JHASS
County-level Administrative Division and Economic Growth
TOTAL VIEWS: 305
Abstract
As the reform and opening-up policy enters deeper waters, adjustments to administrative divisions have shifted from sweeping changes to cautious fine-tuning. Administrative divisions are fundamental to national governance, significantly affecting spatial governance and optimizing regional development patterns. Considering the current insufficiency and uneven distribution of urban administrative regions in China, which fail to meet the demands of new urbanization developments, as well as the unreasonable hierarchy and scope of administrative regions, the "14th Five-Year Plan for New Urbanization" states that the transformation of counties into districts or cities must be strictly controlled, promoting the optimization and appropriate scaling of municipal districts. Urbanization is a major strategy and a significant issue in China's modernization process. As China's economy rapidly develops and urbanization progresses steadily, the contradictions between administrative divisions and regional economies that lead to regional barriers are urgent issues to address. Opinions among scholars vary on whether changes in county-level administrative regions result in economic growth or decline. This paper attempts to analyze the fundamental mechanisms of how changes in county-level administrative regions affect economic growth by examining more micro-level changes—those at the township administrative level—ultimately elucidating the relationship between the two.
References
Cao, Z., Wu, Z., Kuang, Y., & Huang, N. (2015). Calibration and application of DMSP/OLS nighttime light images in China. Journal of Geo-Information Science, (9), 1092-1102.
Fan, Z., & Zhao, R. (2020). Fiscal authority, tax effort, and corporate tax burden. Economic Research Journal, 55(4), 101-117.
Han, Y., & Wu, M. (2024). Inter-regional barriers and economic growth: Evidence from China. Journal of Development Economics, 167, 103197.
Hu, W., Liu, C., & Zhan, Q. (2021). Synthesis methods and comparative verification of annual NPP-VIIRS nighttime light data in China. Journal of Guilin University of Technology, (1), 141-148.
Li, X., & Xu, X. (2015). Analysis of the impact of China's county (city) to district reforms on urban economic growth. Acta Geographica Sinica, 70(8), 1202-1214.
Lu, S., Chen, S., & Zhang, D. (2017). Has government-driven urbanization promoted economic development in county areas? Statistical Research, 34(5), 59-68.
Lu, X., Xu, C., & Zhang, F. (2023). Research on the impact of county disbanding on urban economic resilience. Fiscal Research, (3), 63-77.
Shao, C., Su, D., & Bao, Q. (2018). Growth performance evaluation of county-to-district reforms under Chinese-style decentralization. The World Economy.
Tang, W., & Wang, Y. (2015). Administrative division adjustments and population urbanization: Empirical evidence from county-to-district reforms. Economic Research Journal, 50(9), 72-85.
Wang, X., & Nie, H. (2010). Administrative division adjustment and economic growth. Management World, (4), 42-53.
Zhang, C., & Kong, X. (2017). Administrative division adjustment and grain production: Evidence from the synthetic control method. Journal of Nanjing Agricultural University (Social Sciences Edition), 17(3), 121-133+159.
Zhang, K. (2021). A correct understanding of county-to-district reforms. Theoretical Review, (2), 59-60.
Zhang, L., Pi, J., & Song, G. (2018). Local government competition and bias towards productive expenditure—A political economy analysis of county-to-district reform. Finance & Trade Economics, 39(3), 65-78.
Zhong, Y., & Liang, C. (2021). Administrative division adjustment and entrepreneur time allocation: Based on the perspective of county-district division. Finance and Trade Economy, 42(8), 97-112.
Zhu, J., Chen, T., Wang, K., & Qi, W. (2015). Analysis of the evolution and driving forces of China's administrative division patterns since the reform and opening-up. Geographical Research, (2), 247-258.
How to cite this paper
County-level Administrative Division and Economic Growth
How to cite this paper: Haodong Chen. (2025) County-level Administrative Division and Economic Growth. Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Science, 9(3), 546-554.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/jhass.2025.03.020
More Articles
- Cultural Heritage Preservation and Revitalization in Peru: An Analytical Study of Machu Picchu and Cuzco
- Analysis on the Application Value of Repetition Technique in Dance Choreography Based on Chinese Traditional Cultural Vision
- Mediatized Cognitive Construction in the International Communication of TCM Culture: A Digital Era Perspective
- The Influence of Times Values on the Translation of Female Characters in Madame Bovary: A Case Study of Li Jianwu and Zhou Keshi’s Translation
- Zen Koans and Ecological Consciousness: Buddhist and Zen Thought in the Works of Peter Matthiessen
- Research on the Current Status and Challenges of the Dissemination of the Compendium of Materia Medica Based on Digital Technology