2005年-世界发展银行全球_Openness_Industrialization_and_Geographic_Concentration_of_Activities_in_China_23页_588kb

Summary of "Openness, industrialization and geographic concentration of activities in China"

Core Content

This paper analyzes the geographic concentration of economic activities in China across different stages of development, focusing on the role of openness and industrialization in shaping spatial disparities between coastal and inland regions.

Main Points

• Rapid Development and Regional Disparities: Since the late 1970s, China's economy has experienced rapid growth, but this has been accompanied by a widening regional gap, with coastal provinces outperforming inland regions.

• Stages of Development:

  • Stage 1 (Pre-industrial): Characterized by low per capita income and weak urban concentration.
  • Stage 2 (Industrialization): Economic take-off and industrialization lead to urban concentration and polarization of activities.
  • Stage 3 (High-tech concentration and labor diffusion): With increasing GDP per capita, high-tech industries become more concentrated in urban areas, while labor-intensive industries may begin to diffuse to inland regions.

• Geographic Concentration:

  • High-tech industries are highly concentrated in the coastal provinces.
  • Labor-intensive industries remain concentrated in coastal regions, contributing little to reducing regional disparities.
  • The geographical concentration of industries is influenced by factor endowments and the nature of the industry (e.g., primary materials and energy industries are more geographically concentrated).

• FDI and Openness:

  • FDI and openness have significantly contributed to the development of coastal provinces.
  • FDI is heavily concentrated in coastal regions, with limited diffusion to inland provinces.
  • The coastal region's economic growth has not significantly benefited the inland regions, leading to continued spatial inequalities.

• Policy Implications:

  • To promote geographic diffusion of economic activities to inland regions, it is necessary to alleviate internal migration control, reduce unnecessary state intervention, and encourage domestic market integration.
  • The current policy inclination has biased growth in favor of coastal areas, beyond their natural geographic advantages.

Key Findings

• Economic Concentration: The coastal provinces have shown a much higher rate of economic concentration compared to inland provinces. For example, in 1999, the GDP per capita of the coastal region was about 6 times the national average, while the inland region lagged behind.

• Industry Specialization:

  • High-tech industries (Category A) have grown faster than labor-intensive industries (Category D).
  • The share of high-tech industries in total value-added increased from 12% in 1988 to 16% in 1997.
  • Labor-intensive industries (Category D) have seen a decline in their share of total value-added, from over two-thirds in 1988 to about half in 1997.

• Spatial Disparities:

  • The ratio of high-tech value-added to total value-added was around 8% in inland provinces, compared to 13% to 18% in coastal provinces.
  • The Gini coefficient, used to measure geographic concentration, shows that high-tech industries are more concentrated than labor-intensive industries, especially in coastal areas.

• Empirical Evidence:

  • The paper uses panel data from 1988 to 1997 to examine the geographic concentration of industries.
  • The results indicate that the diffusion of labor-intensive industries to inland provinces is limited, and the concentration of high-tech industries in coastal areas persists.
  • The Theil index confirms that regional inequalities in China have significantly increased, particularly between coastal and inland regions.

Conclusion

• China is currently in the Stage 2 of development, characterized by urbanization, industrialization, and economic concentration in coastal regions.
• While the coastal region has benefited from openness and FDI, the inland regions have not seen significant spillover effects.
• The paper argues that policy reforms are essential to promote a more balanced regional development and encourage the diffusion of labor-intensive industries to inland provinces.

Key Information

• GDP per capita in coastal provinces (1999): ~6 times the national average.

• FDI share in coastal provinces (2001): ~31.3% of total industrial production.

• High-tech industries' value-added (1988-1997): Increased from 12% to 16% of total value-added.

• Gini coefficients:

  • Category A (High-tech): 0.35 (1988), 0.46 (1997)
  • Category C (Primary materials, energy, foodstuffs): 0.53 (1988), 0.53 (1997)
  • Category D (Labor-intensive): More evenly distributed, with lower Gini coefficients.

• Regional Inequalities:

  • Coastal regions have experienced faster growth and higher specialization.
  • Inland regions lag behind, with limited economic diffusion and uneven development.

• Policy Recommendations:

  • Alleviate internal migration control.
  • Reduce unnecessary state intervention.
  • Encourage domestic market integration to promote geographic diffusion of economic activities.