Socio-economic Planning Sciences最新文献

{"title":"Robust optimization for bioethanol supply chain networks: Balancing sustainability, resilience, and responsiveness","authors":"Seyed Vahid Ahmadi,&nbsp;Seyed Hossein Iranmanesh,&nbsp;Aliyeh Kazemi","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102565","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102565","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rising global demand for sustainable energy has increased attention on bioethanol as a renewable resource. This study presents a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model to design and optimize a sustainable, resilient, and responsive bioethanol supply chain network. The model supports strategic and tactical decision-making, including supplier selection, facility location, capacity expansion, production planning, and distribution flows. To account for uncertainties in supply chain parameters, a multi-objective robust interval stochastic possibilistic programming approach is introduced. Additionally, a modified meta-goal programming method, based on the Torabi–Hassini approach, is used to improve computational efficiency. The framework's effectiveness is demonstrated through a real-world case study, with results indicating that the proposed approach outperforms deterministic and multi-choice models across various performance metrics. The findings affirm that robust optimization techniques can effectively manage uncertainties in bioethanol supply chains. This research contributes to the literature by integrating sustainability, resilience, and responsiveness into a comprehensive optimization framework, thereby enhancing decision-making under uncertainty and more effectively capturing the complexities of real-world problems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102565"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Measuring gender equality in quality of life satisfaction: A composite index for Italian regions","authors":"Margherita Maria Pagliuca,&nbsp;Daniela Fusco,&nbsp;Paola Giordano,&nbsp;Maria Antonietta Liguori","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102562","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102562","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Gender disparities in quality of life satisfaction have been widely investigated, yet empirical evidence remains mixed. This paper aims to measure gender equality in quality of life satisfaction by developing a composite and partially compensatory index specifically designed to capture balanced gender outcomes across multiple life indicators. Using data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat) multipurpose survey <em>Aspects of Daily Life</em>, this study builds a Gender Equality Index of Quality of Life Satisfaction, based on women-to-men ratios and the Adjusted Mazziotta–Pareto Index (AMPI) methodology. The analysis is conducted at the regional level in Italy over the period 2018–2022, allowing for spatial and temporal comparisons before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The composite index integrates satisfaction-based indicators related to: <em>Positive judgement of future perspectives, Leisure time satisfaction, Life satisfaction, Satisfaction with friends’ relationships and Satisfaction with family relationships</em>. The results reveal substantial territorial heterogeneity in gender equality with persistent and structurally rooted disadvantages for women in several regions. While disparities appear limited when individual indicators are considered separately, the composite index highlights pronounced and enduring inequities, particularly in indicators related to time use and future expectations. The COVID-19 pandemic further amplified these disparities in several regional contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102562"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634958","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Public-sector decision support for digital-agriculture rollout: Feasibility-constrained provincial sequencing in Vietnam","authors":"Thanh Van Do,&nbsp;Enjun Xia,&nbsp;Binh Anh Pham","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital-agriculture programmes are increasingly central to public-sector modernization, but governments cannot usually roll them out everywhere at once. This article examines Vietnam as a territorially heterogeneous planning case and asks how public agencies can stage provincial rollout when productivity opportunity, equity need, low-greenhouse-gas (low-GHG) baseline advantage, and implementability do not peak in the same places. The study develops an ex-ante decision-support framework that links baseline forecasting, multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA), exact 0–1 integer-programming portfolio selection, and regret diagnostics under weight uncertainty. The framework is not an ex-post causal evaluation of concrete policy packages; rather, it provides a transparent sequencing architecture for bounded public allocation. The results show that a neutral Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) baseline produces a territorially mixed priority set rather than a single readiness block, while feasibility-constrained optimization expands the selected frontier from 23 provinces under the narrow B0 envelope to 37 under B1 and 48 under B2. Robustness checks based on Dirichlet weight draws, rank-reversal tests, alternative feasibility proxies, and alternative MCDA methods show that the broad sequencing logic is not driven by one arbitrary weight vector or one isolated readiness proxy. The contribution is a practical public-sector planning framework for converting spatially misaligned objectives into defensible rollout tiers under administrative constraints.