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Background Several studies in the literature have shown the existence of large disparities in the use of maternal health services by socioeconomic status (SES) in developing countries. The persistence of the socioeconomic disparities is problematic, as the global community is currently advocating for not leaving anyone behind in attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). However, health care facilities in developing countries continue to report high maternal deaths. Improved accessibility and strengthening of quality in the uptake of maternal health services (skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, and postnatal care) plays an important role in reducing maternal deaths which eventually leads to the attainment of SDG 3, Good Health, and Well-being. Methods This study used the Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey (ZDHS) of 2015. The ZDHS survey used the principal components analysis in estimating the economic status of households. We computed binary logistic regressions on maternal health services attributes (skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, and postnatal care) against demographic characteristics. Furthermore, concentration indices were then used to measure of socio-economic inequalities in the use of maternal health services, and the Erreygers decomposable concentration index was then used to identify the factors that contributed to the socio-economic inequalities in maternal health utilization in Zimbabwe. Results Overall maternal health utilization was skilled birth attendance (SBA), 93.63%; antenatal-care (ANC) 76.33% and postnatal-care (PNC) 84.27%. SBA and PNC utilization rates were significantly higher than the rates reported in the 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic Health Survey. Residence status was a significant determinant for antenatal care with rural women 2.25 times (CI: 1.55–3.27) more likely to utilize ANC. Richer women were less likely to utilize skilled birth attendance services [OR: 0.20 (CI: 0.08–0.50)] compared to women from the poorest households. While women from middle-income households [OR: 1.40 (CI: 1.03–1.90)] and richest households [OR: 2.36 (CI: 1.39–3.99)] were more likely to utilize antenatal care services compared to women from the poorest households. Maternal service utilization among women in Zimbabwe was pro-rich, meaning that maternal health utilization favoured women from wealthy households [SBA (0.05), ANC (0.09), PNC (0.08)]. Wealthy women were more likely to be assisted by a doctor, while midwives were more likely to assist women from poor households [Doctor (0.22), Midwife (− 0.10)]. Conclusion Decomposition analysis showed household wealth, husband’s education, women’s education, and residence status as important positive contributors of the three maternal health service (skilled birth attendance, antenatal care, and postnatal care) utilization outcomes. Educating women and their spouses on the importance of maternal health services usage is significant to increase maternal health service utilization and consequently reduce maternal mortality.

The period from January 2020 to December 2022 was marked by a confluence of major events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia–Ukraine war, the energy crisis, surging inflation, Federal Reserve policy shifts, and banking turmoil, which collectively fueled heightened market volatility, risk management needs, and speculative trading opportunities, leading to volatile swings in trading volume concentration across financial markets, with periods of significant increases followed by rapid declines. This paper examines the variation in the concentration of trading volume across the full spectrum of S&P 500 companies, with a focus on explaining the reasons behind the stochastic changes in trading volume concentration. We analyze different concentration measurement methods, including the power law exponent, the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index, and the Gini-based Trading Concentration Index (TCI). The research employs a novel experimental design, comparing a concentration-driven portfolio, rebalanced daily based on the top 30 stocks by trading volume, against the S&P 500 benchmark. Our findings reveal that the Gini-based TCI fluctuated between 55.98% and 77.35% during the study period, with significant variations coinciding with major market events. The concentration-driven portfolio outperformed the S&P 500, achieving an annualized return of 10.66% compared to 5.89% for the index, with a superior Sharpe ratio of 0.325 versus 0.19. This performance suggests that following trading volume concentration can yield above-average results. However, this study also highlights the importance of understanding and managing the risks associated with concentrated portfolios. This study contributes to the literature on market dynamics and offers practical insights for investors and fund managers on optimizing portfolio strategies in response to evolving concentration patterns in financial markets.

