Toward Balanced Growth With Economic Agglomeration

This book explains the relationships between equality and efficiency, as well as between government and market, in urban-rural and regional development by providing theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence. Urban-rural development in China is understood from a regional perspective, while the core issue of urban-rural and regional development is cross-regional resource reallocation driven by the trends of globalization, marketization and urbanization and their influence on growth and inequality. The book puts forward the following arguments: An urban-rural and regional balance should not be achieved by limiting agglomeration effects in eastern regions. For some time now, China has lacked a suitable mechanism to enable residents in underdeveloped and rural areas to share in the achievements of economic agglomeration. As a result, China should not slow down economic agglomeration and development in eastern regions simply by depending on administrative means to balance urban-rural and regional development. In the final analysis, arriving at a regional balance depends on growth in the eastern regions, provided a reasonable mechanism is implemented to enable inland areas to share in the development achievements of eastern regions. In turn, finding an urban-regional balance rests on urban development, as long as more rural workers can move to and prosper in cities.

The new Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics: Cities and Geography reviews, synthesizes and extends the key developments in urban and regional economics and their strong connection to other recent developments in modern economics. Of particular interest is the development of the new economic geography and its incorporation along with innovations in industrial organization, endogenous growth, network theory and applied econometrics into urban and regional economics. The chapters cover theoretical developments concerning the forces of agglomeration, the nature of neighborhoods and human capital externalities, the foundations of systems of cities, the development of local political institutions, regional agglomerations and regional growth. Such massive progress in understanding the theory behind urban and regional phenomenon is consistent with on-going progress in the field since the late 1960’s. What is unprecedented are the developments on the empirical side: the development of a wide body of knowledge concerning the nature of urban externalities, city size distributions, urban sprawl, urban and regional trade, and regional convergence, as well as a body of knowledge on specific regions of the world—Europe, Asia and North America, both current and historical. The Handbook is a key reference piece for anyone wishing to understand the developments in the field.

This book is the result of recent research by contemporary scientists on topics which were discussed at the conference of the same name in Volgograd, Russia in April 2017. The global economic system is currently in a stage of active formation and development: its boundaries and conditions of existence are constantly changing, which is accompanied by crises that influence the economic systems of its member countries. In order to solve problems emanating from global economic crises, a new direction was formed in modern science – global crisis management. Development of this direction requires the formation of the accompanying categorical apparatus, the development of a corresponding scientific and methodological basis, and the engagement in extensive practical research.

This book explores how history shapes city development, assesses the role of government at national and sub-national levels through case studies of three secondary cities, Quanzhou, Yiwu and Nannin, and provides a link between city development and internationalization. In doing so, the book highlights alternative paths to development and internationalization that have received little attention in mainstream discussions. The case studies in the book provide insights into the development and internationalization of cities, linking them to historical, social, institutional and economic factors—narratives that bridge the two themes of city development and internationalization. Strong analyses are accompanied by photographs and charts that allow the reader to learn about Chinese cities beyond the major urban areas in China, garner better understanding of the role of the Chinese state, and appreciate the relevance of “city-specific assets” for city planning.

This open access book modifies and revitalizes the concept of the ‘developmental state’ to understand the politics of emerging economy through nuanced analysis on the roles of human agency in the context of structural transformation. In other words, there is a revived interest in the ‘developmental state’ concept. The nature of the ‘emerging state’ is characterized by its attitude toward economic development and industrialization. Emerging states have engaged in the promotion of agriculture, trade, and industry and played a transformative role to pursue a certain path of economic development. Their success has cast doubt about the principle of laissez faire among the people in the developing world. This doubt, together with the progress of democratization, has prompted policymakers to discover when and how economic policies should deviate from laissez faire, what prevents political leaders and state institutions from being captured by vested interests, and what induce them to drive economic development. This book offers both historical and contemporary case studies from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda. They illustrate how institutions are designed to be developmental, how political coalitions are formed to be growth-oriented, and how technocratic agencies are embedded in a network of business organizations as a part of their efforts for state building.

China is a large developing economy and it has been deeply involved in globalization since its economic reform and opening-up. Simultaneously, China has seen a significant change in the spatial distribution of economic resources, especially capital and labor. In the recent 10 years, economists have made significant progress in both theoretical and empirical studies on related topics. The book provides an overview on the existing literature and current policy debates on what we have known and what we have misunderstood. This book includes an analytical framework of the New Economic Geography (NEG) with political economy to help us understand China’s regional development issues. The book of 10 chapters is organized into four thematic sections. The first section is a theoretical discussion on the relationship between economic agglomeration and interregional balanced development. The second section is a political economy analysis on regional and urban-rural development. The third section provides a summary on empirical literatures concerning from market segmentation and institutional barriers to production factor mobility. The final section consists of four empirical chapters on the relationship between agglomeration and balance, which is the core of relevant policy debates. The book argues that for China to achieve both efficiency and balance for regional development, China may need to reform its systems which constrain production factors mobility. This book is a valuable reference for readers who are interested in spatial economics and the Chinese economy, especially its regional and urban development.

Rising densities of human settlements, migration and transport to reduce distances to market, and specialization and trade facilitated by fewer international divisions are central to economic development. The transformations along these three dimensions density, distance, and division are most noticeable in North America, Western Europe, and Japan, but countries in Asia and Eastern Europe are changing in ways similar in scope and speed. 'World Development Report 2009: Reshaping Economic Geography' concludes that these spatial transformations are essential, and should be encouraged. The conclusion is not without controversy. Slum-dwellers now number a billion, but the rush to cities continues. Globalization is believed to benefit many, but not the billion people living in lagging areas of developing nations. High poverty and mortality persist among the world's 'bottom billion', while others grow wealthier and live longer lives. Concern for these three billion often comes with the prescription that growth must be made spatially balanced. The WDR has a different message: economic growth is seldom balanced, and efforts to spread it out prematurely will jeopardize progress. The Report: documents how production becomes more concentrated spatially as economies grow. proposes economic integration as the principle for promoting successful spatial transformations. revisits the debates on urbanization, territorial development, and regional integration and shows how today's developers can reshape economic geography.