An Evolutionary Economic Geography Perspective on Types of Operation Development in West Lake, China

The types of operation play a key role in facilitating tourism consumption and economic development in a tourism destination. By adopting evolutionary economic geography theory, the paper analyzes the types of operation in West Lake Scenic Area from 1978 to 2013. First, an evolution process consisting of four stages is underpinned, and they are: the new establishment stage, the preliminary development stage, the speedup development stage, and the stabilized maturity stage. Specifically, the distinct characteristics associated with operation types are compared and evaluated at different stages throughout the process. The evolution trees are introduced to scrutinize types of operation development. The results of evolution trees demonstrate the substantial increase in both numbers and types. Second, by applying GIS spatial analysis, the paper also analyzes the spatial evolution characteristics on the types of operation, and the results unveil the co-existence of centripetal and centrifugal forces: the processes of spatial agglomeration and spatial dispersion. More specifically, we recognize the spatial process includes the emergence of node and concentration(1978–1995), the sparse distribution and intensity reduction(1996–2002), the patchy distribution and spatial agglomeration intensification(2003–2008), the dispersed distribution and core area agglomeration(2009–2013). Lastly, path dependence on resource endowment, government and market innovation, knowledge learning and spillover can reasonably explain the types of operation evolution. In conclusion, the evolutionary economic geography theories provide new theoretical and empirical perspectives for tourism policy analysis. At the same time, our comprehensive evidences impart more comprehensive insights and offer useful managerial and policy implications.

Study on Dynamic Mechanism of Urban Expansion: A Case Study of Shandong Province

This paper aims at studying the dynamic mechanism of urban expansion and its role. Based on the economic model of urban spatial structure and applying panel data in Shandong Province, the paper concludes. Economic growth and transition of economic structure have played the most powerful role in urban expansion. An increase in population helps the core to extend. Increasing agricultural productivity can provide a countervailing force. An increase in transportation costs will limit urban expan- sion. An increase in the marginal productivity of land in housing production will increase urban expansion. Fiscal and taxation policies also have encouraged the extensive shift of cultivated land into build-up area. This paper also suggests that if high rate increasing GDP is needed, the urban core will continue to expand. The government should take measures to improve the rapid growth of the city.

Historic Districts in the Wake of Modern Adversities:Reflections from China and Norway

A shift to a market-led economy initialized due to globalization has caused massive restructuring–both economically and spatially.In the midst of such restructuring processes for place promotion and investment marketing,falls culture and heritage.The developed world identified the value of heritage and centered the restructuring around the global-local nexus,whereas the developing world,increasingly influenced by the far west,made progress towards'Americanization.'However different the approaches might be,a similarity in the situation of perception of culture can be found today–induced by the technical and global forces.A new debate emerged in the professional communities on preserving the essence of historic districts/neighborhoods based on the ideologies and perceptions of governments and communities alike.This paper aims to decipher the influence of the changing notion of'development'and the globalization on the historic districts in the developing and developed worlds,by detailing the case of the Drum Tower Muslim District in Xi’an and a mining town named R?ros(a world heritage site)in Norway.The study is primarily based on secondary sources,discussions with experts,field visits,and in depth interviews with local people.The findings from both the cases prove that there is no clear distinction in the current scenario of historic district preservation,although the governing processes and planning mechanisms of both countries have stark differences.

Are Central and Western Chinese Provinces Catching up with the East？ An Empirical Analysis of Convergence Processes across China

Since the Reform and Opening-up policy had been implemented in 1978, China's Mainland has experienced significant economic growth, with GDP rising on an annual average of about 10%. However, this growth miracle was far from being evenly distributed across space. It is, therefore, the aim of this paper to study the evolution of spatial disparities in economic development across the country between 1993 and 2012, a period which is characterized by all provinces having access to international markets and being open for international investors. We seek to answer the question of whether Central and Western Chinese provinces were catching up with the East. We define ＇catching up＇ as a growing similarity among spatial units. Convergence processes might manifest in four dimensions, including （1） the spatial allocation of employment, value added generation and the fixed capital stock, （2） forms of technical change, （3） productivity patterns, and （4） income distribution. Results show that persistent phases of convergence appeared. However, in some cases the catching up of China＇s less developed parts with the flourishing East was limited to only a few Western and Central Chinese provinces. A high degree of path-dependency in economic development prevented catching up from taking place in a more uniform manner.