Analysis of the Influence Mechanism of New Urbanization on High-Quality Economic Development in Northeast China

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of new urbanization on high-quality economic development in Northeast China, focusing on three aspects: urban factor aggregation, internal division of labor, and scale effect. A panel mediated and moderated effects model is used to analyze data from 34 cities between 2000 and 2020. The results show that new urbanization promotes high-quality economic development through the mediating variables of innovation, consumption, and investment, with a strong mediating effect observed for innovation and consumption and a relatively weaker effect for investment. Furthermore, the study finds that public services, ecological environment, and industrial structure upgrading have significant positive moderating effects on innovation and consumption mediation but a negative effect on investment. In promoting new urbanization, Northeast China should prioritize investment in innovative factors, expand domestic demand, upgrade consumption patterns, improve people’s livelihoods, enhance urban investment in social service functions, optimize investment to promote industrial upgrading and improve urban public services, ecological environment, and management efficiency.