Economic structure transformation is widely recognized as a crucial role in sustainable development. However, the existing literature almost focused on the change inside certain economic areas and ignored the external relationship. This raises the question about the role of factors outside in economic structure transformation at the prefecture-level. This paper takes Vietnam as the study area to fill this gap and examines the impact of metropolis's characteristics on the provinces' economic structural transformation. Using data of provincial economic structure from 2015 to 2018 collected from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam, the econometric analysis with instrument variables for panel data is performed. The results show that metropolises play an important role in the economic structure change of provinces through certain roles: destination of migration and start-point of remittances, the market for goods and services, hubs of information and knowledge.

Regional studies, particularly in rural areas, have attracted great attention from scholars and policy-makers. However, almost all existing literature focused on the growth of these areas while giving little consideration to converting economic activities or economic structural transformation, which plays the main role in sustainable development. Additionally, the studies about economic structural transformation mainly mention the factors, which are changes inside certain economic areas and ignore the outside effects while any geographical area also has spatial relationships. To fill this gap, this study blends the economic structure and regional linkages theories to supply a comprehensive view of the relationship between inside and outside factors that influence rural structural transformation by using systematic reviews and meta-analysis methods. The study’s findings consolidate the importance of urban areas and regional linkages, especially spatial interaction, in rural economic structural transformation. More specifically, this study shows that the motivation for structural transformation of rural areas is emanated from urban areas and is transmitted through spatial flows, which are then absorbed in rural areas. The mechanisms through which the motivation affects rural economic structure are productivity, income, and agricultural land. Based on the review, the study lists several further research questions regarding empirical research of rural economic structural transformation through the relationship between rural and urban areas.

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