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County-to-district reform and "smart growth": The perspective of urban spatial expansion

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  • Yu, Xuewei
  • Wang, Qiao

Abstract

Urban spatial expansion is a critical aspect of the policy of replacing counties with districts. This paper analyzes the spatio-temporal advancement of administrative division in China between 2000 and 2016, uses the Multi-Period method to examine the impact of county-to-district reform on urban spatial structure and “smart growth”. We find that the abolition of county borders leads to population migration within the city towards the newly established municipal districts, resulting in an irregular urban shape and a polycentric structure, particualrly the proactive-type reform. Further analysis shows that city-county merger promotes population polycentricity, but has no effect on employment polycentricity, leaving newly established municipal districts facing the “sleeping city”. Reformed counties expanded significantly but did not achieve substantial growth. The county-to-district reform inhibited overall urban economic growth, but cities with better population-industry match have less negative or uncertain effects.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Xuewei & Wang, Qiao, 2024. "County-to-district reform and "smart growth": The perspective of urban spatial expansion," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:96:y:2024:i:pa:s1059056024005239
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2024.103531
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    County-to-district reform; Urban spatial expansion; Urban shape; “Smart growth”;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • O18 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R5 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Regional Government Analysis

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