COVID-19, Urbanization Pattern and Economic Recovery: An Analysis of Hubei, China

Wenyi Yang, Xueli Wang, Keke Zhang and Zikan Ke
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Wenyi Yang: Institute of Regional and Urban-Rural Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Xueli Wang: Institute of Regional and Urban-Rural Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Keke Zhang: Institute of Regional and Urban-Rural Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Zikan Ke: School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 24, 1-21

Abstract: In the context of the rapid development of urbanization and increasing population mobility in China, the outbreak of COVID-19 has had a significant impact on China’s economy and society. This article uses China UnionPay transaction data and takes Hubei, the worst-hit region by COVID-19 in China, as an example, to conduct empirical analysis using the generalized method of moments (GMM) of the impact of current urbanization patterns on the spread of the epidemic and economic recovery from the perspectives of time, industry, and regional differences. The study found that during the different stages of COVID-19, including discovery, outbreak, and subsidence, the overall impact of urbanization on the economy in Hubei Province was first positive, then became negative, and finally gradually increased. This process had significant industrial and urban heterogeneity, which was mainly manifested in losses in tourism and catering industries that were significantly greater than those in the audio-visual entertainment and digital office industries. Similarly, the recovery speed of large cities was lower than that of small and medium-sized cities. The main reason for these differences is that the one-sided problem of urbanization is more obvious in areas with higher urbanization rates. COVID-19 has drawn attention to the development of urbanization in the future, that is, the development path of one-sided economic resource agglomeration and scale expansion should be abandoned, with greater attention paid to the improvement of service functions and the development of amenities. This transformation is necessary to enhance urban economic resilience and reduce public health risks.

Keywords: COVID-19; urbanization pattern; economic recovery (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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