Growth and development in prefecture-level cities in China.

ABSTRACT: Nowhere has the scale and scope of urbanization been larger than in China over the last few decades. We analyze Chinese city development between the years 1996 and 2014 using data for the urbanized components of prefecture-level cities. We show that, despite much variability and fast economic and demographic change, China is undergoing transformations similar to the historical trajectory of other urban systems. We also show that the distinguishing signs of urban economies-superlinear scaling of agglomeration effects in economic productivity and economies of scale in land use-also characterize Chinese cities. We then analyze the structure of economic change in Chinese cities using a variety of metrics, characterizing employment, firms and households. Population size estimates remain a major

SUBMITTER: Zund D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6719855 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature