Research on the Measurement of the Coordinated Relationship between Industrialization and Urbanization in the Inland Areas of Large Countries: A Case Study of Sichuan Province

Lei Xiao, Jie Pan, Dongqi Sun (), Zhipeng Zhang and Qian Zhao
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Lei Xiao: China Academy of Urban Planning & Design Western Branch, Chongqing 401120, China
Jie Pan: China Academy of Urban Planning & Design Western Branch, Chongqing 401120, China
Dongqi Sun: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Zhipeng Zhang: Key Research Institute of Yellow River Civilization and Sustainable Development, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China
Qian Zhao: China Academy of Urban Planning & Design Western Branch, Chongqing 401120, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: Industrialization and urbanization are critical paths to modernization for a country or region. The coordination of industrialization and urbanization fosters the development of a regional economy. In academic circles, this is usually measured by the IU ratio (ratio of labor industrialization rate to urbanization rate) and the NU ratio (ratio of non-agricultural employment rate to urbanization rate). However, these methods are inapplicable to large countries’ inland areas. The traditional methods failed to explain the real situation and produced contradictory results. The IU ratio shows that industrialization lags behind urbanization, while the NU ratio shows that industrialization is ahead of urbanization. According to studies conducted in the Sichuan Province of China, through comparison with Jiangsu Province, it is found that the non-agricultural employment growth is not dependent on the development of local industrialization, and rural-urban migration is not entirely dependent on the evolution of the non-agricultural employment rate. Other factors that promote urbanization, such as the country’s capital policies and funds for migrant labor force transfer, should also be considered. This research attempts to improve the traditional methods for measuring the degree of urbanization and industrialization synergy in inland areas. The new empirical approach can effectively identify the critical characteristics of urbanization in inland provinces, such as the development of non-agricultural employment with external assistance and urban migrants “unrelated to employment opportunities”. Based on these key characteristics, it can provide the basis for local urbanization policy formulation.

Keywords: industrialization; urbanization of large countries; coordinated relations; Sichuan province (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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