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102568"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148657201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energy-conscious dynamic electric vehicle routing for urban cold-chain delivery: A K-means-ALNS approach","authors":"Jiarui Zhou,&nbsp;Jianxin Wang,&nbsp;Hui Jia,&nbsp;Yijiao Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102564","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102564","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With the rapid growth of instant fresh-produce delivery and the increasing adoption of EVs (Electric Vehicles, EVs), urban cold-chain routing has become increasingly challenging due to dynamic customer orders, battery-capacity limitations, refrigeration requirements, and time-varying traffic conditions. This study investigates the EC-DEVRPTW (Energy-Conscious Dynamic Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows, EC-DEVRPTW) for urban cold-chain delivery under a periodic re-optimisation framework. The problem jointly considers dynamic order updates, period-dependent vehicle speeds, charging decisions, and both driving and refrigeration energy consumption. A MILP (Mixed-Integer Linear Programming, MILP) model is formulated to minimise total cost. To improve computational efficiency, a hybrid solution framework integrating K-means clustering and ALNS (Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search, ALNS) is developed to adjust delivery routes at each periodic re-optimisation cycle. Benchmark experiments show that the proposed ALNS algorithm can generate feasible and competitive solutions in dynamic scenarios and achieves a good balance between solution quality and computational time. A real-world case study in Taiyuan further verifies the applicability of the proposed framework. The results indicate that refrigeration energy consumption is non-negligible, and that time-window penalties, electricity prices, vehicle speeds, re-optimisation frequency, and service-region partitioning all have important impacts on total cost.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102564"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Design of a sustainable closed-loop supply chain under supply-side disruption: A quantity discount strategy","authors":"Shahab Rahiminia,&nbsp;Saman Hassanzadeh Amin,&nbsp;Liping Fang,&nbsp;Victor Shi","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reusing the components of commercial merchandise considerably reduces the adverse ecological effects while enhancing firms’ profitability. In this paper, a multi-objective optimization model is presented for designing a Closed-Loop Supply Chain (CLSC) network. The proposed model strategically determines the optimal locations for the key facilities and the flows of the products/components among different echelons. In procurement operations, the suppliers are assumed to leverage quantity discounts to offer diverse price levels to the manufacturer. Despite signing the supplier-manufacturer contract, in many real-life cases, suppliers might face partial/complete disruption in their service operations. To navigate such disruption risks, a Two-Stage Stochastic Programming (TSSP) approach is proposed to help achieve comprehensive decisions. Furthermore, uncertainty in demand, return, and cost parameters is addressed with a Possibilistic Chance-Constraint Programming (PCCP) approach, hedging the network against inherent uncertainty. The application of the model is shown by a real-life home appliance CLSC network in Canada. Through statistical measures, the model demonstrates to be uncertainty-resilient and also benefits from employing the TSSP model.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102570"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634841","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effective influence on the preferences towards public and active transport following the implementation of pedestrianization","authors":"Jing Tang,&nbsp;Muhammet Deveci,&nbsp;Ilgin Gokasar,&nbsp;Dursun Delen,&nbsp;Volkan Yıldız,&nbsp;Weizhong Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Pedestrianization can be defined as a spatial reconfiguration strategy that reallocates street space from vehicles to people to improve urban livability. As cities pursue a shift away from car dependency, pedestrianization has become an increasingly important component of sustainable mobility agendas. One of the fundamental questions in this transition concerns which governance scale is best suited to lead implementation. To address this, four alternatives (i.e., government (nation), metropolitan (city), local (county), consensus-building (public)) with fifteen criteria under demographic, environmental, transportation, and political aspects are evaluated through a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method with input from four subject matter experts. According to the proposed framework, the consensus-building alternative obtains the highest utility degree, suggesting that public involvement may improve legitimacy, reduce resistance, and support policy continuity in pedestrianization strategies. These findings can support policymakers in designing pedestrianization strategies that better account for equity, resilience, and public acceptance.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102573"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634953","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Impact of integrated transportation on city high-quality development in China","authors":"Tao Li,&nbsp;Ruidong Fan,&nbsp;Xiangbin Li,&nbsp;Qianqian Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, city high-quality development (CHQD) has become a core goal with integrated transportation (IT) emerging as a critical supporting factor. Based on the panel data from 2007 to 2023 of 287 cities in China, this paper applies a difference-in-difference (DID) model to investigate the impacts and mechanism of highway (HW), high-speed rail (HSR), air transportation (AT), and the coexistence of all three modes on CHQD. The result reveals that HW, HSR and AT operations promote CHQD, and the IT also shows a notably positive impact on CHQD. Because the IT indicator captures the availability of the three modes rather than operational coordination, the findings are interpreted as evidence of potential modal complementarity, not as proof of a super-additive synergistic effect. Furthermore, the impacts of HW, HSR and AT on CHQD display some heterogeneities in terms of geographical location, city scales, and city economic levels. Finally, the mediating effect test reveals that IT and HW can indirectly facilitate CHQD by boosting Per Capita Gross Domestic Product (PCGDP) growth while the mediating effects of HSR and AT are not significant in the short term. Overall, these findings provide critical references for optimizing integrated transportation layout, thus supporting the advancement of CHQD.