Industrial Agglomeration Research Articles

The Impact of Industrial Robot Applications on Global Value Chains Division Position

This paper surveys the GVC division position across forty-five countries and fourteen manufacturing sub-sectors during the period from 1999 to 2018 to illustrate the impact of applications of industrial robots on the GVC position. The study proves that an increasing level of utilization of industrial robots significantly improves the GVC division position in the manufacturing sector. By automating repetitive and precision tasks, robots enhance efficiency and productivity, therefore allowing deeper specialization in specific stages of the manufacturing process. This technological progress allows for a more connected global production network and hence better integration into GVC. The study also evaluates the spillover effects across value chains and the moderating impact of industrial agglomeration on smart manufacturing.The empirical results show that the application of industrial robots enhances productivity and encourages innovation in related sectors, thereby driving downstream industry growth and promoting industry specialization.Despite the improvement in GVC division positions, robots also contribute to making global value chains more diversified and resilient. Flexible and adaptive manufacturing systems can adapt to disruptions, such as pandemics and geopolitical tensions, ensuring continuity in production and increasing stability and competitiveness in smart manufacturing systems.

Does industrial agglomeration curb corporate carbon emissions? A perspective of financial constraints

This paper investigates the impact of industrial agglomeration on corporate carbon emissions in China. We measure the extent of industrial agglomeration utilizing distance-based continuous spatial measurement, differentiating between the quantity and scale of agglomeration. Using a panel of 7895 firm-year observations from 2007 to 2019, our findings indicate that regional industrial agglomeration contributes to a reduction in carbon emissions for firms located within those regions. Specifically, this reduction is primarily achieved through the alleviation of corporate financial constraints. We demonstrate that industrial agglomeration facilitates firms in accessing informal finance (e.g., trade credit) more effectively than formal finance (e.g., bank loans). Additionally, we find that the effect of industrial agglomeration on reducing carbon emissions is more pronounced for firms with higher environmental responsibility, while it is diminished in regions with greater marketization. The carbon reduction effect is also more significant for heavily polluting firms and those situated in areas with stricter environmental regulations. Furthermore, our study reveals that the implementation of green credit policies may weaken the carbon reduction effect of agglomeration by limiting access to financial resources. The robustness of our main results is confirmed through the Bartik-IV test and other robustness checks. Taken together, our findings suggest that industrial agglomeration can effectively lower corporate carbon emissions by easing financial constraints, offering valuable insights into strategies for enhancing corporate environmental performance.

Urban density and spatial carbon emission performance of megacities in China

Increasing urban density promotes a greater social role for cities. The current low-carbon city development goals put forward higher requirements for carbon performance. Based on the viewpoint of minimizing natural resource input and maximizing value acquisition in ecological benefits, the influence of urban density on spatial carbon performance is analyzed by polynomial function relationship, and Beijing and Shanghai with different urban function positioning are taken as examples for comparative analysis. Combined with Point-of-Interest (POI), the classification benchmark of industrial activities was established, and the spatial kernel density of ArcGIS software was used to analyze the industrial agglomeration characteristics of the two cities. The results show that: 1) The “increase-decrease-increase-decrease” trend of urban spatial carbon performance over time fluctuates around the unary linear trend of urban density.2) Population and building density are too low or too high, which is not conducive to emission reduction. The change of economic density is influenced by the industrial structure. The change of urban density is negatively correlated with the growth rate of spatial carbon performance. In a certain development stage, the increase of urban density will inhibit the growth of spatial carbon performance to some extent. 3) Maintaining the original economic and industrial structure, the increase in economic density brought by the simple expansion of scale is not conducive to emission reduction. The increase of economic density brought by the transformation of economic or industrial structure and the reduction of the proportion of secondary industry is conducive to urban emission reduction.

