Industrial Composition and Agglomeration Shadow: Evidence from China’s Large Urban Systems

Jiaming Li,Dongqi Sun

doi:10.1155/2020/5717803

Abstract

New economic geography (NEG) raises the question why the “agglomeration shadow” effect is significant in some urban regions but not others. This study attempts to answer this question in the context of China by examining the impact of industrial composition of core cities on regional urban systems. Based on the model of urban location from NEG, this study attempts to examine the population growth of six core cities and their urban systems in China. We find services exert a significantly negative effect on market potential, while that of manufacturing is positive. The results are robust in different spatial scales and time spans. This suggests that strong centralizing and agglomerative effects of higher order service sector are more likely to cast an agglomeration shadow on noncore cities in China’s regional urban systems. The differences in industrial composition can explain why an urban region centered on a large core city like Beijing is more likely to cast an agglomeration shadow on its surrounding cities compared to the Shanghai-centered urban region. The findings hold important implications for uneven development of regional urban systems and construction of metropolitan areas in China.

Highlights

China is the world’s most populous country, and the nation’s postreform rapid urbanization has been paralleled by the expansion of a large number of cities. e United Nations report that there were 392 cities with populations of 300,000 inhabitants or more in China in 2014
Summary and Conclusions e empirical analysis in this paper tests the relationship between industrial composition and population growth of cities around core cities
Industrial composition per se does not directly impact surrounding cities; it exerts the effect through market potential. e reasons behind are related to a myth in urban field—why cities form and grow at varying rates. e works of Paul Krugman [12, 13] added important spatial insights to this question

Summary

Introduction

China is the world’s most populous country, and the nation’s postreform rapid urbanization has been paralleled by the expansion of a large number of cities. e United Nations report that there were 392 cities with populations of 300,000 inhabitants or more in China in 2014 (https://esa.un.org). E high number of cities in China has resulted in the development of a number of diversified regional urban systems—for instance, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta region, and the Pearl River Delta region, which constitute the most rapidly growing regions in China. Of these three, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region’s urban system differs significantly from its counterparts with respect to its development. Beijing’s urban system for example consists of 38 cities that are mid (1–5 million) and smallsized (

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion