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Research examining the economic effects of urban polycentricity remains inconclusive. We contribute to this debate by developing a longitudinal framework in which changes in polycentricity in Chinese urban regions are linked with changes in total factor productivity. While we find no evidence of urban polycentricity being conducive to economic growth, we observe that the relationship depends on population size and the interactions between cities. We also find that cities borrow size from nearby cities in large urban regions, contributing to regional economic growth. We use our findings to reflect on China's regional economic and urban development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial diversification depends on spillovers from related industries and nearby regions, yet their interaction remains largely unclear. We study economic diversification in China during the period 1990–2015 and present supportive evidence on both spillover channels. We add to the literature by showing that these two channels behave as substitutes when explaining new entries and exits, and by using acceleration campaigns of high-speed rail to address some endogeneity concerns with regional spillovers. Our findings confirm the role of relatedness and geographical distance in the diffusion of economic capabilities and support the idea that improvements in transportation can facilitate the diffusion of productive capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of unbalanced regional economic development in China, there are large regional differences in the development of the construction industry. These long-standing and increasing differences not only influence the total productivity of China’s construction industry but also hinder effective resource distribution. Total factor productivity (TFP) is a measure of long-term economic growth and a comprehensive industry-level productivity measure. The objectives are to put forward a set of systematic methodologies for selecting a productivity index, to develop a TFP measure for the construction industry and to conduct an analysis of spatial differences. First, the input and output index system of the construction industry is established, and China’s construction industry TFP is measured with the DEA–Malmquist index. Second, spatial differences in the construction industry TFP are analysed in terms of the coefficient of variation (CV) and using spatial clustering analysis. The results indicate that China’s construction industry TFP has improved steadily. This improvement has been due mainly to improvements in pure technology efficiency, technological progress and scale efficiency. In the past five years, the CV of China’s construction industry productivity has generally been small and has changed only slightly. China’s construction industry TFP for all regions exhibits a ladder-like distribution that is different from the distribution by economic areas among the central, western and eastern regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the relationship between technology spillovers in the context of the evolution of China's regional industrial structure. Based on a theoretical model, we have formally shown the impact of the evolution of the regional industrial structure and have also empirically tested technology spillovers for the period 1991–2007 in the context of the evolution of the regional industrial structure in China. The findings provide an important theoretical and practical basis for the government to formulate regional economic policies and industrial development strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper examines the effects of the regional economic environment and technology diffusion on China's regional total factor productivity (TFP) growth. We build a model of TFP growth in which Chinese regions achieve growth in TFP by making use of technology spillovers from the world technology frontier. We hypothesize that given the world frontier level of TFP, China's regional TFP growth is positively related to regional openness and negatively related to the current level of regional TFP. Empirical analysis in this paper of 29 province-level regions in China strongly supports our hypothesis. By using a nonlinear least squares regression method, we show that regional openness has a significantly positive effect on regional TFP growth. As a by-product, we also estimate a value of the output elasticity of capital that conforms to its traditionally accepted values. The findings of this paper lend strong support to the claim that the opening up process of China promotes the country's economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper examines the linkage between aggregate real output, capital, labour, education, and productivity within a growth accounting framework for 27 Chinese provinces between 1990 and 2000. The results suggest that human capital has had a significant role in facilitating economic growth of all of the provinces throughout the 1990s. Regional disparities in factor accumulation are also considered. The results suggest that uneven distribution of resources between the coastal and inland provinces increased the regional gap in economic growth throughout the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper applies growth equations to examine the impact of region-specific factors on China's growth in the 1980s and 1990s. In particular, this study focuses on investigating the role of capital formation, initial conditions, labour productivity, human capital, openness, infrastructure, foreign capital and economic reform in China's regional growth. It is found that those variables account for 70-90% of China's growth in the past decades. The robustness of the findings in this study is tested by estimating alternative models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the trend of transportation investment and analyzes the effect of transportation investment on regional economic development in China. Results from cross-section analysis indicate that those provinces that have invested more in transportation infrastructure tend to have greater output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]