| Abstract: | Based on the spatial organizational structures of the provincial border-regions (a border-region is one which borders two or more independent administrative regions), we build a spatial economic model for N-provincial border-regions (a N-p border-region is one which is under the jurisdiction of N provincial governments) and find that, for a given region with same geographical condition and resources endowment, the largest output of a N-p border-regional system will not exceed that ofa (N-1)-p border-regional system, i.e., F. Using the model in this paper, we present a quantitative method to calculate the economic impacts of "provincial borders" and apply it to the border-region of Shanxi, Hebei, Shangdong, and Henan provinces. The result shows that the economic potential in the border-region hasnot been efficiently exploited and that the annual gross agricultural products have decreased by 10.4% due to the 4-p borders. |
