The “one-city monopoly index”: Measurement and empirical analysis of China

Abstract

The “one-city monopoly” is a controversial phenomenon. This paper proposed and adopted the “one-city monopoly index” (OMI) to dynamically measure its evolution characteristics. The relationship among the OMI, urban competitiveness and unbalanced provincial development was investigated. The results show that (1) the “one-city monopoly” is a complex and bewildering phenomenon that occurs during the processes of urbanization and regional development in the central and western regions of China, and it is still needed; (2) there is a dynamic relationship between the OMI and its urban comprehensive competitiveness (UCC); and (3) the fluctuations of the “one-city monopoly” phenomenon in the primate cities of the provinces are obviously correlated with the change in the intra-provincial development gap. Therefore, on the one hand, we cannot excessively restrain the growth of a primate city under the guise of “promoting balanced regional development”. On the other hand, we should not blindly pursue the ranking of urban competitiveness but give due consideration to the balanced development of cities or regions. Primate cities are also responsible for promoting the overall economic, social, cultural and ecological development of the provinces, and higher-quality regional coordinated development can be realized by further enhancing the spillover effects of primate cities.