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Natural City Growth in the People's Republic of China

Author

Listed:
  • Peter H. Egger

    (ETH Zürich, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics; Center for Economic and Policy Research; Global Economy Programme, CESifo Group)

  • Gabriel Loumeau

    (ETH Zürich, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics)

  • Nicole Püschel

    (ETH Zürich, Department of Management, Technology, and Economics)

Abstract

This paper analyzes the growth of Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the PRC between 1992 and 2013 by focusing on the night-light radiance—a measure of economic activity—of connected subcity places that we refer to as a natural city. This paper documents the rapid growth of natural cities in the PRC between 1992 and 2009 that was followed by a slight reduction in the size of some natural cities between 2010 and 2013 in the aftermath of the recent global financial crisis. Institutional factors—such as the location of places near Special Economic Zones, the ramifications of legal migration from rural to urban areas following reforms to the hukou (household registration) system, and infrastructure accessibility—are found to be important drivers of the integration of peripheral places into natural cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter H. Egger & Gabriel Loumeau & Nicole Püschel, 2017. "Natural City Growth in the People's Republic of China," Asian Development Review, MIT Press, vol. 34(2), pages 51-85, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:adbadr:v:34:y:2017:i:2:p:51-85
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Egger, Peter H. & Loumeau, Gabriel & Loumeau, Nicole, 2023. "China's dazzling transport-infrastructure growth: Measurement and effects," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    2. Ai, Hongshan & Zhong, Tenglong & Zhou, Zhengqing, 2022. "The real economic costs of COVID-19: Insights from electricity consumption data in Hunan Province, China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Rolf Bergs, 2018. "The detection of natural cities in the Netherlands—Nocturnal satellite imagery and Zipf’s law [Die Abgrenzung natürlicher Städte in den Niederlanden: Nachtsatellitenbilder und das Zipf-Gesetz]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 38(2), pages 111-140, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    city growth; Metropolitan Statistical Areas; People's Republic of China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O20 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy - - - General
    • R12 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Size and Spatial Distributions of Regional Economic Activity; Interregional Trade (economic geography)
    • R40 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Transportation Economics - - - General

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