The Impact of Rapid Urbanization on the Efficiency of Industrial Green Water Use in Urban Agglomerations around Poyang Lake

The construction of urban agglomerations around Poyang Lake is an important starting point of the strategy for the improvement of central China, but the spatial agglomeration of industry and population brings great pressure to the ecological environment. It is of great practical value to explore the impact of rapid urbanization on the water use efficiency of important ecological functional areas. Considering the undesired output of industrial production, this paper adopts the SE-SBM model to measure industrial green water use efficiency, comprehensively considers different aspects of urbanization of the urban agglomeration around Poyang Lake, empirically tests its inhibiting or boosting effect on industrial green water use and explores its spatial spillover effect with the help of a spatial metrology model. The results show that (1) the industrial green water use efficiency of urban agglomerations shows an overall upward trend, and the efficiency value of central cities is significantly higher than that of non-central cities and continues to show a state of diffusion; (2) social urbanization, environmental urbanization, and balanced urbanization can significantly improve industrial green water use efficiency, while industrial urbanization or industrialization inhibits the improvement in water use efficiency; (3) considering the spatial spillover factor, there are significant positive local effects between population urbanization and balanced urbanization, and significant positive spatial spillover effects between industrial urbanization and environmental urbanization; (4) the original model can pass the significance test by replacing the output-oriented water use efficiency with the input-oriented or non-oriented water use efficiency; the study area is extended to Jiangxi Province, and the impact of urbanization on industrial water use efficiency is basically consistent. We should adhere to the new type of urbanization that improves well-being and is friendly to the environment, rationally plan the industrial spatial pattern of urban agglomerations, adhere to the ecological and environmental threshold on undertaking industrial transfer, and promote the flow and sharing of green production factors.

The collaborative agglomeration of industries and the realization of the digital economy on the green high-quality development of cities

PurposeThis study explores the role of industrial co-agglomeration and digital economy in influencing the green high-quality development of the Yellow River National Cultural Park to provide countermeasures and suggestions for promoting the whole-area high-quality development.Design/methodology/approachThis study is based on panel data from 56 cities from 2010 to 2022. First, a Super-SBM model is built to evaluate green high-quality development. Secondly, location entropy is used to measure industrial co-agglomeration and the entropy weight method is used to measure the digital economy. Finally, the panel Tobit model is used to analyze the impact of industrial co-agglomeration and digital economy on the green high-quality development of Yellow River National Cultural Park.FindingsThis study found that (1) industrial co-agglomeration has a negative implication in green high-quality development, while the digital economy boosts green high-quality development; (2) industrial co-agglomeration is a less critical dependency on the level of development of the digital economy in influencing green high-quality development, while the facilitating effect of the digital economy is more dependent on industrial co-agglomeration and (3) the trend of slow growth in industrial co-agglomeration and digital economy development, with significant regional differences in green high-quality development.Research limitations/implicationsUndeniably, our study has several limitations. Firstly, as the study area only includes some cities in individual provinces, such as Qinghai, this paper only analyzes at the city level, which does not better reflect the differences between provinces; secondly, this study only adopts one method to determine the digital economy. In the future, other methods can be explored to measure digital economy; finally, in addition to the main role of digital economy and industrial co-agglomeration, other factors may also affect the green high-quality development of YRNCP. Future research should introduce other variables to improve the theoretical framework.Practical implicationsFirst, it provides countermeasures and suggestions for promoting the green high-quality development of YRNCP. Second, it helps to implement the new development concept, cultivate the new quality productivity of culture and the tourism industry and promote the green high-quality development of YRNCP. Third, it provides references to improve the management measures and related policies of the YRNCP more accurately and efficiently. Fourth, it helps to build a new development pattern and has important practical significance in promoting the high-quality development of the whole basin, protecting and inheriting the Yellow River Culture and helping the Chinese-style modernization and development, which are of great practical significance.Social implicationsThe research is carried out from the new perspective of industrial co-agglomeration and digital economy, which provides the theoretical basis and reference for solving the problem of green high-quality development of YRNCP. Second, it broadens the research idea of green high-quality development. Third, it quantitatively analyzes the impact of industrial co-agglomeration and digital economy on the high-quality development of YRNCP, deepening the research on the green high-quality development of YRNCP. Fourth, it helps to enrich and improve the theoretical research related to the national cultural park development and has positive significance in promoting the management and innovation of the cultural industry and the construction of related disciplines.Originality/valueThe paper’s findings illustrate the functional relationship of the digital economy and industrial co-agglomeration with green high-quality development and propose countermeasures to facilitate the high-quality development of the Yellow River National Cultural Park.

