THE IMPACT OF ECONOMIC REFORMS ON THE URBAN ECONOMY OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA |
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| Authors: | Yichun Xie Frank J Costa |
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| Institution: | 1. YICHUN XIE is a Ph.D. Candiate in the Department of Urban Studies;2. FRANK J. COSTA (Ph.D. University of wisconsin-Madison)is Professor of Urban Studies and Geography at the University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325–7904. |
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| Abstract: | The impact of recent economic reforms in China on Chinese cities has influenced both the rate and spatial pattern of their development. In this research, three groups of cities are analyzed: those in special economic zones, opened coastal cities, and inland provincial level capital cities. Eighteen variables were selected to determine the impact of the reforms. Major conclusions of the research are: (1) current urban reforms deviate sharply from earlier socialist Chinese practice; (2) urban growth has responded strongly and positively to the economic activities advocated by the urban reforms (e.g., foreign investment, foreign trade, individual entrepreneurship, and development of a market economy); and (3) urban reforms have resulted in distinctly different spatial impacts among the three types of cities, with those in the special economic zones and in the coastal areas benefitting more than inland cities. |
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| Keywords: | China cities economic development spatial patterns |
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