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The rise of external economies in Beijing: Evidence from intra-urban wage variation

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  • Zheng, Siqi
  • Peiser, Richard B.
  • Zhang, Wenzhong

Abstract

Over the past thirty years, labor market and land market liberalization in China has transformed the spatial structure of Chinese cities. This study represents the first attempt to empirically investigate the extent to which firms' location choices in a large Chinese city are influenced by the tradeoff between greater external economies from adjacent employment density, on the one hand, and the higher wage cost due to longer commuting, on the other hand, as predicted by the endogenous urban structure model of Lucas and Rossi-Hansberg [Lucas, R.E. Jr. and Rossi-Hansberg, E., 2002. On the internal structure of cities. Econometrica 70, 1445-1476.]. Employing a large-scale worker survey and job density data from Beijing, we find that locations with higher adjacent job density tend to require longer commuting, and private-sector firms pay a wage premium in these locations. We also find such wage premium to be more significant for skill-intensive firms. These findings reveal the rise of agglomeration economies in Beijing that shapes its urban form evolution.

Suggested Citation

  • Zheng, Siqi & Peiser, Richard B. & Zhang, Wenzhong, 2009. "The rise of external economies in Beijing: Evidence from intra-urban wage variation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(4), pages 449-459, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:regeco:v:39:y:2009:i:4:p:449-459
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    Cited by:

    1. Dean Hanink & Robert Cromley & Avraham Ebenstein, 2012. "Wage-based evidence of returns to external scale in China’s manufacturing: a spatial analysis," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 49(1), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Du, Rui & Zheng, Siqi, 2020. "Agglomeration, housing affordability, and new firm formation: The role of subway network," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    3. Jiajia Wei & Qiyan Wang & Wang Gao, 2022. "How Commuting Time Affects Employees’ Income in China’s Urbanization Process," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    4. Zhao, Pengjun & Cao, Yushu, 2020. "Commuting inequity and its determinants in Shanghai: New findings from big-data analytics," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 20-37.
    5. Anas, Alex & Timilsina, Govinda R. & Zheng, Siqi, 2009. "An analysis of various policy instruments to reduce congestion, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in Beijing," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5068, The World Bank.
    6. Deng, Zhongqi & Qin, Ming & Song, Shunfeng, 2020. "Re-study on Chinese city size and policy formation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    7. Linn, Joshua & Wang, Zhongmin & Xie, Lunyu, 2018. "The long-run effects of housing location on travel behavior: Evidence from China's housing reform," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 114-140.
    8. Anping Chen & Marlon Boarnet & Mark Partridge & Siqi Zheng & Weizeng Sun & Rui Wang, 2014. "Land Supply And Capitalization Of Public Goods In Housing Prices: Evidence From Beijing," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(4), pages 550-568, September.

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