Technology transfer and global value chain upgrading of manufacturing firms: Evidence from China

Breaking through the predicament of "low-end lock-in" and achieving the upgrading of enterprises within the global value chain (GVC) is a critical issue in the study of internationalization strategies for enterprises in emerging economies. This paper uses China, a quintessential representative of such economies, as a case to explore how technology transfer can facilitate the upgrading of enterprises' GVCs. This research aims to reshape the international strategic positioning of Chinese enterprises by promoting the integration and development of technology transfer and the GVC. Utilizing patent data from Chinese manufacturing enterprises, as well as data from Chinese industrial enterprises and customs records from 2004 to 2014, this study empirically examines the relationship between technology transfer and the upgrading of enterprises' GVCs. Additionally, the moderating effect of industrial agglomeration is incorporated into the research framework.The findings reveal that both technology transfer in and technology transfer out significantly positively influence the upgrading of enterprises' GVCs, highlighting the crucial role of technological knowledge flow in enhancing enterprise positioning within the GVC. Furthermore, industrial agglomeration is shown to exert a positive moderating effect on GVC upgrading as a result of technology transfer out. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers, enterprise managers, and academics, enabling a more nuanced understanding of the pivotal role of technology transfer in reshaping GVCs. Consequently, it offers robust support for the internationalization strategies of Chinese enterprises.

Determinants of Industrial Agglomeration on the Regional Economy

Determinants of Industrial Agglomeration on the Regional Economy

Green finance and land ecological security: A potential mechanism for sustainable development

With growing global concern for environmental issues, green finance (GF) has emerged as a key tool for promoting sustainable development. However, research on its impact on land ecological security (LES) is limited. This study explores the spatial and non-linear effects of GF on LES, focusing on the roles of agricultural e-commerce (AEC) and agricultural industry agglomeration (AIA). Our findings reveal significant first, spatial auto-correlation in LES and an inverted U-shaped pattern in the spatial impact of GF. Second, AEC enhances this inverted U-shaped relationship, shifting the knee point leftward and resulting in a higher marginal effect of GF on LES. Conversely, AIA weakens the relationship, shifting the knee point rightward and potentially flipping the pattern. Additionally, heterogeneity researches results indicate that this spatial effect exists only in primary grain distribution areas, and not in primary grain producing areas or grain production and distribution balanced areas. Robustness tests, including instrumental variables and alternative core explanatory variables, confirm the credibility of these results. This research offers targeted policy recommendations for the GF-LES relationship.

Investigating the effects of industrial transformation and agglomeration on industrial eco-efficiency for green development: Evidence from enterprises in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Improving industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) is significant for green development, particularly in the areas characterized by intense industrial agglomerations, such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). This study analyzes IEE in the middle and lower reaches of the YREB (YREBML) from 2011 to 2020 using the Super SBM-ML model. Based on industrial and commercial enterprise database, this study clarifies the effects of industrial transformation and agglomeration on IEE based on spatial Durbin model. From 2011 to 2020, the IEE in the YREBML exhibited an increased trend, with an average annual increasing rate of 1.48%. The high IEE areas predominantly clustered in eastern coastal cities, while lower IEE regions were mostly located in the central and western areas. Malmquist-Luenberger index decomposition analysis suggests that advanced production technology, improved efficient resource allocation, and optimized industrial structure enhance IEE. The spatial econometric analysis revealed industrial structure rationalization (ISR) and textile industry factory scatter index (FSI) had significant positive effect on IEE, while FSI of chemical raw materials and product manufacturing industry had significant negative effect on IEE. These findings highlight the importance of promoting textile industrial clusters and controlling the quantity and distribution density of chemical industries to improve overall IEE in the YREBML.

