Accomplishing unremitting favorable health outcomes, especially reducing maternal mortality, remains a challenge for South Asian countries. This study explores the relationship between health expenditure and maternal mortality by using data set consisting of 18 years from 2000 to 2017. Fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) models were employed for the empirical analysis. The outcomes revealed that a 1% rise in health expenditure increased the maternal mortality rate by 1.95% in the case of FMOLS estimator and 0.16% in the case of DOLS estimator. This reflects that the prevailing health care system is not adequate for reducing maternal mortality. Moreover, the meager system and the priorities established by an elitist system in which the powerless and poor are not considered may also lead to worsen the situation. In addition, the study also added population, economic growth, sanitation, and clean fuel technology in the empirical model. The findings revealed that population growth has a significant long-term effect on maternal mortality—an increase of 40% in the case of FMOLS and 10% in the case of DOLS—and infers that an increase in population growth has also dampened efforts towards reducing maternal mortality in the South Asian panel. Further, the results in the case of economic growth, sanitation, and clean fuel technologies showed significant long-term negative effects on maternal mortality by 94%, 7.2%, and 11%, respectively, in the case of the FMOLS estimator, and 18%, 1.9%, and 5%, respectively, in the case of the DOLS estimator. The findings imply that GDP and access to sanitation and clean fuel technologies are more nuanced in declining maternal mortality. In conclusion, the verdict shows that policymakers should formulate policies considering the fundamental South Asian aspects warranted to reduce maternal mortality.

Based on the ArcGIS geostatistical analysis method, this study offers a visualization of the spatial distribution pattern and spatial trend of vegetable production in China. The research also examines the degree of spatial agglomeration patterns of vegetable production by using the standard deviation ellipse technique and exploratory spatial data analysis method. In addition, we employ the spatial regression model partial differential method to explore the driving factors leading to the changing layout of vegetable production. The findings unveil that vegetable production in China exhibit strong spatial non-equilibrium characteristics, with “high-high” and “low-low” types as the main agglomeration patterns. Furthermore, the location distribution shows a northeast–southwest orientation with the center of gravity of distribution gradually directed toward the southwest. Regarding driving factors, the results show that the effective irrigated area of natural factors had a facilitating effect on the layout of vegetable production, while the affected area had an inhibiting effect on it. Climate indicators such as temperature, precipitation and light show different degrees of influence on the layout of vegetable production. The level of urbanization and transportation conditions have a negative impact on the layout of production in the region. Market demand has a positive spillover effect on the layout of local vegetable production, while it has a negative spillover effect on other regions. Technological progress shows positive spillover effects on the layout of vegetable production in the region and other regions. Financial support policy also shows positive effects from an overall perspective.

Undernourishment is a big challenge for humanity across the world. Considering the significance of reducing undernourishment, the current study focuses on exploring the macroeconomic determinants of undernourishment in the South Asian panel. The study employed econometric models that are more robust to underpin cross-sectional dependency and heterogeneity in a panel data set. The overall findings reveal that an increase in food production increases undernourishment and infer that food availability at the national level is insufficient to reduce undernourishment unless poor people also had economic and physical access to food. In the case of economic growth and governance, the results are negatively significant in some countries. The results infer that GDP and quality of governance are nuanced in declining the rate of undernourishment in some countries, while in other countries where the results are found insignificant, the government should seek other interventions to curtail the prevalence of undernourishment. Unexpectedly, an increase in food prices lessens the undernourishment in developing countries that reflect that food prices might transform the dietary patterns of poor people from nutrient-rich foods to nutrient-poor staples, thus lead to undernourishment reduction but trigger overweight and obesity alongside. In conclusion, the results depict that policymakers should devise strategies keeping in view fundamental aspects of the country to reduce undernourishment.

The right to health is a fundamental human right for human beings to live in dignity. Everyone has the right to enjoy the fair and accessible highest standard of health by utilizing public health services. However, access to essential public health services also highly depends on the dialect culture. It is believed that the dialect culture also influences the efficiency of public health policies. To explore the phenomenon empirically, the current study utilized data sourced from geographical distribution information of Chinese dialects and the China Migrants Dynamic Survey for 2017. The study employed the Probit, IVprobit, and Eprobit models to estimate the impact of dialect culture on migrants' use of public health services. The findings revealed that the dialect culture significantly hinders the migrants' utilization of public health services. Further, by employing heterogeneity analysis, the findings revealed that the results are more pronounced in migrants, born after 1980, and are female with low educational background and also those migrants having local medical experiences and moving toward non-provincial cities. Finally to explore the mechanism of dialect culture influencing migrants' public health service, the study employed mediation analysis and KHB Method. The findings revealed that information transmission, health habits, social capital, and cultural identity are the potential pathways influencing the migrants' use of public health services. The findings conclude that rural-to-urban migrants' access to public health services is influenced by their cultural adaptation. Hence, the study proposes that the government should amend the policy inefficiency concerns caused by cultural differences and strengthen the regional cultural exchanges to build trust.

There exists comprehensive literature on women’s empowerment; however, studies on the measurement of empowerment in the agricultural context are scarce, particularly in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Pakistan. In this paper, we used the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI), which includes five domains, i.e. resources, production, income, leadership, and time, to measure women’s empowerment in the agriculture sector. A survey of 600 rural women and 18 focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted by using multi-stage sampling. The results show that about 72% of the women are disempowered, and attribute to low socio-economic conditions, i.e. they have limited access to resources and little leadership skills as rural women in AJK are not free to speak in public. The results further reveal that women are also disempowered in some other indicators, such as autonomy in production, income, and leisure time. So, based on the current findings, it is proposed that government should strengthen these areas through effective policies to improve the status of women.

Trust is of great significance to the economic and social development of a country. In the case of China, the trust of rural women has undergone tremendous changes along with the development of rural areas. It is seen that the trust of rural women has changed from localized to generalized trust, and it is stated that the major factor leading to this transformation is education. To explore the phenomenon empirically, the current study uses the survey data of rural women sourced from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) over the year 2018. Through the ordered probit model, the study reveals that education plays a significant role in influencing rural women’s generalized trust and localized trust. Through mediation analysis, the study further reveals that reliance on Internet information, access to public resources, and income are the factors mediating the relationship between education and generalized trust. Besides, the outcomes further unveil that the impact of education on localized trust is stronger when the level of mobility is low. For robustness check, the current study additionally employs a regression discontinuity model. The overall findings elucidate that education is the major factor triggering the trust of rural women in China. The findings propose that policymakers in China should imply education-oriented strategies as individuals with higher levels of education are more inclined to trust others.