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Urbanization And Urban Systems In The People'S Republic Of China: Research Findings And Policy Recommendations

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  • Iris Claus
  • Les Oxley
  • Ming Lu
  • Guanghua Wan

Abstract

This paper provides a literature review on urbanization in the People's Republic of China (PRC). Research findings indicate that the PRC's urbanization is incomplete: its level of urbanization lags behind its industrialization and development status, and while there are too many small cities, the large cities are not large enough. This is mainly because of the institutional constraints exerted by the Hukou and land systems on labor mobility, which have led to segregation, efficiency loss, distortion in the urban system and adverse impacts on equity, as discussed in this study. Major policy recommendations are offered for removing the distortions and steering the PRC's urbanization onto an efficient and equitable path.

Suggested Citation

  • Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Ming Lu & Guanghua Wan, 2014. "Urbanization And Urban Systems In The People'S Republic Of China: Research Findings And Policy Recommendations," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 671-685, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jecsur:v:28:y:2014:i:4:p:671-685
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    3. Chen, Binkai & Liu, Dan & Lu, Ming, 2018. "City size, migration and urban inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 42-58.
    4. Nobuhiro Okamoto, 2019. "Spatial and institutional urbanisation in China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 3(3), pages 863-886, October.
    5. Jing Li & Tsun Se Cheong & Jianfa Shen & Dahai Fu, 2019. "Urbanization And Rural–Urban Consumption Disparity: Evidence From China," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(04), pages 983-996, September.
    6. Nie, Peng & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso & He, Xiaobo, 2015. "Peer effects on childhood and adolescent obesity in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 47-69.
    7. Iris Claus & Les Oxley & Iris Claus & Les Oxley, 2014. "The Chinese Economy, Past, Present And Future," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(4), pages 595-599, September.
    8. Tan, Weiqiang & Xie, Chenxin & Ye, Dezhu, 2024. "Do urban educational resources affect corporate labor costs?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    9. Yue Wang & Honggen Zhu & Noshaba Aziz & Yu Liu, 2023. "Does Social Capital Improve the Effectiveness of Public Service? An Insight from Rural-to-Urban Migrants in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 165(2), pages 431-452, January.
    10. Chen, Jie & Zhou, Qian, 2017. "City size and urban labor productivity in China: New evidence from spatial city-level panel data analysis," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 165-178.
    11. John Gibson & Chao Li, 2017. "The Erroneous Use Of China'S Population And Per Capita Data: A Structured Review And Critical Test," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 905-922, September.
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    13. Hang Yan & Zhijiang Liu, 2023. "A New Perspective on the Evaluation of Urbanization Sustainability: Urban Health Examination," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    14. Chen, Jie, 2016. "Housing System and Urbanization in the People’s Republic of China," ADBI Working Papers 602, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    15. Jason Hung & Mark Ramsden, 2021. "The Application of Human Capital Theory and Educational Signalling Theory to Explain Parental Influences on the Chinese Population’s Social Mobility Opportunities," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-7, September.
    16. Pengfei Li & Ming Lu, 2021. "Urban Systems: Understanding and Predicting the Spatial Distribution of China's Population," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 29(4), pages 35-62, July.
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    18. Peter Rangazas & Xiaobing Wang & Yuxiang Zou, 2022. "China's efficient urban bias," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 223-253, August.

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