Impact of Polycentric Urban Network on Industrial Structure Upgrades: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt
Publication: Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 148, Issue 3
Abstract
Polycentric urban networks (PUNs) have been found to be an important factor for urban economic growth. This study is based on a PUN analytical framework and features agglomeration effects and network externalities. We examine the relationship between PUNs and industrial structure upgrading, using a data set of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China from 2005 to 2017. We find that the PUN is associated with an increase in the industrial structure upgrading index, but small cities benefit less from the network. In reference to spatial political economics, new structural economics, and product space theory, we build an analysis framework to explain the mechanism. The main channel is a positive effect of encouraging the spatial flow of factors, promoting regional integration, and enhancing urban innovativeness. This research has significant policy implications for discovering alternative avenues to reform the manufacturing industry and enhancing regional economic development efficiency from a spatial perspective.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks are given for funding from the Chinese Ministry of Education’s Humanities and Social Science Project (Grant Nos. 20XJC790004 and 21XJC790006). We are also immensely grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive remarks.
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Journal of Urban Planning and Development
Volume 148 • Issue 3 • September 2022
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© 2022 American Society of Civil Engineers.
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Received: Aug 4, 2021
Accepted: Jan 26, 2022
Published online: Apr 25, 2022
Published in print: Sep 1, 2022
Discussion open until: Sep 25, 2022
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