia atthe outset of World War II.

Competing and Conflicting Land Uses at the Rural-Urban Interface: Understanding the Impacts of Residential Development on Agricultural Landscapes

Rural communities are currently undergoing rapid restructuring as globalization impacts the future viability of many small towns. Agricultural regions throughout Canada, in particular, Niagara-on-the-Lake, are forced to adapt to changes within the industry. In addition to these challenges, sprawling residential developments from nearby urban centres are changing the dynamic of this town, resulting in conflicts between the residential and agricultural land uses. This thesis explores these conflicts from the perspective of the residents and the farmers. It was found that the initial sources of conflict related to noise-generating farm activities are no longer a concern, while the use of pesticide have become a source of contention among the residents. The farmers, alternately, were found to be proactive and strived to limit the potential for conflict with adjacent residents. Lastly, it was determined that planning legislation aggravates land use conflicts within Niagara-on-the-Lake and need to better address these land use conflicts.

Small towns as 'sub-poles' in English rural development: Investigating rural-urban linkages using sub-regional social accounting matrices

This paper uses spatial economic data from four small English towns to measure the strength of economic integration between town and hinterland and to estimate the magnitude of town-hinterland spill-over effects. Following estimation of local integration indicators and inter-locale flows, sub-regional social accounting matrices (SAMs) are developed to estimate the strength of local employment and output multipliers for various economic sectors. The potential value of a town as a 'sub-pole' in local economic development is shown to be dependent on structural differences in the local economy, such as the particular mix of firms within towns. Although the multipliers are generally small, indicating a low level of local linkages, some sectors, particularly financial services and banking, show consistently higher multipliers for both output and employment. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Bangladesh and Nepal

Background The persistence of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes in developing countries alongside rapid urbanisation and increasing incidence of child malnutrition in urban areas raises an important health policy question - whether fundamentally different nutrition policies and interventions are required in rural and urban areas. Addressing this question requires an enhanced understanding of the main drivers of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes especially for the vulnerable segments of the population. This study applies recently developed statistical methods to quantify the contribution of different socio-economic determinants to rural-urban differences in child nutrition outcomes in two South Asian countries – Bangladesh and Nepal. Methods Using DHS data sets for Bangladesh and Nepal, we apply quantile regression-based counterfactual decomposition methods to quantify the contribution of (1) the differences in levels of socio-economic determinants (covariate effects) and (2) the differences in the strength of association between socio-economic determinants and child nutrition outcomes (co-efficient effects) to the observed rural-urban disparities in child HAZ scores. The methodology employed in the study allows the covariate and coefficient effects to vary across entire distribution of child nutrition outcomes. This is particularly useful in providing specific insights into factors influencing rural-urban disparities at the lower tails of child HAZ score distributions. It also helps assess the importance of individual determinants and how they vary across the distribution of HAZ scores. Results There are no fundamental differences in the characteristics that determine child nutrition outcomes in urban and rural areas. Differences in the levels of a limited number of socio-economic characteristics – maternal education, spouse’s education and the wealth index (incorporating household asset ownership and access to drinking water and sanitation) contribute a major share of rural-urban disparities in the lowest quantiles of child nutrition outcomes. Differences in the strength of association between socio-economic characteristics and child nutrition outcomes account for less than a quarter of rural-urban disparities at the lower end of the HAZ score distribution. Conclusions Public health interventions aimed at overcoming rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes need to focus principally on bridging gaps in socio-economic endowments of rural and urban households and improving the quality of rural infrastructure. Improving child nutrition outcomes in developing countries does not call for fundamentally different approaches to public health interventions in rural and urban areas.

Rural-urban migration in D-dimensional lattices

The rural-urban migration phenomenon is analyzed by using an agent-based computational model. Agents are placed on lattices which dimensions varying from d = 2 up to d = 7. The localization of the agents in the lattice defines that their social neighborhood (rural or urban) is not related to their spatial distribution. The effect of the dimension of lattice is studied by analyzing the variation of the main parameters that characterizes the migratory process. The dynamics displays strong effects even for around one million of sites, in higher dimensions (d = 6, 7).

Agent-based model to rural-urban migration analysis

In this paper, we analyze the rural-urban migration phenomenon as it is usually observed in economies which are in the early stages of industrialization. The analysis is conducted by means of a statistical mechanics approach which builds a computational agent-based model. Agents are placed on a lattice and the connections among them are described via an Ising-like model. Simulations on this computational model show some emergent properties that are common in developing economies, such as a transitional dynamics characterized by continuous growth of urban population, followed by the equalization of expected wages between rural and urban sectors (Harris-Todaro equilibrium condition), urban concentration and increasing of per capita income. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A Harris-Todaro agent-based model to rural-urban migration

The Harris-Todaro model of the rural-urban migration process is revisited under an agent-based approach. The migration of the workers is interpreted as a process of social learning by imitation, formalized by a computational model. By simulating this model, we observe a transitional dynamics with continuous growth of the urban fraction of overall population toward an equilibrium. Such an equilibrium is characterized by stabilization of rural-urban expected wages differential (generalized Harris-Todaro equilibrium condition), urban concentration and urban unemployment. These classic results obtained originally by Harris and Todaro are emergent properties of our model.

