Economic Geography and Labor Productivity: A Systemic Analytic Framework
SHAO Han-hua1, YANG Jun1, LIAO Chang-jun1,2
1.School of Economics and Management,Chongqing University,Chongqing 400044,China 2.Chongqing Operation Office, The People’s Bank of China, Chongqing 401147, China
Abstract The differences in labor productivity between regions widely exist in the real world. Based on the panel data of three major urban agglomerations in China from 2001 to 2010, this paper, within the 3D framework of 2009 World Development Report, investigates how the features of economic geography (such as density, distance, division and so on) affect the labor productivity between regions. Our research shows that the labor productivity will be improved as the density increases, and will deteriorate as the distance increases. In particular, the division will have no any impact on the labor productivity. Our further research implies that there is no significant implication supporting the nonlinear relationship between features of economic geography and labor productivity. These results not only provide a remarkable way of understanding the differences in labor productivity between regions but also have important policy implications for coordinating regional development and improving urbanization in China.
2014, Vol. 31 
