Abstract
The construction of development zones is an important strategic measure for China to attract foreign investment and open up more extensively to the outside world; for this reason, such zones are also of great significance to China’s regional development. Although the economic effects of development zones have received extensive attention from scholars, the interaction between the development zone and the host city that surrounds it has, to date, remained unexamined. To fill this gap, this research constructed a panel measurement analysis framework and selected 46 of China’s national development zones established from 2004 to 2018 as study samples and used Granger causality test method to reveal the causal relationship between the total factor productivity of the development zones and their surrounding host cities. The consequences exhibited a long-term causality between the total factor productivity of the development zones and that of the host cities in all the panels. Short-term causality, however, was only identified in the eastern and western area panels. The development zone is shown to significantly promote the development of its host city, albeit with a certain lag effect; conversely, the support function provided by the host city to the development zone was found to remain weak. Our research results provide a new perspective on realizing a mutually beneficial interaction between development zones and their host cities.
Highlights
The development of cities has always been a key topic within the field of urban economics [1]
This study introduced a panel Granger causality test to determine the causal relations between the TFP of development zones (DZs) and their surrounding host cities (SHCs)
The average TFP of DZs in the western region was the highest at 1.243, which means that the efficiency of DZs in the western region has increased by 24.3% annually
Summary
The development of cities has always been a key topic within the field of urban economics [1]. According to the different types of economic activities that occur within them, DZs have been given different names, including “bonded zones”, “export processing zones”, “economic and technological development zones”, or “science and technology parks” [4] Regardless of their label, they all have similar goals with respect to increasing regional competitiveness. DZs are important spatial policies with respect to China’s industrialization and urbanization; they are closely related to the surrounding cities and the regions in which they are located [21,22]. Investigating the interactive relationship between DZs and cities is of great significance to promote regional coordination and achieve new urbanization strategies [23]. This research points to clarifying our views of the correlation between DZ construction and central city development and to providing a theoretical reference that can aid in achieving the mutually beneficial interactive development of DZs and cities
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
