IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v87y2019ics0264837718319951.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Three-dimensional intergovernmental competition and urban sprawl: Evidence from Chinese prefectural-level cities

Author

Listed:
  • Fan, Jianshuang
  • Zhou, Lin

Abstract

The nature of the state ownership of urban land in China determines that the problem of urban sprawl in China needs to be interpreted from both government and the land market. The local governments in China have absolute control over the urban land market, so the intergovernmental competition is the key to understanding their land transfer behavior. This paper divides the intergovernmental competition under the pressure of promotion tournaments into three dimensions: fiscal competition, investment attraction competition and promotion environment competition, corresponding to the competition between the central government and local governments, the competition between local governments and the competition among officials working in the same place but different periods, and to propose a theoretical framework for the impact of intergovernmental competition on urban sprawl from both direct and indirect perspectives which better suited to the Chinese situation. Then, by using the panel data of China’s 284 prefecture-level cities during 2003–2013, this paper uses nighttime lighting data to measure the urban sprawl indexes and their spatial and temporal distribution characteristic in China. Further this paper uses the spatial econometric model to test the direct effect and spatial spillover effect of intergovernmental competition on urban sprawl, and uses the mediation effect model to test the mediating effect of intergovernmental competition on urban sprawl measured by land transfer behavior. The results show that the greater the size of the city, the lower the degree of sprawl, and urban sprawl does have spillover effects between adjacent cities. Moreover, fiscal competition, investment attraction competition and promotion environment competition all have significant positive direct effects on urban sprawl, and the level of land marketization has a significant negative direct impact on urban sprawl. Only fiscal competition and the level of land marketization have significant positive and negative spatial spillover effects respectively. And the impact of intergovernmental competition on urban sprawl is mediated by the level of land marketization. Among them, the mediating effects of fiscal competition and promotion environment competition are significantly negative, and the mediating effect of investment attraction competition is significantly positive. Therefore, a disharmonious relationship between intergovernmental competition and urban sprawl can be avoided if the policy makers try to arouse the positive mediating effect of land marketization when enacting relevant urban development policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan, Jianshuang & Zhou, Lin, 2019. "Three-dimensional intergovernmental competition and urban sprawl: Evidence from Chinese prefectural-level cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:87:y:2019:i:c:s0264837718319951
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104035
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837718319951
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104035?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Belal N. Fallah & Mark D. Partridge & M. Rose Olfert, 2011. "Urban sprawl and productivity: Evidence from US metropolitan areas," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 90(3), pages 451-472, August.
    2. Brueckner, Jan K & Kim, Hyun-A, 2003. "Urban Sprawl and the Property Tax," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 10(1), pages 5-23, January.
    3. Matthias Cinyabuguma & Virginia McConnell, 2013. "Urban Growth Externalities And Neighborhood Incentives: Another Cause Of Urban Sprawl?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 332-348, May.
    4. Liu, Yong & Fan, Peilei & Yue, Wenze & Song, Yan, 2018. "Impacts of land finance on urban sprawl in China: The case of Chongqing," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 420-432.
    5. Ding, Chengri & Niu, Yi & Lichtenberg, Erik, 2014. "Spending preferences of local officials with off-budget land revenues of Chinese cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 265-276.
    6. Zhang, Xiaobo, 2006. "Fiscal decentralization and political centralization in China: Implications for growth and inequality," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 713-726, December.
    7. Antonio G. Calafati, 2008. "Urban Sprawl Italian Style," SCIENZE REGIONALI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2008(3), pages 99-108.
    8. Ehrlich, Maximilian V. & Hilber, Christian A.L. & Schöni, Olivier, 2018. "Institutional settings and urban sprawl: Evidence from Europe," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 4-18.
    9. J. Vernon Henderson & Adam Storeygard & David N. Weil, 2012. "Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 994-1028, April.
    10. John R. Ottensmann, 1977. "Urban Sprawl, Land Values and the Density of Development," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 53(4), pages 389-400.
    11. Liu, Yu, 2018. "Government extraction and firm size: Local officials’ responses to fiscal distress in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1310-1331.
    12. Xin Wan & Yuanyuan Ma & Kezhong Zhang, 2015. "Political determinants of intergovernmental transfers in a regionally decentralized authoritarian regime: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(27), pages 2803-2820, June.
    13. Lichtenberg, Erik & Ding, Chengri, 2009. "Local officials as land developers: Urban spatial expansion in China," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 57-64, July.
    14. Anglin, Paul M. & Dale-Johnson, David & Gao, Yanmin & Zhu, Guozhong, 2014. "Patterns of growth in Chinese cities: Implications of the land lease," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 87-107.
