Major Urban Agglomerations In China Research Articles

The Moderating Effect of Innovation on the Relationship between Urbanization and CO2 Emissions: Evidence from Three Major Urban Agglomerations in China

This study investigates the relationship between urbanization, innovation, and CO2 emissions, with particular attention paid to the issue of how innovation influences the effect of urbanization on CO2 emissions in urban agglomerations, considering the spatial spillover effect between cities. Therefore, based on panel data on 48 cities in the three major urban agglomerations in China from 2001–2015, a spatial econometric model is used to estimate the effect of urbanization and innovation on CO2 emissions. The empirical results indicate that the relationship between urbanization and CO2 emissions follows a U-shaped curve in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH), an N-shaped curve in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and an inverted N-shaped pattern in the Pearl River Delta (PRD). Additionally, innovation shows a significantly positive effect on reducing CO2 emissions in the YRD, but does not exert a significantly direct effect on CO2 emissions in the BTH and the PRD. More importantly, innovation played an important moderating role between urbanization and CO2 emissions in the YRD and PRD, suggesting that reducing the positive impacts of urbanization on CO2 emissions depends on innovative development. In addition, urban CO2 emissions presented a clearly negative spatial spillover effect among the cities in the three urban agglomerations. These findings and the following policy implications will contribute to reducing CO2 emissions.

Apparel color preferences for different regions in China: The connection to personal values

AbstractThis article examines the associations between personal values and apparel color preferences, and deduces the apparel color preferences of consumers based on the mainstream values in different regions in China. Clustering analysis was used to classify the values, and a Chi‐square test was used to verify whether the different values had a significant effect on the consumer's color preferences. Finally, a corresponding analysis was conducted to clarify the associations between personal values and apparel color preferences. The associations reported in the study suggest the apparel color preferences in the 4 major urban agglomerations in China. It was found that consumers in the Pearl River Delta region were mainly ideal‐oriented and authority value types and preferred darker apparel colors than other city groups in China; consumers in the Yangtze River Delta region were mainly responsibility‐oriented and justice value types and preferred warmer and more contrasting colors; and consumers in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei and Chengdu–Chongqing regions were mainly benevolence‐oriented value types, preferring more highly saturated and brighter colors than the other regions. Self‐oriented consumers, who preferred cool and dark apparel colors were found to have no clear correspondence to any region. These results are important for fashion designers and fashion brands in China; it can assist the Chinese fashion industry in regionalizing their product offerings and in providing a theoretical reference for the development of the garment industry.

Would Functional Specialization of Space Narrow Down Regional Disparities? — An Empirical Analysis Based on Panel Data of Chinese Urban Agglomerations 2003–2011

Strengthening regional cooperation and promoting functional specialization of space are significant orientations of current regional development strategies, but whether the functional specialization of space based on the co-agglomeration of manufacturing industry and service industry narrows regional disparities is yet to be verified. The authors utilize the panel data of 16 Chinese urban agglomerations from 2003 to 2011 and verify that functional specialization of space and regional disparities present an inverted U-curve relationship, that is, as functional specialization of space develops, regional disparities get larger and vice versa. By comparing indexes of functional specialization of space of major urban agglomerations in China, the authors find that by 2011 only the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomerations enter the second half of the inverted U-curve. Some other urban agglomerations are at or reaching the inflection point. However, half of Chinese urban agglomerations are still at the first half of the inverted U-curve, and it is expected to take a long time for some of them to reach the inflection point. In addition, this paper provides circumstantial evidence for the existence of an S-curve relationship for three times between the labor productivity of a city’s service industry and the distance from the city to large ports, meaning that the agglomerating efficiency of the service industry is relatively high in the eastern and western regions of China and low in the central region. The above conclusions indicate that different types of urban agglomerations should adopt different coping strategies in promoting coordinated regional development by strengthening regional cooperation and boosting functional specialization of space.

Dynamics of green productivity growth for major Chinese urban agglomerations

This paper employs the global Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index to measure and decompose green productivity growth for three major urban agglomerations in China over the period 2003–2013. As the first study known to focus on the green productivity of emerging cities in developing countries, the results show that technical progress, rather than efficiency improvements, is the main contributor to green productivity growth. Using the criterion of eco-friendliness, we categorize the cities into ‘green’ and ‘yellow’ city groups and identify 10 green innovators for the sample cities. The analysis also discusses the determinants of the drivers of green productivity growth and provides some useful policy implications.

Decomposed Sources of Green Productivity Growth for Three Major Urban Agglomerations in China

Abstract This study introduces the global Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index to measure and decompose green productivity growth for the three major urban agglomerations across China over the period 2003-2013. As the first study focusing on green productivity of emerging cities in developing countries, its results show that the major source of green productivity growth is technical progress rather than efficiency improvement. Efficiency deterioration damages green productivity growth in Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. Finally, this study finds determinants of green productivity growth are very different across these three urban agglomerations.

Comparison of Advantages and Weaknesses Among Three Major Urban Agglomerations in China

Several urban agglomerrations have formed in China in different size recently, with China’s population and ecnomic activities shifting to big cities at large scale, becoming important driving force of economic development. Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Tangshan Area in terms of high speed of economic development and economic contribution rate are called China’s three major urban agglomerations.This article aims to illustrate construction of three major agglomerations and in particular the main advantages and weaknesses.