The main challenge for land use efficiency is population growth. Using a coupling coordination model and the Sustainable Development Goal 11.3.1 (Land Consumption Rate to Population Growth Rate, LCRPGR), the present study unravels the evolution of land use types and efficiency of land use in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) from 2003 to 2019. We interpreted the temporal land use types based on the long-time series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MCD12Q1-V6) land use images in 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, and 2019. The World Bank data on population and socioeconomics were used to support the investigation on the coupled link. Our results showed that from 2003 to 2019, the total area of agricultural land decreased by −1.4%, while the built-up area expanded by 25.80%. Globally, the LCRPGR was 0.82, of which Cabo-Verdi and Niger had the highest (1.69) and lowest index (0.58), respectively. Correspondingly, the coupled coordination model indicated an overall value of 6.81, in which the highest and lowest value occurred in Liberia (29.78) and Niger (0.31), respectively. Furthermore, a rapidly growing population had become one of the most important factors causing inefficient land use in the study area. In summary, the ECOWAS was confronted with a lack of management to improve land use efficiency. Thus, future land use policies should pay more attention to balancing the coupled relationship between urban expansion and socio-economic interests.

Ecological compensation for cultivated land is a prominent means to coordinate the protection and utilization of cultivated land ecosystems. This study assessed the ecological compensation for cultivated land, considering both the ecological footprint and value of ecosystem services. We used the ecological footprint model to calculate the ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity of cultivated land, combined with the value of its ecosystem services, with a focus on estimating its ecological compensation standard, and we analyzed the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of Northeast China. We found that the ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity of cultivated land showed a fluctuating growth trend in Northeast China from 2000 to 2020, increasing by 288.83 × 10⁵ ha and 131.37 × 10⁵ ha, respectively. The spatial distribution of cultivated land’s ecological footprint and ecological carrying capacity showed growth from the southwest to the northeast. The value of its ecosystem services presented an overall trend of growth over the past 20 years, increasing by CNY 13.64 billion, or an increase of 12.47%. In terms of spatial distribution, the trends of the ecological compensation for cultivated land showed obvious differences. This study mainly focused on black soil cultivated land, and its results are helpful for governments in different countries solving similar problems in terms of the ecological compensation for cultivated land. This study will provide a valuable reference to measure the compensation standard scientifically and to provide policy recommendations for sustainable cultivated land’s protection and utilization.

The broad inclusiveness of digital inclusive finance is essential for promoting coordinated regional development. This paper focuses on the impact of digital inclusive finance on creating county enterprises, discussing its heterogeneity in terms of region and type of entrepreneurship and revealing the mechanisms by which this set of impacts works. The methodology integrates the 2015–2020 Peking University Digital Inclusive Finance Index, business registration data from the industrial and commercial sectors and statistics from counties in Henan Province. The results show that digital inclusive finance can significantly promote the creation of county enterprises. All secondary dimension indices show positive effects; this result remains when replacing the core explanatory variables and lagged terms. Heterogeneity analysis finds no significant heterogeneity in the entrepreneurial effect of digital inclusive finance between urban and rural areas and types of entrepreneurship. The mechanism analysis finds that digital inclusive finance can promote the creation of county enterprises through two paths: improved financing and mobile payment. These findings reveal that we should use digital inclusive finance to improve the breadth and depth of financial services within the county and take advantage of its mobile payments to promote micro and small businesses.

The study aims to reveal the transition features of agricultural land use in the Groundnut Basin of Senegal from 2009 to 2018, especially the impact of urbanization on agricultural land and the viewpoint of farmland spatiotemporal evolution. Integrated data of time series MCD12Q1 land-use images of 2009, 2012, 2015, and 2018 were used to provide a land transition in agricultural and urban areas through the synergistic methodology. Socio-economic data was also used to serve as a basis for the argument. The results highlight that: (1) Agricultural land increased by 14.53%, with a dynamic index of 1.45 from 2009–2018. (2) Over the same period, urbanization increased by 2.80%, with a dynamic index of 0.28. (3) In different regions, the transition of agricultural land in Kaffrine is most intense (expansion rate: 22.80%). The same situation of urbanization happened in Thiès Region with a value of 7.94%. Except for Thiès, agricultural land in other regions has not yet been subject to major pressure due to urbanization. Overall, the farming system in Groundnut Basin is an extensive model, the recommendations from the point of view of land-use planning and land law are necessary to ensure efficient agricultural land management in the area.