Institutional Analysis of Enterprise Agglomeration and Urban Development: Exploring the Path of Urban Development in the Yangtze River Delta Region

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, this book discusses and reveals the intrinsic drivers 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. Through the urban product market, it primarily affects urban economic agglomeration, thereby influencing 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 the new spatial economics models, which neglect institutional variables, cannot adequately explain the urban development and evolution of the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up due to the influence of institutional factors.
Therefore, the book modifies the urban development and urban system evolution models from new spatial economics by incorporating institutional variables to establish a model of urban development and evolution that combines self-organization and organization. It 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, making their role and impact on enterprise agglomeration and urban development. The urban development of the Yangtze River Delta region since the reform and opening-up has actually undergone a transition from being primarily driven by industrialization to being dominated by government intervention.
Among these regions, although the patterns and characteristics of enterprise agglomeration and urban development in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have varied since the reform and opening-up, they all exhibit a clear common feature: the agglomeration of enterprises and policy intervention, i.e., the combined influence of market forces and institutional factors, has shaped urban development and evolution. Moreover, the impact of institutional intervention and institutional reform on urban development is particularly prominent.
On this basis, to further reveal 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 regions since the acceleration of urban development, and by 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 is characterized by a "government-led" urban development path, Zhejiang by a "market-led" urban development path, while Jiangsu's urban development path falls between the two, being a "mixed government-market" model.
2. Among the two distinct urban development paths in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the "market-led" urban development in Zhejiang demonstrates significant urbanization economic effects, whereas the "mixed government-market" model shows less pronounced urbanization economic effects. This suggests that the "market-led" urban development path is 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 long-term urban development.
3. Focusing on enterprise agglomeration while actively improving institutions and leveraging institutional incentives to drive urban development and urbanization is essential for healthy, sustainable, and rapid urban development.
Finally, the book proposes 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.