Countering the urbanist agenda in variationist sociolinguistics: dialect contact, demographic change and the rural-urban dichotomy

In variational linguistics, the concept of space has always been a central issue. However, different research traditions considering space coexisted for a long time separately. Traditional dialectology focused primarily on the diatopic dimension of linguistic variation, whereas in sociolinguistic studies diastratic and diaphasic dimensions were considered. For a long time only very few linguistic investigations tried to combine both research traditions in a two-dimensional design – a desideratum which is meant to be compensated by the contributions of this volume. The articles present findings from empirical studies which take on these different concepts and examine how they relate to one another. Besides dialectological and sociolinguistic concepts also a lay perspective of linguistic space is considered, a paradigm that is often referred to as “folk dialectology”. Many of the studies in this volume make use of new computational possibilities of processing and cartographically representing large corpora of linguistic data. The empirical studies incorporate findings from different linguistic communities in Europe and pursue the objective to shed light on the inter-relationship between the different concepts of space and their relevance to variational linguistics.

Rural-urban continuum codes for metro and nonmetro counties /

"April 1990"--P. iii.

Testing alternative models for the conservation of koalas in fragmented rural-urban landscapes

Predicting the various responses of different species to changes in landscape structure is a formidable challenge to landscape ecology. Based on expert knowledge and landscape ecological theory, we develop five competing a priori models for predicting the presence/absence of the Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) in Noosa Shire, south-east Queensland (Australia). A priori predictions were nested within three levels of ecological organization: in situ (site level) habitat (< 1 ha), patch level (100 ha) and landscape level (100-1000 ha). To test the models, Koala surveys and habitat surveys (n = 245) were conducted across the habitat mosaic. After taking into account tree species preferences, the patch and landscape context, and the neighbourhood effect of adjacent present sites, we applied logistic regression and hierarchical partitioning analyses to rank the alternative models and the explanatory variables. The strongest support was for a multilevel model, with Koala presence best predicted by the proportion of the landscape occupied by high quality habitat, the neighbourhood effect, the mean nearest neighbour distance between forest patches, the density of forest patches and the density of sealed roads. When tested against independent data (n = 105) using a receiver operator characteristic curve, the multilevel model performed moderately well. The study is consistent with recent assertions that habitat loss is the major driver of population decline, however, landscape configuration and roads have an important effect that needs to be incorporated into Koala conservation strategies.

Under The Dual System: Children Of Rural-Hukou Migrants In China

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Teorias dos sistemas, cultura e espaços rurais de reforma agrária

Fundamentals of Theoretical Ecology and the principles governing ecosystems are discussed in relation to the anthropological concept of culture. These principles have been formed along with the development of Ecology and the advancement of other sciences not necessarily biologically based, such as Mathematics and Physics. A deeper understanding of Ecology in interdisciplinary projects is important because it is both a holistic Science, encompassing several disciplines of the field of knowledge, as a Science, whose principles can be applied to any other science. Its origin and evolution differ from modern sciences that emerged from Renaissance, because, taking place at the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century, developing itself along with the theories of systemic thinking at the beginning of this century, Ecology inspired this new thinking, culminating with the emergence of General Systems Theory in search of a "transdisciplinar" unification proposed by today's New Science. By applying the System Theory to the analysis of the behaviors of the individual and of the group, it is possible to approach the Agrarian Reform in a more comprehensive way.

El borde urbano: un acercamiento paisajístico y funcional de los límites del suelo urbanizado en las ciudades medias españolas

