A Study on the Impact of Urban Agglomeration Integration on High-Quality Economic Development: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Approval of the Yellow River Basin Urban Agglomeration Plan
A Study on the Impact of Urban Agglomeration Integration on High-Quality Economic Development: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Approval of the Yellow River Basin Urban Agglomeration Plan
WEI Haohao, LIU Xinyuan
School of Economics, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China
Abstract Based on the approval of the Yellow River Basin Urban Agglomeration Plan as a quasi-natural experiment, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) model and panel data from 137 Chinese cities during the period of 2005-2021 to examine the impact of urban agglomeration integration on high-quality economic development. The study finds that urban agglomeration integration can significantly enhance the level of high-quality economic development in cities. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. The heterogeneous analysis indicates that the policy effects of urban agglomeration integration are more pronounced in cities that entered in the second batch, cities with higher levels of economic development, and central cities. The mechanism test results show that the policy of urban agglomeration integration promotes high-quality economic development in cities through technological innovation, industrial structure upgrading and optimization of resource allocation efficiency. Among these, the pathway of technological innovation has a greater impact on central cities, while the pathways of industrial structure upgrading and resource allocation efficiency have a more significant influence on peripheral cities. The research conclusions not only contribute to a deeper understanding of the role and impact of regional coordinated development strategies, represented by urban agglomeration integration, on high-quality development in China’s new era, but also provide policy support for local governments to fully explore regional economic potential, seize new opportunities for high-quality economic development, and expand new space for economic growth through urban agglomeration integration policies.
WEI Haohao,LIU Xinyuan. A Study on the Impact of Urban Agglomeration Integration on High-Quality Economic Development: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Approval of the Yellow River Basin Urban Agglomeration Plan. Economic Survey, 2025, 42(2): 016.
2025, Vol. 42 