Is industrial structure determined on water endowment in China? An empirical study of 31 provinces between 2011 and 2021

The interaction between water resources and industrial development remains inadequately comprehended in China. This study aims to explore the influence of water resources on industrial structure and its underlying mechanisms. The study establishes a theoretical mechanism framework based on the resource curse and blessing theory, examines the influence of water endowment on industrial structure, and investigates its influencing mechanism by using panel data from 31 provinces in China between 2011 and 2021. The study finds that, between 2011 and 2021, the national water-industry coordination gradually increased and remained uncoordinated. Water endowment and industrial structure exhibit a U-shaped relationship with spatial spillover effects. Water endowment reverses the industrial structure in water-scarce regions, while it promotes it in water-abundant regions. Both the curse and blessing of water resources are identified in China, and 30 provinces are “cursed”. The water-industry coordination plays a moderating role in the influence of water endowment on industrial structure, mitigating the effects of both the water resource curse and blessing. It expands the range of influence of the reverse effect and can shift the water resource curse to the water resource blessing. It is therefore proposed to employ water resources as an effective instrument to facilitate regional industrial upgrading, reinforce advanced agglomeration industry system, promote industrial structure adaptation to water resources, and strengthen the implementation of “Determining Industry on Water”. The paper illustrates the different water-industry interactions in water-scarce and water-abundant regions and the role of water-industry coordination in transforming the resource curse into the resource blessing.

The Economic Impact of High-Speed Rail Development in the Pearl River Delta: A Case Study of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link

The rapid expansion of high-speed rail (HSR) has become a crucial element of infrastructure, markedly improving regional connectivity and economic integration. This study centers on the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), a pivotal project that connects major cities within the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and links Hong Kong to mainland China. The analysis demonstrates that while the XRL has stimulated economic growth by facilitating inter-regional exchanges, it has also presented challenges to local vulnerable sectors, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These challenges stem from heightened competition due to industrial agglomeration. To mitigate these effects, the study proposes enhancing regional economic cooperation by establishing specialized economic zones and developing cross-border trade networks. These strategies aim to capitalize on the benefits of the XRL while enabling SMEs to access new markets and boost their competitiveness. The research underscores the importance of strategically leveraging infrastructure projects like the XRL to promote sustainable economic growth, offering a framework for addressing potential drawbacks.

The green bonus of tax incentives: Evidence from China

Using a novel dataset covering over one million firm-level energy consumption entries from 2007-2016, we employ a difference-in-differences approach to estimate the causal effect of tax incentives on carbon emission intensity by exploiting China’s staggered implementation of accelerated depreciation policies for fixed assets in 2014 and 2015. We find that the accelerated depreciation policy leads to a significant 9.19% reduction in carbon emission intensity, equivalent to 0.11 tons of carbon emissions per 10,000 RMB of industrial value added. The policy effect is more pronounced for large firms, those with medium-term assets, and in regions with greater market integration and industrial agglomeration. Our firm-level analysis reveals that the policy reduces energy consumption, promotes a shift towards a cleaner energy portfolio and increases R&D investments in abatement technologies, as well as climate-friendly innovations. The above results show high consistency with verification at the aggregation level using satellite-based observations. Our findings highlight the potential of well-designed fiscal policies to contribute to global climate action efforts in developing economies.