    15. Miguel Gómez-Antonio & Miriam Hortas-Rico & Linna Li, 2016. "The Causes of Urban Sprawl in Spanish Urban Areas: A Spatial Approach," Spatial Economic Analysis, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 219-247, June.
    16. Marion Clawson, 1962. "Urban Sprawl and Speculation in Suburban Land," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(2), pages 99-111.
    17. Wu, JunJie, 2006. "Environmental amenities, urban sprawl, and community characteristics," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(2), pages 527-547, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhonghua Cheng & Xiaowen Hu, 2023. "The effects of urbanization and urban sprawl on CO2 emissions in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(2), pages 1792-1808, February.
    2. Yuan, Huaxi & Feng, Yidai & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Cen, Yan, 2020. "How does manufacturing agglomeration affect green economic efficiency?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Guoliang Xu & Xiaonan Yin & Guangdong Wu & Ning Gao, 2022. "Rethinking the Contribution of Land Element to Urban Economic Growth: Evidence from 30 Provinces in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-16, May.
    4. Guo, Zelian & Hu, Yecui & Zheng, Xinqi, 2020. "Evaluating the effectiveness of land use master plans in built-up land management: A case study of the Jinan Municipality, eastern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    5. Fan, Jianshuang & Zhou, Lin & Yu, Xiaofen & Zhang, Yanjiang, 2021. "Impact of land quota and land supply structure on China’s housing prices: Quasi-natural experiment based on land quota policy adjustment," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    6. Siyu Han & Mengcheng Wang & Qi Liu & Renyang Wang & Guoliang Ou & Lu Zhang, 2022. "The Influence of Land Disposition Derived from Land Finance on Urban Innovation in China: Mechanism Discussion and Empirical Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Shiying Xu & Fuqiang Yang & Qian Yang & Binbin Chang & Kun Wang, 2024. "Drinking Poison to Quench Thirst: Local Government Land Financial Dependence and Urban Innovation Quality," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, April.
    8. Ning Wang & Zhigang Chen & Tianshu Li & Mengjia Zhen, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Pattern Evolution and Influence Mechanism of Urban Vertical Expansion: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Keliang Wang & Bin Zhao & Tianzheng Fan & Jinning Zhang, 2022. "Economic Growth Targets and Carbon Emissions: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-16, June.
    10. Li, L. & Bao, Helen X.H. & Robinson, Guy M., 2020. "The return of state control and its impact on land market efficiency in urban China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Yuxiang Zhang & Dongjie Guan & Xiujuan He & Boling Yin, 2022. "Simulation on the Evolution Trend of the Urban Sprawl Spatial Pattern in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-21, July.
    12. Zhou, Dingyang & Li, Zitong & Wang, Sifei & Tian, Yingying & Zhang, Yu & Jiang, Guanghui, 2021. "How does the newly urban residential built-up density differ across Chinese cities under rapid urban expansion? Evidence from residential FAR and statistical data from 2007 to 2016," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    13. Xin Zhang & Jinghu Pan, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Factors of Urban Sprawl in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-16, November.
    14. Zakharov, Konstantin & Mizgajski, Andrzej, 2024. "Socioeconomic and political settings for the land development decreasing urban green. Inside view from Moscow," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    15. Huaxi Yuan & Yidai Feng & Jay Lee & Haimeng Liu, 2020. "The Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity of Financial Agglomeration on Green Development in China Cities Using GTWR Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-19, August.
    16. Xiaorong He & Jizhi Shi & Haichao Xu & Chaoyue Cai & Qiangsheng Hu, 2022. "Tourism Development, Carbon Emission Intensity and Urban Green Economic Efficiency from the Perspective of Spatial Effects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-23, October.
    17. Huasheng Song & Guili Sun, 2022. "Investment Promotion, Tax Competition, and Industrial Land Price in China—Evidence from the Corporate Tax Collection Reform," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-17, May.
    18. Yu Liu & Zhuorui Yu & Daining Liu & Hao Zhang & Long Zhou & Guoqiang Shen & Chasong Zhu & Yiheng Sun & Yanran Wang, 2022. "Triple Spatial Effects of the Administrative Hierarchy on Urban Built-Up Areas in Fujian Province, China: Heterogeneity, Radiation, and Segmentation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-24, December.
