Theory, Methods, and Empirical Analysis of Regional Economic Development Differences - Taking Jiangsu Province as an Example - Collection of Works by Young and Middle-aged Economists

Author: Ou Xiangjun / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Regional economic development disparities are a universal and international issue, always a hot topic of concern for governments, organizations, and scholars worldwide. Against the backdrop of the new economy, globalization, and the restructuring and transfer of the global industrial structure, the disparities between developed (or regional) countries and underdeveloped (or regional) countries are undergoing new changes. In response to the trend of widening regional disparities since the 1990s, China's regional development strategy has shifted from the coastal development strategy and the three development strategy to the coordinated regional development strategy, and then to a people-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable scientific development approach. The existence and expansion of regional economic development disparities inevitably have a significant impact on the sustainable economic development and social stability of various countries (or regions), and thus deserve consistent attention and in-depth analysis to seek corresponding solutions. This book combines relevant research progress on regional economic disparities both domestically and internationally, starting from the relationship between regions, economic growth, development, and disparities, to re-examine and redefine the concept of regional economic development disparities, and systematically summarize the relevant theories and methods. On this basis, taking Jiangsu Province as an example, it employs recent international methods for measuring regional economic disparities and polarization to conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of Jiangsu Province's regional economic development disparities, polarization, structural evolution of disparities, comprehensive development disparities, and the causes of disparities, and proposes strategic countermeasures for coordinated regional development. The research findings are as follows:
(1) Since the reform and opening-up, regional economic development disparities in Jiangsu Province have shown an expanding trend, but the magnitude and trends of changes in regional economic development disparities have varied across different periods, undergoing a process of "decrease-rise-decrease-rise." As regional economic disparities have expanded, regional economic polarization has continuously intensified, and both regional economic disparities and polarization reached their historical highs since the reform and opening-up in 2003.
(2) Regional economic development disparities in Jiangsu Province are closely related to the high share of output value in the secondary industry and their uneven distribution. The changes in regional economic development disparities are primarily driven by concentration effects and structural effects, with the concentration effect having a greater impact than the structural effect, while the comprehensive effect plays a very small role.
(3) The expansion of regional economic development disparities in Jiangsu Province is mainly manifested in the widening disparities among the three major regions—Southern Jiangsu, Central Jiangsu, and Northern Jiangsu—as well as the widening disparities within rural areas (between counties). The internal disparities in Southern Jiangsu are the smallest, primarily reflected in county-level differences, while the internal disparities in Central and Northern Jiangsu have not changed significantly, mainly urban-rural differences.
(4) With the rapid economic growth of Jiangsu Province, the three major regions of Southern, Central, and Northern Jiangsu have gradually diverged, while the two major urban-rural regions have gradually converged. The economic growth of various cities and counties in Jiangsu Province contributes differently to the convergence and divergence of regional disparities, primarily presenting four types: downward convergence (cities), upward convergence (rural areas), downward divergence (Northern and Central Jiangsu), and upward divergence (Southern Jiangsu).
(5) The imbalance in the comprehensive level of regional economic development, Northern Jiangsu is mainly characterized by a stable and rising underdeveloped type, Central Jiangsu by an ascending moderately developed type, and Southern Jiangsu by a stable and rapidly rising developed type.
(6) The main reasons for the formation and changes of regional development disparities in Jiangsu Province include historical development foundations, geographical location conditions, regional development strategies, regional industrial structure transformation, the development of town and village enterprises, the level of economic globalization, and the degree of regional market development. Among these, market development level, industrial structure transformation, and regional development strategies are the main factors contributing to the expansion of regional economic development disparities and the intensification of regional polarization in Jiangsu Province.
(7) The basic conditions of regional economic development disparities and polarization in Jiangsu Province constitute the objective foundation for the provincial Party committee and government to formulate the "regional development strategy." Meanwhile, the historical changes in regional economic development disparities and polarization determine the continuous adjustment and improvement of the "regional development strategy." Adhering to the coordinated regional development strategy is the key to addressing regional economic development disparities in Jiangsu Province. Its main content includes achieving north-south coordinated development through overall construction, leveraging comparative advantages to strengthen north-south regional division of labor and cooperation, utilizing geographical advantages to accelerate the development of the two major economic belts and the two major projects, implementing policies to support the development of Northern Jiangsu, and coordinating north-south development. Additionally, specific countermeasures and measures for implementing coordinated regional development are proposed from the aspects of spatial integration, industrial integration, enterprise integration, factor integration, policy integration, and enhancing the self-development capacity of Northern Jiangsu.
In summary, the main innovations of this book are as follows:
(1) Re-examining and redefining the concept and connotation of regional economic development disparities, and accordingly constructing a relatively complete evaluation index system.
(2) Employing recent international research methods on regional economic disparities and polarization to quantitatively evaluate the overall level and characteristics of regional economic disparities and polarization in Jiangsu Province since the reform and opening-up.
(3) Combining regression analysis and the regional separation coefficient method to conduct a quantitative comparative analysis of the causes of regional economic development disparities in Jiangsu Province since the reform and opening-up.