Market-incentivized environmental regulation, industrial agglomeration and the effects on carbon shadow price: Evidence from China's local pilot policies for carbon market construction

Market-incentivized environmental regulation, industrial agglomeration and the effects on carbon shadow price: Evidence from China's local pilot policies for carbon market construction

Research on the Dilemma and Optimization Strategies of Industrial Development of Characteristic Towns under the Rural Revitalization Strategy

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly pointed out that the most difficult and arduous task of building a socialist modern country in an all-round way is still in the countryside. As an important practical form of new urbanization, characteristic towns play a key role in the rural revitalization strategy. The construction of characteristic towns is a "complex ecosystem" integrating multiple fields such as industry, ecology, humanities, and space, which is highly consistent with the general requirements of the rural revitalization strategy. This paper takes Yuantan Brush Industry Town in Qianshan City, Anhui Province as an example to explore the difficulties and optimization strategies faced by its industrial development. Through literature review, field research and case analysis, the geographical and historical background, industrial development status and socio-economic conditions of Yuantan Brush Industry Town are first analyzed. The study found that Yuantan Brush Industry Town has obvious problems in terms of imperfect financial policies, unreasonable ecological zone division, insufficient incentives for professional talents and supporting policies. In response to these problems, this paper proposes a series of optimization strategies. First, enhance the degree of industrial agglomeration, promote cooperation between enterprises and the improvement of upstream and downstream industrial chains. Secondly, improve infrastructure, improve transportation conditions and living supporting facilities. Finally, increase policy support, ensure policy implementation and expand the scope of support. Through these measures, it is aimed to promote the sustainable development of Yuantan Brush Industry Town and achieve industrial upgrading and economic benefits. It is hoped that through the research in this article, experience can be provided for the development of characteristic towns in Anhui, the realization of the strategic goals of rural revitalization can be promoted, and the effective resolution and development of the "three rural" issues can be promoted.

Ecological State of Environmental Facilities in the Zone of Influence of the Lipetsk Industrial Agglomeration

It has been found that the accumulation of heavy metals (HM) in environmental facilities of the Lipetsk industrial agglomeration varies significantly and may depend on the technological mode of the companies, the composition of aerosol fallout, soil properties, distance and direction from the emission plume, biological characteristics of plants and other factors. In the area where the Novolipetsk Iron and Steel Works (NLMK) is located, the excess levels of kerosene, gasoline and hydrocarbons in the atmospheric air were detected, as well as increased dust concentrations in the area of the Lipetsk Tractor Plant. At that, the concentrations of gaseous hazardous chemicals in the air of other areas of Lipetsk and agricultural lands at different distances and directions from NLMK did not exceed the established maximum values. The maximum content of HM was recorded in the upper layers of virgin undisturbed soils in the near zone of influence of industrial companies. It was noted that on arable soils the content of HM does not exceed the standard values, with the exception of a number of cases where the content of Fe, Cr, Ni in the grass stand exceeds the permissible level. It was concluded that the research carried out made it possible to identify the main patterns and factors influencing the pollution of environmental facilities, including components of agroecosystems.

The environmental consequences of industrial agglomeration: New evidence from city-level data in China

In the context of sustainable development, environmental policies increasingly focus on reducing carbon emissions worldwide. Industrial agglomeration (IAGG) has emerged as a potential factor in achieving this objective by reducing carbon emissions and improving air quality. This study examines the direct and indirect impacts, spatial dynamics, and policy impacts of industrial agglomeration on air pollution levels. Panel data from 278 cities in China between 2011 and 2020 are utilized to investigate the potential of industrial agglomeration to reduce air pollution. Multiple regression models are employed, these models explore the mechanisms through which industrial agglomeration can have a positive effect on air pollution, highlighting economic growth, inclusive finance, digital economy and technological innovation as crucial factors. The study also investigates the spatial spillover effects of industrial agglomeration, finding that the concentration ratio and specialization of neighbouring cities significantly contribute to local air pollution levels. Furthermore, this contribution increases progressively with distance. The study investigates the spillover effects of environmental pollution and industrial agglomeration-related policies on PM2.5 concentration, concluding that such spillover effects lead to a decrease in PM2.5 concentration in neighbouring locations.