This research compared healthcare services utilization among older persons living in urban and rural Vietnam and determined the key factors contributing to their differences. A nationally representative sample of 3,049 older Vietnamese people in 2019 was used with multivariate logistic regressions and Poisson regressions to identify factors influencing the probability and frequency of service utilization. The standard concentration index (CI) and Erreygers concentration index (EI) were applied to measure the differences. The extension of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was used to examine the rural-urban differences in healthcare services utilization and quantify factors contributing to the differences. CIs and EIs were relatively small and nearly zero, meaning that both inpatient service utilization and outpatient service utilization were equally distributed across all household wealth quintiles, regardless of their residence of living. Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis results revealed statistically significant differences between rural and urban older persons in outpatient service utilization, in terms of its probability and frequency. Rural persons had 4.9% lower in the probability of outpatient services utilization than their urban counterparts. Similarly, rural residents had 3.033 times lower in the frequency of outpatient services utilization than urban residents. The use of health insurance during medical treatments and poor health status were two significant determinants explaining the urban-rural differences in healthcare utilization among older adults. Based on the crucial findings, continual development of the health insurance scheme and investment is recommended to support the rural older population in accessing healthcare. Future research opportunities include exploring a more comprehensive understanding of this field, such as examining the factors influencing the choice of healthcare facilities, reimbursement rates, and out-of-pocket expenses for older individuals in urban and rural areas. Additionally, longitudinal studies are recommended to investigate causal relationships in healthcare service utilization among older Vietnamese.

Background Solving inequality of health human resource (HHR) is one of the motives of Pakistan health policies, however, there is still exists a massive quantity of HHR inequality in almost every district of Pakistan. The main goal of this research is to scrutinize the disparity in allocation of human health resources among 114 regions of Pakistan from the year 2012 to 2016 and to expose the foundations and aspects of HHR inequality. Methods The data regarding this research has been obtained from Pakistan Statistical Bureau from the year 2012 to 2016. The statistics had also been collected from United Nation Development Program (UNDP) Pakistan 2017, Pakistan economic surveys, Ministry of finance Islamabad, Pakistan, Pakistan Social and Living standards Measurement (PSLM) Surveys from 2012 to 2016. The information incorporates district wise; the number of specialists and medical caretakers those are doctors and nurses, number of hospitals, number of beds, number of dispensaries, number of beds in dispensaries, urbanization, total estimated GNI per capita, infant mortality rate, geographical area, and population size. The concentration index is used to compute the extent of disparity in allocation of human health resources and decomposition analysis is also carried out to enumerate the contribution of each variable towards total inequality. Furthermore, the horizontal concentration was used to measure the participation of the need variable. Results 7. The consequent Concentration Indexes (CI) of the doctors and nurses for the year 2016 are 0.60 (95% CI= 0.42, 0.78) and 0.67 (95% CI= 0.42, 0.92) respectively. Decomposition of the concentration indexes exposed that the monetary status accounts are the leading percentage contributor in doctors disparity (77.5, 44.9, 30.6, − 11.6% and 13%) and population size (− 20.7,-10.5%, 4.6, 49.8, 19.7%). Furthermore, the monetary status formulates the superior contribution HHR disparity from nurses inequality (104.5, 75.1, 59.2, − 54.3%, − 40.1%), and population size (− 53.7, − 53.6%, − 36.3, 83.8, 65.3%). Moreover, after the identification of the need variable the Horizontal Concentration Index (HCI) values of doctors from the year 2012 to 2016 are 0.62, 0.64, 0.63, 0.62 and 0.61 and HCI of the nurses are 0.69, 0.70, 0.69, 0.68 and 0.67. Conclusion The pro-rich disparity in allocation of HHR has been scrutinized from the year 2012 to 2016 among 114 districts of Pakistan. The hard concern of HHR disparity should be concentrated by the complete procedures from a multidisciplinary approach.

Growing population and climate change have altered the hydro-climatic trend from past decades. This manuscript analyses the abrupt shift in these time series and their changing pattern using historical data sets. The Pettitt test and the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test were used to evaluate the time series' homogeneity. The Concentration Index, Precipitation Concentration Index and Seasonality Index were employed to analyse the spatial variability of daily, monthly and seasonal rainfall patterns over the Aghanashini River watershed. Furthermore, the temporal trend in the rainfall, streamflow, and temperature time series was investigated using Mann–Kendall (MK) and the graphical Innovative-Şen (IŞ) test. Clear evidence of climate change impact on the rainfall and streamflow pattern was recognized, as there is an upward shift in the maximum temperature time series and a downward shift in the rainfall and streamflow time series after 2001. The rainfall indices showed that the watershed has fewer percentage of rainy days and stronger rainfall seasonality, indicating a possible risk of flash floods in the downstream of the watershed. Additionally, the results of the MK and IŞ trend tests paralleled each other and provided support for the findings emphasized by rainfall indices.

