The Impact of Development Zones on China’s Urbanization from the Perspectives of the Population, Land, and the Economy

Kaimeng Li, Shuang Gao, Yuantao Liao, Ke Luo and Shaojian Wang ()
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Kaimeng Li: Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Research Institute, Guangzhou 510060, China
Shuang Gao: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
Yuantao Liao: Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Research Institute, Guangzhou 510060, China
Ke Luo: Guangzhou Urban Planning & Design Survey Research Institute, Guangzhou 510060, China
Shaojian Wang: Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Urbanization and Geo-Simulation, School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-16

Abstract: The sustainable development of urbanization is a necessary condition for China to realize modernization. Considering the importance of urbanization to China’s future development and the advantages of development zones in promoting urbanization, it is necessary to quantify the impact of establishing development zones on urbanization development. Using the difference in difference (DID) model, this study takes the panel data of 235 cities in China from 1990 to 2017 to evaluate the policy effects of setting up development zones on urbanization from the perspectives of the population, land, and the economy. The results show that the development zone policy in the overall panel exerts a significant negative impact on land urbanization and a significant positive impact on economic urbanization but exerts no significant impact on population urbanization. The regression results of sub-regions show significant regional differences in the impact of development zones on urbanization. In the eastern region, the development zone policy has promoted the intensive use of urban construction land. For the central and western regions with weak development foundations, development zones play an important role in attracting the population and upgrading industries while reducing the intensive use of construction land. This study provides urban-level empirical evidence for evaluating the urbanization effects of development zone policies and puts forward policy recommendations for development zone construction to promote high-quality urbanization in China.

Keywords: development zone; urbanization; policy effect; difference in difference model; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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