Regional Disparity and Convergence of China's Inbound Tourism Economy

Comprehending regional characteristics and influencing factors of China＇s inbound tourism economy is im- portant to make effective policies that will help inbound tourism develop harmoniously and shrink regional disparity. This paper studied the regional disparity and convergence of China＇s inbound tourism economy during 1996-2008 with the methods of a-convergence, club convergence and r-convergence. The results indicate that 1） inbound tourism receipts per capita （ITRPC） of the whole country, the eastern, central and western regions presented the rapid increasing trend; 2） ITRPC of the whole country was characterized by convergence; 3） the eastern region presented club con- vergence, but the central and western regions did not show this trend; 4） the star-hotel levels and investment in fixed assets for the tourism industry per capita had a same trend to growth rates of ITRPC, promoting inbound tourism de- velopment, and there was no difference among the 31 provinces （municipalities） in the mainland of China; 5） but the proportion of employed persons in the tourism industry accounting for total population and the proportion of the terti- ary industry accounting for GDP had a reversal trend to growth rates of ITRPC, shrinking the provincial disparity in inbound tourism economy, and there were differences between the developed provinces and the developing provinces. Based on these analyses, we put forward some suggestions for the developing provinces to speed up inbound tourism economy.

Classification of Growth Clubs and Convergence: Evidence from Panel Data in China, 1981-2004

This paper uses provincial panel data to examine club convergence in China during 1981- 2004. We estimate the province-specific initial technology level, A（O）, and classify the Chinese economy into ＂developed club＂ and ＂underdeveloped club ＂ based on the economic characteristics of A（O）, instead of on geographical location. We find significant evidence of conditional convergence across provinces, and that the convergence speed in the developed club is faster than that in the underdeveloped club. We also find that.＂ （i） human capital accumulation contributes more than physical capital does to club convergence,＂ （ii） there is a positive correlation between infrastructure and growth convergence at the national level and within the developed club, while the spillover effect of infrastructure has not been developed in the developing club; and （iii） the effect of economic openness on convergence is tiny, and insignificant across and within clubs.

From Sequential to Parallel Growth of Cities： Theory and Evidence from Canada

This paper examines city growth patterns and the corresponding city size distribution evolution over long periods of time using a simple New Economic Geography(NEG) model and urban population data from Canada. The main findings are twofold. First, there is a transition from sequential to parallel growth of cities over long periods of time: city growth shows a sequential mode in the stage of rapid urbanization, i.e., the cities with the best development conditions will take the lead in growth, after which the cities with higher ranks will become the fastest-growing cities; in the late stage of urbanization, city growth converges according to Gibrat′s law, and exhibits a parallel growth pattern. Second, city size distribution is found to have persistent structural characteristics: the city system is self-organized into multiple discrete size groups; city growth shows club convergence characteristics, and the cities with similar development conditions eventually converge to a similar size. The results will not only enhance our understanding of urbanization process, but will also provide a timely and clear policy reference for promoting the healthy urbanization of developing countries.

Convergence Analysis of Village Collective Economy Based on a Long-Term (1978-2018) Observation of 40 Villages in the Suburbs of Beijing

This paper uses the follow-up survey data of six time points between 1978 and 2018 from 40 fixed observation points in Beijing suburbs by stratified sampling,and makes a long-term observation and analysis of the convergence of village collective economy(VCE).The main findings are as follows.(1)Since the start of reform and opening-up,the gap between villages in terms of total village economic income(TVEI)and total assets of village collectives has obviously widened,and the gap between villages in terms of the number of members of VCE organizations has also widened to a certain extent.(2)There is a big gap in VCE between villages in urban-rural fringe,plain and mountainous areas,and the convergence of"space club"appears.(3)In the early stage of reform and opening up,the VCE development had the opportunity to reshuffle,but from 1998 to 2018,village development showed a trend of"goodmedium-poor"'hierarchical solidification.Therefore,it is necessary to explore a new path of cross-village joint development,especially to develop and strengthen the township-level collective economy,so as to promote farmers'common prosperity in ruralareas.

Spatial Spillovers and the Convergence of Regional Economic Growth: A Case Study Based on the Yangtze River Delta

Spatial club convergence means that the economic growth of a group of regions that have similar initial conditions and structural characteristics and are spatially adjacent will gradually converge on the same steady state. As a new field in research on the club convergence of regional economic growth, spatial club convergence works on a mechanism whereby spatial spillovers drive the localized growth of the regional economy, leading to spatial club convergence. Using a theoretical model of regional economic growth that includes spatial spillovers, this study shows that these spillovers can lead to spatial club convergence. Our empirical analysis of regional economic growth in the Yangtze River Delta in 1990-2007 also shows that spatial spillovers can affect regional economic growth, and that spatial club convergence does exist. When the spatial spillover factor is taken into account, the speed of spatial club convergence in the Yangtze River Delta is 1.57 percent.

Wheat yield convergence and its driving factors in countries along the Belt and Road

Improving the wheat yield of countries along the Belt and Road(BR)plays a core role in ensuring global food security.However,little attention has been paid to the wheat yield variation and the determinants across these countries.This paper analyzes wheat yield convergence in countries along the BR using the club-convergence test.The empirical results show that instead of one convergence for all countries along the BR,the wheat yields are converging into three clubs.Furthermore,we investigate the impact of climate change and agricultural production technology on wheat yield convergence,and find that countries along the BR with a one degree Celsius increase in temperature are 36.5%(32.7%)more likely to converge to the high-level yield club.This may be related to the lower frequency of frost and higher photosynthetic capacity of wheat.We also find that a one kilogram increase in fertilizer application per hectare will result in a 0.4%(0.5%)higher probability of countries along the BR converging to the high-level yield club.Countries along the BR should pay more attention to coordinating production technologies and climate change to ensure food security.

Analysis on Regional Income Gap and Spatial Convergence in China’s Rural Collective Economy

This paper empirically demonstrates a significant correlation between rural collective economic development,farmers’income and urban-rural relative income gap.With 2009-2018 descriptive statistics on growth characteristics and regional development of rural collective economy in China,the regional disparity,source structure and development profile of collective economic income are measured,and an analysis on the spatial convergence of rural collective economy is conducted from multiple dimensions.It finds that:Firstly,while China witnesses rural collective economic income rapidly grows,regional disparities have been failing to be moderated.Secondly,rural collective economic income gap in China has not significantly narrowed over a decade.It is mainly due to the inter-group differences in geographical locations.The income gap is further widening in the eastern region and shrinking in the central and western regions.Thirdly,capital accumulation prominently contributes to the convergence of collective economy in the eastern region,while technical indicators such as information computerization play signifi cant role to the convergence of other regions.From rate and period of convergence,it takes about 22-30 years for backward provinces to catch up with leading provinces.After variables,such as capital accumulation and information computerization,are controlled,the period of convergence shortens to 20-24 years.Fourthly,rural collective economic income in China has already showed a spatial club convergence of low-level equilibrium trap.