Agricultural Service Trade and Green Development: A Perspective Based on China’s Agricultural Total Factor Productivity

Agricultural service trade is closely related to the promotion of the sustainable development of China’s agriculture and is necessary for comprehensive rural revitalization. To clarify the relationship between trade in agricultural services and agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) from a macroscopic perspective and then analyze the acting path and threshold effect, can provide an important reference for improving agriculture’s green level and realizing the sustainable development of agriculture. This paper uses the provincial panel data of China from 2007 to 2022 to measure agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) using the SBM-GML model and explores the impact of agricultural service trade on AGTFP with the help of the fixed effect model, the mediation effect model, and the threshold model. According to this study: (1) Trade in agricultural services can significantly increase AGTFP. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that trade in agricultural services can promote AGTFP through promoting industrial agglomeration, enhancing technological innovation, and improving factor allocation. (3) Heterogeneity analysis shows that trade in agricultural services has a more obvious role in promoting AGTFP in the eastern region and the main grain marketing area. (4) The threshold effect finds that the promotion of agricultural services trade on AGTFP will gradually increase as the level of government support rises. Therefore, China should actively promote the development of agricultural service trade, implement the concept of sustainable development, improve the level of government support, and promote the improvement in agricultural total factor productivity and sustainable development.

Nonlinear impact of automobile industry agglomeration on CO2 emission: Incorporating urban characteristics in China

Despite the increasing economic benefits generated by the cluster effect of the automotive industry, CO2 emissions have become a serious challenge in the “3060” dual-carbon context. There are significant uncertainties regarding the impact of automotive industry agglomeration on urban CO2 emissions, including quantifying impact thresholds and understanding the sensitivity of different agglomeration patterns. This study explores how automotive industry agglomeration impacts CO2 emissions across 278 Chinese cities, and uncover the impact patterns based on varying city characteristics. The results show that the technology agglomeration of the automobile industry exhibits a nonlinear “U-shaped” impact on CO2 emissions with a threshold value of 0.4267, while the scale agglomeration shows a nonlinear inverted “U-shaped” impact with a threshold value of 0.1206. In low-carbon demonstration cities, technology agglomeration has the most significant impact, with fluctuations ranging from −14.65% to 16.12%. In contrast, transitional cities are most affected by scale agglomeration, with a fluctuation range of −18.1%–11.19%. Besides, the results indicate that China's automobile industry development programs tend to relocate economic activities from highly agglomerated low-carbon demonstration cities to potential development cities with lower levels of agglomeration and other transitioning cities. Lastly, the results reconfirm that developing automotive industry development models based on cities' characteristics can enhance the environmental benefits of industrial agglomeration.

The effects of industrial agglomeration on ecological efficiency in China: evidence from manufacturing industry panel data

The effects of industrial agglomeration on ecological efficiency in China: evidence from manufacturing industry panel data

Leveraging Large-scale AI Models for Transforming China's Marine Industry: A TOE Framework Analysis

As an important driving force leading a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial change, artificial intelligence is becoming a hot spot. Promoting the deep integration of "artificial intelligence + ocean" will help build a world-class Marine artificial intelligence industry cluster with global competitiveness. How to effectively apply artificial intelligence to the Marine industry to solve the problems of resource redundancy and information island caused by industrial agglomeration is urgent for innovation and breakthrough. In this paper, TOE and modified T-TOE framework are used to analyze the above problems, and the following conclusions are drawn: 1) From the perspective of technical factors, intelligent information technology plays an important role in promoting the construction of large-scale models at the level of hardware and software; From the perspective of organizational factors, enterprise digital transformation and open sharing platform play an important role in supporting organization construction. From the perspective of environmental factors, policy support and market orientation play an important role in encouraging the construction of large models. 2) From the perspective of T-T, the breakthrough and application of technology need to balance the contradiction between development and conflict; From the perspective of T-O, intelligent supply-demand matching and transition resistance have both positive and negative effects; From the perspective of T-E, there is a problem of actively promoting multidimensional interactive innovation and achieving a balance. Relevant studies provide new ideas for the comprehensive development scenario of Marine industry and inject new impetus into the development of Marine industry.