撤县设区、空间一致性与县域经济发展

County-to-District Reform,Spatial Consistency and County-level Economic Growth

县域经济是我国实现城镇化发展的主战场。本文利用夜间灯光数据代理县域经济发展水平,突破统计数据受制于行政区划的空间限制,获得空间一致且跨时间可比的县域经济衡量指标。这不仅可避免因使用统计数据可能导致的可塑性面积单元问题,还可以同时分析“撤县设区”对县(市)和市辖区的影响,为“撤县设区”的研究提供更细致完整的图景。研究发现:“撤县设区”改革无论对被撤并县(市),还是对原市辖区的经济发展均未产生显著影响。原因在于,尽管“撤县设区”能够促进县域企业吸收更多人力资本,但却显著降低了企业的固定资产净投资和全要素生产率,这在一定程度上解释了为何“撤县设区”改革不能显著推动县域经济发展的原因。

County-level economic development is fundamental and important for urbanization in China.In the study,we use nighttime light data as a proxy for county-level economic development to evaluate economic impact of County-to-District reform.Unlike traditional census data used in the existing studies,nighttime light data can break through spatial restrictions of administrative boundary.Therefore,we can use this data to derive spatially consistent indicator for economic development at county-level and to reduce Modifiable Areal Unit Problem.More importantly,spatially consistent nighttime light data can provide economic measurements for both counties(county-level cities)and urban districts,which helps us to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the economic impact from the reform.The study reveals that county-to-district reform didn't show significant influence on economic development for either counties(county-level cities)or urban districts.This reform promoted labor supply.Yet,it significantly brought down net investment in fixed asset and total factor productivity in the study areas.