Institutional Analysis of Enterprise Agglomeration and Urban Development - Exploration of Urban Development Paths in the Yangtze River Delta Region - Shanghai Social Sciences Doctoral Library [Volume 7]

Author: Wang Hongxia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This book primarily examines the urban development process of the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up from a micro perspective of enterprise agglomeration. By establishing an urban development model based on enterprise agglomeration and a model of urban development and evolution that combines self-organization and organization, it empirically investigates the impact of institutional factors on urban development in the Yangtze River Delta region. Through exploring the urban development path of the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up, the book discusses and reveals the intrinsic driving forces and patterns of urban development in different periods and stages.
The urban development model based on enterprise agglomeration demonstrates that cities, as agglomerations of population and economic activities, develop and evolve fundamentally due to the behavior of enterprise agglomeration. Specifically, enterprise agglomeration behavior primarily affects urban population agglomeration through the urban labor market, influencing the scale and demographic characteristics of cities. It also primarily affects urban economic agglomeration through the urban product market, impacting the industrial structure and economic characteristics of cities.
Building on this, the book takes the urban development of the Yangtze River Delta region as a case study, drawing on the urban development and urban system evolution models from new spatial economics to examine and assess its urban development path since the reform and opening-up. The findings reveal that due to the influence of institutional factors, the new spatial economics models of urban development and urban system evolution, which ignore institutional variables, cannot adequately explain the urban development and evolution in the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up.
Therefore, the book modifies the new spatial economics models of urban development and urban system evolution by incorporating institutional variables to establish a model of urban development and evolution that combines self-organization and organization. It then conducts empirical analysis and research on the agglomeration of enterprises and the evolution of urban development in the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up. The findings indicate that institutional factors, along with market factors, significantly influence and determine the course of urban development. Thus, the role and impact of institutional factors on enterprise agglomeration and urban development cannot be overlooked. Since the reform and opening-up, the urban development in the Yangtze River Delta region has actually undergone a transition from being primarily driven by industrialization to being dominated by government intervention.
Among these three regions—Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai—although the patterns and characteristics of enterprise agglomeration and urban development have varied, they all exhibit a clear common feature: the combined influence of enterprise agglomeration and policy intervention, or the interplay of market forces and institutional factors, shapes urban development and evolution. Moreover, institutional intervention and institutional reform have a particularly prominent impact on urban development.
To further explore the path models of urban development in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, the book examines the models of enterprise agglomeration, utilizing specialized economic indicators and urbanization economic effect indicators. Through analyzing the changes in employment population distribution and production distribution in these three regions since their accelerated urban development, as well as calculating the urbanization economic effect index for Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it further empirically investigates the distinct urban development paths of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai in the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up. The findings reveal:
1. Within the Yangtze River Delta region, Shanghai primarily follows a "government-led" urban development path, while Zhejiang region is characterized by a "market-led" urban development path. Jiangsu's urban development path falls between the two, representing a "mixed government-market" model.
2. Among the two distinct urban development paths in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the "market-led" urban development in Zhejiang exhibits a clear urbanization economic effect, whereas the "mixed government-market" model does not show significant urbanization economic effects. This suggests that the "market-led" urban development path may be superior to the "mixed government-market" model. Additionally, combining the urban development model based on enterprise agglomeration, a "government-led" urban development model may be detrimental to the long-term development of cities.
3. Focusing on enterprise agglomeration while actively improving institutions and leveraging institutional incentives to promote urban development and urbanization is essential for the healthy, sustainable, and rapid development of cities.
Finally, the book offers corresponding recommendations to accelerate urban development and urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta region in the new century, based on the current state of urban development in the region.