Asistimos a una evolución en la relación entre ciudad y resto del territorio. Este cambio desemboca en la eliminación del límite. La ciudad moderna se diluye en el territorio: el límite tradicional que separaba espacio urbano de espacio natural se ha diluído. La Discontinuidad entre la ciudad y el campo no se produce de forma definida (bien mediante un límite abrupto o con un gradiente) sino mediante una interfase fragmentada de funcionamiento inadecuado y que, además, no permite una clara identificación paisajística, creando problemas de eficiencia y de identidad urbana. El primer objetivo de esta investigación será determinar si existe la posibilidad de dibujar gráficamente el límite de nuestras ciudades medias para detectar si realmente existe y de qué manera se produce. A partir de aquí se realizará una catalogación del límite con el objetivo de determinar si existe algún tipo predominante sobre los demás. La comparativa entre las ciudades nos aportará la visión de en qué medida el tipo de límite es común o por el contrario singular a unas características propias de cada ciudad. El muestreo se realiza sobre un total de seis ciudades medias españolas, todas ellas capitales de provincia y con una población entre 100.000 y 300.000 habitantes: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, Pamplona, Valladolid, Lleida y Logroño. El primer paso de la metodología consiste en identificar el límite a través de su representación cartográfica. A partir de aquí se estudia qué limita con qué: cuáles son los usos urbanos que se sitúan en el borde y con qué usos no urbanos limitan. De este modo se hacen cuantificables y por lo tanto medibles. Se establecen las relaciones numéricas de estos usos del suelo y sus porcentajes. El recorrido a lo largo del límite confirma que se trata de un espacio multifuncional. Y se identifica el Límite de lo Común, un límite similar en cuanto a usos y tipologías en todas las ciudades estudiadas. La identidad en el límite se genera a partir de una imagen Genérica (el límite de lo común), una imagen Cerrada, una imagen más o menos Rural, una imagen Cultural (la huella del límite histórico) y finalmente a través de una imagen en Degradación. El límite adquiere una entidad espacial llamada Intefase, compuesta por piezas urbanas dispersas a lo largo de una franja que rodea la ciudad. Este espacio adopta usos y lógicas de localización propios, lo que le confiere una identidad única. En la segunda parte de la tesis se categorizan las diferentes tipologías del límite, el límite según Barreras, según las relaciones campo-ciudad y según aspectos visuales. Los datos confirman que la ciudad media española muestra un aspecto de ciudad dispersa, en diferentes grados de desarrollo; es una ciudad sin barreras que sin embargo se muestra cerrada hacia el campo. ABSTRACT The urban-rural relationship is currently evolving; the in-between boundary is finally been removed. The contemporary city sprawls over the countryside, and the boundary of the traditional city, the urban-rural divide, fades away. Discontinuity between the city and the countryside does not happen in a defined pattern (either by an abrupt or a gradient boundary) but by a malfunctioning rural-urban fringe fragmented and that also does not allow a clear identification landscape, creating problems of efficiency and urban identity. This research focuses on mapping our medium cities boundary, in order to identify whether it exists and how it occurs. The case studies are six medium size Spanish cities with a population between 100.000 and 300.000: Vitoria-Gasteiz, Burgos, Pamplona, Valladolid, Lleida and Logroño. Tracking the boundaries confirms that these are multifunctional spaces. This research defines a new concept called the Common Boundary, that involves similar uses and types in all the boundaries of the case studies. The boundary identity is built up with a Generic image (the common boundary), a closed image, a rural image, a cultural image (the imprint of the historic boundary) and finally with a degradation image. This boundary acquires a spatial entity called Intefase composed of sprawl urban pieces along a rural-urban fringe surrounding the city. New uses and different logical location appear in this fringe, therefore it gives it the uniqueness of the fringe. Finally this research categorizes the different boundary types: the boundary as barriers, the boundary as rural-urban relations and as visual aspects. Examined data confirms that the medium size Spanish city suffers from urban sprawl at different stages. Moreover a city without barriers and closed to the countryside is shown.

Urban and rural suicide differentials in migrants and the Australian-born, New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994

We estimated risk of suicide in adults in New South Wales (NSW) by sex, country of birth and rural/urban residence, after adjusting for age; we also examined youth suicide (age 15-24 years). The study population was the entire population of NSW, Australia, aged greater than or equal to 15 years during the period 1985-1994. Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between predictor variables and the risk of suicide, with the focus on migrant status and area of residence. A significantly higher risk of suicide was found in male migrants from Northern Europe and Eastern Europe/former USSR, compared to Australian-born males; a significantly lower suicide risk occurred in males from Southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In female migrants, those from UK/Eire, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe/former USSR and New Zealand exhibited a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to Australian-born females. A significantly lower risk of suicide occurred in females from the Middle East. Male migrants overall were at significantly lower risk of suicide than the Australian-born, while female migrants overall had a significantly higher risk of suicide than Australian-born females. Among migrant males overall, the rural-urban suicide risk differential was significantly higher for those living in non-metropolitan areas (RR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.7-2.1). Suicide risk was significantly higher in non-metropolitan male immigrants from the UK/Eire (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), Southern Europe (RR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.4), Northern/Western Europe (1.5; 95% CI: 1.2-1.9), the Middle East (RR = 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-7.8), New :Zealand (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) and 'other' (RR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.9-3.5), when compared to their urban counterparts. There was no statistically significant difference in suicide risk between rural and urban Australian-born males. For female suicide, significantly lower risk was found in female immigrants living in non-metropolitan areas who were from Northern/Western Europe (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-0.96), as well as the Australian-born (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.8), when compared to their urban counterparts. The non-metropolitan/metropolitan relative risk for suicide in female migrants overall was not significantly different from one. Among male youth there was a significantly higher suicide risk in non-metropolitan areas, with a relative risk estimate of 1.4 for Australian-born youth (95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and 1.7 for migrant youth (95% CI: 1.2-2.4), when compared with metropolitan counterparts. We conclude that suicide among migrant males living in non-metropolitan areas accounts for most of the excess of male suicide in rural NSW, and the significantly lower risk of suicide for non-metropolitan Australian-born women does not apply to migrant women. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.