Empirical Analysis of Flattening Urban Spatial Structure to Promote Common Prosperity Between Urban and Rural Areas
LI Na1, ZHAO Kangjie2, JING Puqiu2
1. Institute of Platform Economy, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China; 2. Institute of Transition of Resource-based Economics, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Taiyuan 030006, China
Abstract Using panel data from 270 prefecture-level cities between 2017 and 2021, the paper analyzes the impact and intrinsic mechanisms of a flattened urban-rural spatial structure on common prosperity in urban and rural areas. It also examines the applicability of this structure based on multi-level regional attributes, including geographical location, economic development level and city size. The results show that flattening the urban spatial structure can effectively promote the increase of urban and rural residents’ income levels and narrow the urban-rural income gap and promote the realization of common prosperity between urban and rural areas. Mechanism analysis reveals that the impact of a flattened urban-rural spatial structure on common prosperity between urban and rural areas is primarily transmitted through three effective pathways: enhancing entrepreneurial activity in rural areas, deepening rural industrial integration and expanding the market scope in rural areas. Specifically, the intermediary effects are ranked as follows: entrepreneurial activity in rural areas > market size in rural areas > industrial integration level in rural areas. Moreover, the effect of a flattened urban-rural spatial structure on urban-rural common prosperity varies across different regions. The western and northeastern regions, areas with lower levels of economic development, and small- and medium-sized cities are found to better leverage the common prosperity effect of a flattened urban-rural spatial structure.
LI Na,ZHAO Kangjie,JING Puqiu. Empirical Analysis of Flattening Urban Spatial Structure to Promote Common Prosperity Between Urban and Rural Areas. Economic Survey, 2025, 42(2): 03.
2025, Vol. 42 
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