IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/growch/v56y2025i4ne70061.html

How the Digital Economy Reshaped the Economic Geography: Evidence From 284 Cities in China

Author

Listed:
  • Bianjiang Ma
  • Qing Wang
  • Zhangqi Zhong

Abstract

China exhibits notable regional disparities, with inland cities generally trailing behind their coastal counterparts—a gap strongly linked to their distance to core ports. Drawing on data from 284 prefecture‐level and higher cities, this study provides evidence that the digital economy significantly alleviates the geographical disadvantage faced by inland cities remote from core ports. Inland cities boasting a robust digital economy have narrowed the per capita GDP gap with coastal cities. Mechanistically, the digital economy weakens the correlation between trade costs and geographical distance, expands the import‐export volumes of inland cities, attracts more foreign direct investment, and enables them to reap the benefits of agglomeration effects. This research provides a novel perspective for coordinating regional development in the digital era.

Suggested Citation

  • Bianjiang Ma & Qing Wang & Zhangqi Zhong, 2025. "How the Digital Economy Reshaped the Economic Geography: Evidence From 284 Cities in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(4), December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:56:y:2025:i:4:n:e70061
    DOI: 10.1111/grow.70061
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.70061
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/grow.70061?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hans R.A. Koster & Jacques-François Thisse, 2024. "Understanding Spatial Agglomeration: Increasing Returns, Land, and Transportation Costs," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 55-78, August.
    2. Shane Greenstein, 2020. "The Basic Economics of Internet Infrastructure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(2), pages 192-214, Spring.
    3. Baldwin, Richard & Forslid, Rikard, 2023. "Globotics and Development: When Manufacturing Is Jobless and Services Are Tradeable," World Trade Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 22(3-4), pages 302-311, October.
    4. Diane Coyle, 2025. "Old Wine in New Digital Bottles: The Challenges of Measuring the Digital Economy," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 71(2), May.
    5. Barro, Robert J, 2000. "Inequality and Growth in a Panel of Countries," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 5(1), pages 5-32, March.
    6. Xiang Hui, 2020. "Facilitating Inclusive Global Trade: Evidence from a Field Experiment," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(4), pages 1737-1755, April.
    7. Lv, Chengchao & Song, Jie & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Can digital finance narrow the regional disparities in the quality of economic growth? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 502-521.
    8. Andreas Lendle & Marcelo Olarreaga & Simon Schropp & Pierre‐Louis Vézina, 2016. "There Goes Gravity: eBay and the Death of Distance," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 406-441, March.
    9. Jiewei Li & Ruihua Zhu, 2022. "The Impact and Spillover Effects of Chinese Ports on Urban Service Industry under De‐maritimization: A Perspective for Port Economic Geography Analysis," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(4), pages 31-59, July.
    10. Wen, Huwei & Chen, Wenjing & Zhou, Fengxiu, 2023. "Does digital service trade boost technological innovation?: International evidence," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    11. Clark, Ximena & Dollar, David & Micco, Alejandro, 2004. "Port efficiency, maritime transport costs, and bilateral trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(2), pages 417-450, December.
    12. Stuart S. Rosenthal & William C. Strange, 2020. "How Close Is Close? The Spatial Reach of Agglomeration Economies," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 27-49, Summer.
    13. Lin, Qi & Lin, Xi, 2023. "Unveiling the trade and welfare effects of regional services trade agreements: A structural gravity approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Liu, Zhen & Li, Hua & Pan, Yuchen, 2025. "How do countries’ network positions in global digital service trade affect carbon emissions: a social network perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 511-528.
    2. Marques, André M., 2022. "Is income inequality good or bad for growth? Further empirical evidence using data for all Brazilian cities," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 360-376.
    3. Henderson, J. Vernon & Thisse, Jacques-François, 2024. "Urban and spatial economics after 50 years," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    4. Zhong, Huiyong & Wang, Xiaobin, 2025. "Spatial mobility of China’s population in the digital economy," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Qinqin Wu & Mengjie Bi & Faiza Siddiqui & Yao Tang, 2023. "Assessing the Impact of Digital Trade on Enterprise Competitiveness: Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Companies," Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 329-362, December.
    6. Yi Che & Meng Yuan & Yan Zhang & Lin Zhao, 2024. "Cross‐border E‐commerce and China's Exports during the COVID‐19 Pandemic," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 32(3), pages 215-242, May.
    7. Da Gao & Linfang Tan & Yue Chen, 2025. "Unlocking Carbon Reduction Potential of Digital Trade: Evidence from China’s Comprehensive Cross-border E-Commerce Pilot Zones," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(1), pages 21582440251, February.
    8. Zhu, Qin & Zhou, Xiangxiang, 2025. "Digital trade and firm ESG performance: The perspective of finance development," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(PA).
    9. Cao, Thuy Linh & Hsu, Judy, 2025. "Digitalization and country distance in international trade: An empirical analysis of European countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 49(1).
    10. Li, Jiewei & Li, Xiaobing & Zhu, Ruihua, 2023. "Effects of ports on urban economic geography: A study based on the natural experiment of decentralization reform in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    11. Sousa, Alexandre Gervasio & Araujo, Aracy Alves & Santos, Ricardo Bruno Nascimento dos & Santos, Francivane Teles Pampolha Dos & Diniz, Marvelo Bentes, 2008. "Sustentabilidade e meio ambiente no Brasil: uma análise a partir da curva de Kuznets," 46th Congress, July 20-23, 2008, Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil 103103, Sociedade Brasileira de Economia, Administracao e Sociologia Rural (SOBER).
    12. Esa Mangeloja, 2004. "Interrelationship of economic growth and regional religious properties," ERSA conference papers ersa04p94, European Regional Science Association.
    13. Haile, Daniel & Sadrieh, Abdolkarim & Verbon, Harrie A.A., 2008. "Self-serving dictators and economic growth," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 67(3-4), pages 573-586, September.
    14. Jia, Fu & Guo, Jiguang & Nazrul, Asif & Chen, Lujie & Islam, Nazrul, 2026. "Platformization in operations and supply chain management: A bibliometric-systematic literature review with content analyses," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    15. Grossmann, Volker, 2008. "Risky human capital investment, income distribution, and macroeconomic dynamics," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 19-42, March.
    16. Spyros Niavis & George Petrakos & Kleoniki-Natalia Petrou & Yiannis Saratsis, 2025. "Assessing the Impact of Smart and Green Transition Policies on Spatial and National Income Inequalities in EU Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(17), pages 1-27, August.
    17. Kazunobu Hayakawa & Hiroshi Mukunoki & Shujiro Urata, 2023. "Can e-commerce mitigate the negative impact of COVID-19 on international trade?," The Japanese Economic Review, Springer, vol. 74(2), pages 215-232, April.
    18. Hatipoglu, Ozan, 2008. "Patent, Inequality and Innovation-Driven Growth," MPRA Paper 7855, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Pierre‐Richard Agénor, 2004. "Macroeconomic Adjustment and the Poor: Analytical Issues and Cross‐Country Evidence," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(3), pages 351-408, July.
    20. Joseph Francois & Bernard Hoekman, 2010. "Services Trade and Policy," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 48(3), pages 642-692, September.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:56:y:2025:i:4:n:e70061. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0017-4815 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.