Objective: China’s targeted poverty alleviation policy has a profound impact on the country’s rural economic and social development now. This study aimed to learn about the health status and health equity of rural poor residents under the implementation of the policy. It further explores the factors affecting the health status and health equity of rural poor residents in order to contribute to the improvement of the policy. Methods: The data of 1233 rural poor residents were collected from a questionnaire survey from 12 prefecture-level cities and areas of Shaanxi province in 2017, and the self-reported health was used to reflect the health status. A concentration index was applied to measure the inequity of the health status of rural poor residents. The decomposition method was employed to explore the source of health inequity. Results: The results showed that 44.56% of rural poor residents in Shaanxi province had a poor or very poor health status, which was affected by their economic level, gender, age, degree of education, and marital status. Additionally, participation in agricultural industry development, relocation, health poverty alleviation, and basic living standards were significantly correlated with health status. The concentration index of the health status of rural poor residents was 0.0327. The primary contributors to the health inequity in different regions varied, but the economic level and the degree of education were the most significant factors, and the targeted poverty alleviation policy had a significant impact on health equity. Conclusions: The results indicated that the health status of rural poor residents in Shaanxi province was generally poor, there was a pro-rich inequity in the health status, and the degree of education and economic level were the primary factors affecting the health status and health equity. The targeted poverty alleviation policy greatly impacted the health status and health equity of rural poor residents, and the difference in health status would lead to the inequity of benefits of the targeted poverty alleviation policy. In the future, the policy should focus on ensuring the sustainable development ability of rural residents with poor health status.

Background Wealth disparities in levels of fertility are well documented in Egypt. Data from the Egypt Demographic and Health Survey (2014) showed that 61% of births to mothers from the poorest wealth quintile were of the third order or higher compared to 33% among mothers from the richest wealth quintile. The current paper investigates the main individual and socio-contextual level determinants of having more than two living children among women aged 30 and older, and decomposes its wealth-based inequality. Methods The secondary analysis was based on the 2014 Egypt Demographic and Health Survey. Multilevel linear regression was used to model the number of additional living children a woman has after her first two living children. A decomposition analysis of the wealth-based concentration index was applied using a multilevel model. Results Individual level and area level attributes explained 83 and 17% of the variation in 3+ parity, respectively. Only areas not well served by the health system were significantly related to 3+ parity. Decomposition of the wealth-based concentration index revealed that 55.7 and 44.3% of the 3+ parity inequality were attributed to individual level attributes and area level attributes, respectively. At the individual level, early marriage accounted for 26% of the inequality in 3+ parity inequality. At the area level, living in areas not well served by the health system accounted for 22.3% of the 3+ parity wealth- based inequality, while highly gendered areas contributed 5.8% to this inequality. Areas’ random effects contributed 7.1% to the 3+ parity inequality, assist in identifying specific areas that require targeted policies. Conclusion Multilevel decomposition allowed the contributions of both the individual and area level attributes to be quantified. The decomposition highlighted the need for more tailored policies that target different social groups and different areas. Decomposition analysis also pinpointed specific areas that require additional targeted policies. This targeted approach can be used to support the efficient use of limited resources within any society.

The development of exports in an open economic environment is the best solution in accelerating the pace of economic growth. The research evaluates the competitiveness of Iraqi dates exports based on a set of quantitative indicators and shows the role of Trade activities represented by international marketing that ensures the flow of goods and services from production until they reach the consumer. The research found a competitive advantage for Iraq in its exports of dates, as the Revealed Comparative Advantage - RCA showed a remarkable rise during the years of study and reached 26.98 in 2008, as for the Concentration Index (H), which represents the concentration of exports in a product or a limited number of products. More than 0.5 came in all the years of the study and it reached 0.91 in 2010. That means, the concentration of Iraqi agricultural exports with a large percentage in dates exports, which means placing agricultural exports and the agricultural trade balance in a difficult position if crop production is exposed to shocks that affect the quality and quantity of production, such as epidemic pests, bad weather or price disturbances in global markets. The research recommended using the comparative advantage that distinguishes Iraq in the production of dates and working to increase the market share by finding new marketing channels.

