Assessment of Regional Economic Integration Based on Relational Data: The Case of the Yangtze River Delta

Abstract

Regional economic integration is a hot topic in regional and urban development. As the network society rises, the space of flows instead of the space of spaces is shaping regional urban system. Here, the space of flows represents the flow of capital, cargo, information, and mobility, whereas the space of spaces represents the cities in the network that act as hubs or nodes. In the regional economic integration process, it is the relation between cities instead of the hierarchy system that forms the regional urban system. Therefore, the essential attribute of the regional urban system is the relational network. Approaches to assessment of regional economic integration are urgently needed because there is no uniform approach. The primary reason is that it is difficult to collect relational data based on traditional approaches. Big relational data provides a new means to examine this issue. Regarding the process of regional economic integration as the flow of capital, cargo, information, and mobility, big relational data are collected to characterize these indicators. Based on the database of company registration information from China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the firm-based network is analyzed to characterize the flow of capital and cargo. Based on the database of the Baidu Search Index, the information-based network is analyzed to characterize the flow of information. Based on the railway database, the transportation-based network is analyzed to characterize the flow of mobility. These three city networks are then compared and combined using multivariate analysis and interlocking network approaches. Then, to measure the degree of regional economic integration of the main cities, the regional economic integration index is determined. Finally, suggestions are proposed to study the regional issues in the use of big relational data. How to evaluate the process of regional economic integration is a question that needs to be viewed from multiple perspectives. Big relational data shows good prospects in this study area and needs to be focused on in the future.