Study on the level and procedure of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan regional market integration from 1985 to 2007

Abstract

Based on the theory of relative prices,this paper evaluates the degree of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional market integration from the perspective of commodity markets.All of the data applied in the models in this study are obtained in the period of 1985~2007,coming from three areas,which are Beijing,Tianjin and Hebei Province.These panel data cover nine categories of the most important commodities.The study found that,in the period of 23 years,the level of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional market integration experiences a course of Smooth-Fluctuating-Smooth.Specifically,from 1985 to 1988,the regional variance of relative price changes in a small range.This implied that the regional markets of Beijing,Tianjin and Hebei are in the state of integration.From 1989 to 1997,the relative price variance is in the trend of fluctuations,indicating that in this period,the problems of regional market segmentation are more serious.The study based on time series data also revealed that since the end of the 20th century,Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei market integration has developed rapidly and stably.Overall,the level of this regional market integration improves year by year.The analysis of market integration between any two areas showed that internal imbalances exist in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region.The leading rank of regional market integration is Beijing-Tianjin,followed by Beijing-Hebei,and Tianjin-Hebei.It is worth noting that the regional market of Beijing-Tianjin is a key factor to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional market integration.The conclusions of the research enriches the current theoretical studies on the market integration of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei.Further efforts will be made to strengthen the stage of regional integration and policy analysis of how to accelerate the pace of regional market integration.