Background Equity is an important goal for countries in formulating relevant health policies, and research on the equity of health services is more important for China, where the gap between the rich and poor is widening. The aims of this study are to explore to what extent the benefit equity of New Rural Cooperative Medical System enrollees has been achieved and to determine the geographical disparities in Shaanxi province and thus provide suggestions for future policy formulations. Methods Data were obtained from the fifth Health Service Survey of Shaanxi province in 2013. A two-step mode was used to analyse the influencing factors of the inpatient benefit rate and inpatient compensation fee. Concentration indexes and concentration curves were applied to measure the inequity of the inpatient benefit rate and inpatient compensation fee. The decomposition method was employed to explore the source of inequity and horizontal inequity. Results Based on a sample of 38,032 enrollees, our results showed that there were pro-rich inequities in the inpatient benefit rate and compensation fee. The concentration index of the inpatient benefit rate and compensation fee in 2013 were 0.064 and 0.174, respectively. The economic level (224.62%), self-evaluated health status (− 25.89%) and occupation status (− 12.32%) were the primary three contributors to the inequity of the inpatient benefit rate, and the economic level (106.16%) and age (− 2.88%) were the first two contributors to the inequity of the compensation fee. There were regional differences in the sources of inequities. Moreover, pro-rich horizontal inequity remained after standardizing health care needs. Conclusions Our results indicated that there were pro-rich inequities in the inpatient benefit rate and compensation fee in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System. The economic levels of enrollees accounted for most of the existing inequity, followed by self-evaluated health scores and age. Efforts should be made to strengthen policies and programmes in the New Rural Cooperative Medical System to achieve basic health services equity, such as implementing hierarchical medical treatments and reducing extra inpatient benefits for the rich.

تعد البيانات المتعلقة بشدة التعرية المائية ذات أهمية حتمية للمهنيين الذين يساهمون في السيطرة على مفقودات التربة من خلال تنفيذ إجراءات صيانة الترب. تتطلب صيانة الترب معرفة العوامل التي تتحكم في كمية مفقودات التربة. و يعد دليل قابلية المطر على التعرية أحد العوامل الرئيسية الذى يتحكم على كمية مفقودات التربة. و لتحقيق هذه الأهداف، تم تطوير عدة نماذج أحادية المتغير لتقدير دليل قابلية المطر على التعرية في الجزء الشمالى من العراق. استندت قاعدة بيانات تطوير النماذج على بيانات هطول الأمطار بمقاييس زمنية مختلفة تم الحصول عليها من 25 محطة موزعة في جميع أنحاء منطقة الدراسة. و شملت المتغيرات المستقلة على الأمطار السنوية (P)، مؤشرFournier (MFI)، مؤشر Fournier المعدل (MFI) و مؤشر تركيز هطول الأمطار(PCI). بالإضافة إلى ذلك تم تقويم أداء مجموعة من النماذج أحادية المتغير المنشورة مسبقًا تعود معظمها الى مناطق البحر المتوسط. و قد لوحظ عدم فعالية كل من FI أوPCI في التقاط تباين دليل قابلية المطر على التعرية في منطقة الدراسة. و أشارت النتائج الى تفوق النماذج المستندة على الأمطار السنوية على النماذج المعتمدة على مؤشري فورنية و فورنية المعدلة. كما أوضحت النتائج أيضا أنه من بين النماذج المتطورة و المعتمدة على الأمطار السنوية أن الصيغة التربيعية و الخطية احتلت لا المرتبة الأولى و الثانية على التوالي. و علاوة على ذلك أشارت اختبار أداء النماذج المنشورة سابقًا إلى تطبيقاتها المقيدة في العراق للتنبؤ بدليل قابلية المطر على التعرية. Information on the degree of water erosion is of imperative importance to professionals who are engaged in reducing soil losses via implementing soil conservation measures. Soil Conservation requires the knowledge of the factors controlling soil loss. Rainfall erosivity is one of the major controlling factors inducing water erosion. To achieve this objective, several univariate models were developed to estimate the rainfall erosivity in the upper part of Iraq. The database for models development was based on rainfall data of different time scales obtained from 25 stations distributed across the study region. The explanatory variables encompassed annual rainfall (P), Fournier index (FI), modified Fournier index (MFI) and precipitation concentration index (PCI). Additionally, the performance of a host of previously published univariate models were evaluated. Most of these models were derived for countries with Mediterranean rainfall regimes. It was observed that neither FI nor the PCI approaches were effective in capturing the variability of rainfall erosivity in the study area. Overall, the annual rainfall based models outperformed the Fournier and modified Fournier based models. The results also indicated that among eight developed models, the quadratic and linear forms of annual rainfall based models ranked first and second respectively. Additionally, the test of performance of a host of previously published models revealed they have restricted applications in Iraq.