Abstract
Dalian, Shenyang, Changchun and Harbin are the four core cities which play an essential role in terms of promoting the economic development in Northeast China. In this paper, the impact of urban agglomeration on labor productivity is explored by making comparisons among these four cities. The model used for analysis is a classical model derived from previous studies. Some indicators, such as population density and economic density, were selected to examine the impact of urban agglomeration on the labor productivity based on the time-series data for the four cities from 1990 to 2007. The four main conclusions are: 1) The promotion from the growth rate of population density on the growth rate of labor productivity is limited. 2) The negative relationship exists between the growth rate of employment density and the growth rate of labor productivity. 3) Agglomeration effect exists in the four cities, the highest one is Dalian, Shenyang takes the second place, followed by Changchun and Harbin, and the predominant promotion exerted on the labor productivity is the output density.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carlino G A, 1979. Increasing returns to scale in metropolitan manufacturing. Journal of Regional Science, 19(3): 363–373. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9787.1979.tb00601.x
Chen Liangwen, Yang Kaizhong, Shen Tiyan et al., 2008. The density of economic agglomeration and labor productivity: A micro-empirical study on Beijing. China Economic Quarterly, 8(1): 99–112. (in Chinese)
Ciccone A, Hall R E, 1996. Productivity and the density of economic activity. American Economic Review, 86(1): 54–70. doi: 10.2307/2118255
Ciccone A, 2002. Agglomeration effects in Europe. Europe Economic Review, 46(2): 213–227. doi: 10.1016/S0014-2921(00)00099-4
Fan Jianyong, 2006. Industrial agglomeration and difference of regional labor productivity: Chinese evidence with international comparison. Economic Research Journal, 11: 72–81. (in Chinese)
Futagami K, Ohkusa Y, 2003. The quality ladder and product variety: Larger economies may not grow faster. Japanese Economic Review, 54(3): 336–351. doi: 10.1111/1468-5876.00262
Li Jinyan, 2008. Urban Agglomeration: Theory and Evidence. Wuhan: Huazhong University of Science and Technology. (in Chinese)
Meijers E J, Burger M J, 2009. Urban spatial structure and labor productivity in U.S. Metropolitan Areas. Belgium: Leuven University.
National Bureau of Statistics of China, 1991–2008. China City Statistical Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press. (in Chinese)
Parr J B, 2002. Agglomeration economies: Ambiguities and confusions. Environment and Planning, 34(4): 717–731. doi: 10.1068/a34106
Phelps N A, Fallon R J, Williams C L, 2001. Small firms, borrowed size and the urban-rural shift. Regional Studies, 35(7): 613–624. doi: 10.1080/00343400120075885
Pu Yanping, Huang Yi, 2008. Process of capital-deepening and its employment effect in the economic development of China. Inquiry into Economic Issues, 3: 1–4. (in Chinese)
Romer P M, 1986. Increasing returns and long-run growth. Journal of Political Economy, 94(5): 1002–1037. doi: 10.1086/261420
Sveikauskas L, 1975. The productivity of cities. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 89(3): 393–413. doi: 10.2307/1885259
Zhang Yan, Liu Liang, 2007. Economic agglomeration and economic growth: Based on empirical analysis of urban datas in China. World Economic Papers, 1: 48–56. (in Chinese)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41071088), National Social Science Foundation of China (No. 08BJY056)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhang, P., Yang, Q. & Zhao, Y. Relationship between social economic agglomeration and labor productivity of core cities in Northeast China. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 22, 221–231 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0522-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0522-4