    19. Sun, Yongping & Li, Yingyi & Yu, Tiantian & Zhang, Xinyu & Liu, Lingna & Zhang, Ping, 2021. "Resource extraction, environmental pollution and economic development: Evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    20. Cao, Kexin & Deng, Yu & Wang, Wenxue & Liu, Shenghe, 2023. "The spatial heterogeneity and dynamics of land redevelopment: Evidence from 287 Chinese cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    21. Houtian Tang & Yuanlai Wu & Jinxiu Chen & Liuxin Deng & Minjie Zeng, 2022. "How Does Change in Rural Residential Land Affect Cultivated Land Use Efficiency? An Empirical Study Based on 42 Cities in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-20, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gyourko, Joseph & Shen, Yang & Wu, Jing & Zhang, Rongjie, 2022. "Land finance in China: Analysis and review," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Xu Yang & Xuan Zou & Xueqi Liu & Qixuan Li & Siqian Zou & Ming Li, 2023. "The Spatiotemporal Pattern and Driving Mechanism of Urban Sprawl in China’s Counties," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, March.
    3. Zhu, Ling & Liu, Shasha & Kong, Dongmin, 2023. "Governments' fiscal stress and firm decentralization," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    4. Tang, Peng & Shi, Xiaoping & Gao, Jinlong & Feng, Shuyi & Qu, Futian, 2019. "Demystifying the key for intoxicating land finance in China: An empirical study through the lens of government expenditure," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 302-309.
    5. Qian Zhang & Huaxing Zhang & Dan Zhao & Baodong Cheng & Chang Yu & Yanli Yang, 2019. "Does Urban Sprawl Inhibit Urban Eco-Efficiency? Empirical Studies of Super-Efficiency and Threshold Regression Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    6. Siyu Han & Mengcheng Wang & Qi Liu & Renyang Wang & Guoliang Ou & Lu Zhang, 2022. "The Influence of Land Disposition Derived from Land Finance on Urban Innovation in China: Mechanism Discussion and Empirical Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-23, March.
    7. Linlin Zhang & Xianfan Shu & Liang Zhang, 2023. "Urban Sprawl and Its Multidimensional and Multiscale Measurement," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, March.
    8. Yang, Xiaoliang & Barros, Lucy & Matthews, Kent & Meenagh, David, 2024. "The dynamics of redistribution, inequality and growth across China’s regions," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 613-637.
    9. Bento, Antonio M. & Franco, Sofia F. & Kaffine, Daniel, 2011. "Is there a double-dividend from anti-sprawl policies?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 135-152, March.
    10. Wang, Yuan & Hui, Eddie Chi-man, 2017. "Are local governments maximizing land revenue? Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 196-215.
    11. Mengting Ruan & Xiaolu Zhao, 2022. "Fiscal Pressure, Policy Choices and Regional Economic Disparity: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-13, September.
    12. Wendong Zhang & Douglas H. Wrenn & Elena G. Irwin, 2017. "Spatial Heterogeneity, Accessibility, and Zoning: An Empirical Investigation of Leapfrog Development," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 547-570.
    13. Bao, Helen X.H. & Wang, Ziyou & Wu, Robert Liangqi, 2024. "Understanding local government debt financing of infrastructure projects in China: Evidence based on accounting data from local government financing vehicles," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    14. Liu, Qijun & Song, Lijie, 2022. "Do intergovernmental transfers boost intergenerational income mobility? Evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 293-309.
    15. Juan C Duque & Nancy Lozano-Gracia & Jorge E Patino & Paula Restrepo, 2022. "Urban form and productivity: What shapes are Latin-American cities?," Environment and Planning B, , vol. 49(1), pages 131-150, January.
    16. Dongmin Kong & Ling Zhu, 2022. "Governments’ Fiscal Squeeze and Firms’ Pollution Emissions: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(4), pages 833-866, April.
    17. Ding, Chengri & Niu, Yi & Lichtenberg, Erik, 2014. "Spending preferences of local officials with off-budget land revenues of Chinese cities," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 265-276.
    18. Barnard, Charles H. & Butcher, Walter R., 1981. "Landowner Characteristics As Determinants Of Developer Locational Decisions," 1981 Annual Meeting, July 26-29, Clemson, South Carolina 279393, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    19. Matthias Cinyabuguma & Virginia McConnell, 2013. "Urban Growth Externalities And Neighborhood Incentives: Another Cause Of Urban Sprawl?," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(2), pages 332-348, May.
    20. Mendonça, Rita & Roebeling, Peter & Martins, Filomena & Fidélis, Teresa & Teotónio, Carla & Alves, Henrique & Rocha, João, 2020. "Assessing economic instruments to steer urban residential sprawl, using a hedonic pricing simulation modelling approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:87:y:2019:i:c:s0264837718319951. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.