Studies of the Relationship between City Size and Urban Benefits in China Based on a Panel Data Model

Abstract

Policy regarding the size of cities is an important component of China's urban policy prescription. We used a curvilinear regression model in this study to identify the optimal function and conducted curve panel data regression analysis on the panel data of the benefits of the economy, ecosystem services, and city size in China. In doing so, we obtained the regression relationship between city size and the benefits of the economy, environment, and resources of a city. Our main findings are as follows: (1) city size is not the most important factor determining a city's benefits. However, there is a significant difference in the average city benefit between cities of various sizes; (2) city per capita GDP increase exhibited an inverted-N-shaped relationship with increasing city size, initially decreasing but subsequently increasing. The city size corresponding to the maximum value was usually higher than or close to the actual city size. Thus, it can be concluded that when a city's population is more than 1 million, its per capita output increases; (3) a city's resource services benefits all exhibited the trend of improving with increasing city size. This trend was particularly pronounced among cities with a population of less than 1 million; and (4) a city's environmental services benefits exhibited an inverted-U-shaped relationship with city size, initially increasing but subsequently decreasing.

What Economic and Social Factors Affect GDP Per Capita a Study on 40 Countries

“…After all, if size were the most important factor, Russia would be the most productive country in the world, and Algeria and Congo together would be producing more than the EU, which is hardly the case (Hahn, 2014). In a similar study one of the findings is as follows: The correlation coefficient between urban per capita GDP and city size was similarly low, less than 0.1, indicating that city size was not the determining factor of per capita income (Zhang,Yang and Huo 2016).…”

Special Issue: “Maintaining Ecosystem Services to Support Urban Needs”

“…City size is not the most important factor determining a city's benefits, conclude Zhang et al [13]. However, there is a significant difference in the average city benefit between cities of various sizes.…”

“…However, there is a significant difference in the average city benefit between cities of various sizes. Inter alia, relative to urban per capita GDP, city size corresponding to the maximum value of urban environmental services was slightly smaller in investigated Chinese cities, indicating that, although mega-cities may improve economic efficiency, they create environmental problems [13].…”

Effect of Urbanization on Ecosystem Service Values in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Urban Agglomeration of China from 2000 to 2014

“…The association between urbanization and ecosystem services is usually not a simple linear relationship, and there may exist a dynamic nonlinear interaction mechanism [26]. Currently, there are many methods with which to explore this nonlinear relationship.…”