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On the Role of the Digital Industry in Reshaping Urban Economic Structure: the Case of Hangzhou, China

Author

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  • Xuliang Zhang

    (Center for Research of Private Economy, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China)

  • Chenxiang Elaine Ji

    (School of Public Finance and Taxation, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China)

  • Haixia Zhang

    (School of Tourism Management and Urban-rural Planning, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China)

  • Yuchen Wei

    (School of Geography, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China)

  • Jianwei Jin

    (Hangzhou City Planning and Design Academy, Hangzhou, China)

Abstract

The digital economy industry plays a transformative role in reshaping the global production networks, the local division of production, and the integration and innovation of business forms. However, to what extent the industry enables the high-quality development and upgrading of urban economies is unclear. Based on the census data of digital economy enterprises in Hangzhou in 2008, 2013 and 2018, this paper verifies the characteristics of the digital economy industry and its enabling mechanism for high-quality urban economic development. It is found that: firstly, the digital economy industry has three main forms for the economy, namely, the sharing, scale and scope economy. Secondly, the industry has four major mechanisms to improve the quality of urban economies. That is, it can restructure the global industrial division of labor and value chains, promote the transformation of scale economy from the supply side to the demand side, enable the softening and servitization of industrial structure, and generate the scale of economies. This paper thus contributes to understanding the evolution of enterprise organizational structure and industrial competitiveness and the endogenous technological change under the digital economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Xuliang Zhang & Chenxiang Elaine Ji & Haixia Zhang & Yuchen Wei & Jianwei Jin, 2023. "On the Role of the Digital Industry in Reshaping Urban Economic Structure: the Case of Hangzhou, China," Journal of Economic Analysis, Anser Press, vol. 2(4), pages 123-139, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:bba:j00001:v:2:y:2023:i:4:p:123-139:d:120
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