The growth of the county economy in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article evaluates the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 2,089 counties in 31 provinces in China from three aspects over the period of 2015–2019: all of 2,089 counties at the national level, all counties within each province, and the county economy of 31 provinces. It has three key findings on the low-growth performance of the county economy: (1) There were 27 national-level low-growth counties, 24 of which were in three northeastern provinces (i.e. Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang) that are major grain producing provinces in China. (2) There were five provincial-level low-growth counties in four provinces. (3) Three provinces (i.e. Liaoning, Jilin, and Tianjin) had low performances in the growth of the county economy. This article sheds light on the regional patterns of the low-growth county economy in China. Policy recommendations for improving the development of the county economy in China are also discussed.