Suchergebnisse

This paper examines the effect of spatial structure, as measured on the monocentricity–polycentricity dimension, on labour productivity at the prefectural level in China. Using pooled cross-sectional and instrumental variable techniques, we find that, all else being equal, prefectures with a more monocentric spatial structure have a higher labour productivity, robust to different specifications. Furthermore, large agglomeration economies may fuel the beneficial effects of monocentricity. We conclude that, in terms of economic performance, monocentric-oriented spatial strategy could be a better choice for Chinese prefecture-scale regions.

This study examines the effect of metropolitan government fragmentation on urban economic growth in China. Spatially decentralised governance under centralised political control plays an important role in China's post-reform economic development, although evidence has focused on the growth-inducing effect of political completion at the provincial and cross-city levels. Our study suggests that economic growth increases with the number of urban districts only up to two districts, controlling for the potential endogeneity in the number of urban districts, the proxy of metropolitan government fragmentation. This result, while suggestive and in need of further validation, has important policy implications for the rapid urbanisation in China, where municipal administrative structure design does not seem to factor in the effects of government fragmentation on urban growth. More broadly, evidence from China's cities contributes to the ongoing evaluation of fragmented metropolitan governance across the world.

Although an increasing number of scholars are evaluating rail transit benefits, there have been surprisingly few studies of the links between metro proximity and happiness. The principal objective of this paper is to assess the benefits of metro proximity for individual's happiness. A key challenge to empirically answering this question is the fact that residential location is likely to be the result of self-selection, i.e., personal preference, such that living around a rail station can increase residents' happiness. Taking advantage of the largely exogenous residential locations of those who bought their house 10 years earlier than the operation of their nearest metro station and those households living in non-market housing in Shanghai, we find proximity to a subway station robustly promotes happiness at the individual level. These results suggest that the development of rail transit and transit-oriented development (TOD) are promising ways to increase happiness.