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102574"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634954","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Income inequality in Southern Africa: Evidence from interpretable machine learning and panel econometric models","authors":"John Mulenga,&nbsp;Lenganji Simwanda,&nbsp;Sergei Pismennyi,&nbsp;Irena Benešová,&nbsp;Wilem Heijman,&nbsp;Anna Tsenteradze","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102571","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102571","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyses the determinants of income inequality in Southern Africa by combining interpretable ensemble machine learning with panel econometric models. The study uses an un-balanced panel dataset covering eleven Southern African countries over the period 1991–2019. The analysis is anchored in an adapted Social Determinants of Health framework, which helps organise the selected variables into structural, institutional, and intermediary socio-economic domains. Four ensemble models, namely Categorical Boosting, Extreme Gradient Boosting, Gradient Boosting Machine, and Adaptive Boosting, are used to capture non-linear relationships and interaction effects, while random effects and two-way fixed effects models provide econometric benchmarks. The machine learning models show strong internal predictive performance, with an out-of-sample <em>R</em>² ≈ 0.98, although the training and testing design is based on a stratified random split across pooled country-year observations. Therefore, the reported test results are interpreted as internal validation within the observed Southern African panel rather than evidence of full generalisation to new countries or future periods. SHapley Additive exPlanations results show that unemployment is the most influential predictor of income inequality across all four ensemble models, followed by gross domestic product per capita and institutional quality. The comparison with panel econometric models shows partial convergence, particularly for gross domestic product per capita, years of schooling, and natural resource rents, while differences in unemployment and democracy suggest that their effects may be non-linear or interaction-dependent. The findings indicate that inequality in Southern Africa is shaped by labour market exclusion, uneven economic growth, institutional conditions, education-related disparities, and resource dependence. The results support policies that promote inclusive employment, improve the quality and equity of education, strengthen accountable institutions, and ensure transparent management of natural resource revenues. The study contributes by showing that interpretable machine learning can complement, rather than replace, conventional panel econometrics in explaining complex inequality dynamics.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102571"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148736188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socio-economic determinants of health literacy among blood donors: A cross-sectional study in Italy","authors":"Pietro Renzi,&nbsp;Alberto Franci","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102560","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102560","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Blood donation is a crucial service for healthcare systems and contributes to saving and improving lives. As a humanitarian act, it also symbolises social solidarity and individual responsibility. Health literacy (HL) is the ability to access, understand and use health information. This study aimed to assess HL levels among blood donors and compare them with those of the general population, thereby establishing whether individuals with higher HL are more likely to donate blood. It focused on 471 donors aged 18 or older and affiliated with AVIS (Italian Blood Donors Association) within a local health authority in the Marche Region. The HLS-EU-Q16 tool was administered via a web-based interview method, and its 16 items were aggregated into a General HL Index standardised on a scale from 0 to 50. Statistical analysis, including independent t-tests and multinomial logistic regression, was conducted to explore associations with sociodemographic factors. The results revealed a mean HL score for blood donors of 30.29 ± 7.11. Notably, 38% of donors demonstrated adequate HL, significantly higher than the 25% observed in the general Italian population. Higher HL levels were significantly associated with higher education, economic status, and better self-perceived health, while inadequate HL was more prevalent among those with chronic diseases. The potential reasons for this latter situation were explored. That HL scores for blood donors were higher than those for the general Italian population suggests that improving HL could serve as a strategic lever to enhance the donor base and the impact of increased blood donations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102560"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634837","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Occupational mismatch in European labour markets: A joint analysis of education, skills, and severe mismatch","authors":"Sergio Longobardi,&nbsp;Margherita Maria Pagliuca","doi":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.seps.2026.102572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines occupational mismatch in European labour markets by jointly analysing overeducation, overskilling, and their overlap, defined as severe mismatch. Using recent OECD-PIAAC data for nine European countries, the study compares statistical and subjective measures of mismatch and estimates multinomial logit models to identify its main determinants. The results show that mismatch is widespread but highly heterogeneous across countries and worker groups, and that measurement choices substantially affect estimated patterns. Severe mismatch emerges as a distinct and relevant form of human capital underutilisation, especially among highly educated workers and STEM graduates. Cross-country differences suggest that mismatch reflects not only individual characteristics but also broader institutional and structural conditions. The findings highlight the need for policies that improve both skill formation and the effective use of skills in the workplace.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":22033,"journal":{"name":"Socio-economic Planning Sciences","volume":"106 ","pages":"Article 102572"},"PeriodicalIF":5.2,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148634839","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}