Urbanisation and City Size Distribution in China

China has been experiencing rapid urbanisation since the economic reform starting in 1978. The number of cities increased from 191 in 1978 to 667 in 1999, while the urban share of the national population increased from 18 to 31 per cent. This paper examines China's urbanisation and the evolution of its city system. It uses city-level data from 1991 and 1998 to investigate China's city size distribution and its changes. It also discusses how economic and institutional factors affect the urban system and the patterns of urban growth.

[1]  M. Timberlake,et al.  CHINESE URBANIZATION, STATE POLICY, AND THE WORLD ECONOMY , 1996 .

[2]  M. Hsu.  China's Urban Development: A Case Study of Luoyang and Guiyang , 1996 .

[3]  X. Gabaix.  Zipf's Law for Cities: An Explanation , 1999 .

[4]  C. Fan.  The temporal and spatial dynamics of city-size distributions in China , 1988 .

[5]  A. Venables,et al.  The Spatial Economy: Cities, Regions, and International Trade , 1999 .

[6]  Shunfeng Song.  Policy Issues of China's Urban Unemployment , 2003 .

[7]  F. Guerin-pace,et al.  Rank-Size Distribution and the Process of Urban Growth , 1995 .

[8]  Masahisa Fujita,et al.  PRODUCT VARIETY, MARSHALLIAN EXTERNALITIES, AND CITY SIZES , 1990 .

[9]  Kenneth T. Rosen,et al.  The Size Distribution of Cities: An Examination of the Pareto Law and Primacy , 1980 .

[10]  P. Krugman,et al.  The Spatial Economy , 1999 .

[11]  Hikaru Ogawa.  Preference for Product Variety and City Size , 1998 .

[12]  中華人民共和国国家統計局.  China statistical yearbook , 1988 .

[13]  C. Fan.  THE VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL EXPANSIONS OF CHINA'S CITY SYSTEM , 1999 .

[14]  Shunfeng Song,et al.  Promoting exports: the role of inward FDI in China , 2001 .

[15]  Xiaobin Zhao,et al.  Urban Performance and the Control of Urban Size in China , 1995 .

[16]  J. Henderson.  Urban Development: Theory, Fact, and Illusion , 1988 .

[17]  J B Parr,et al.  A note on the size distribution of cities over time. , 1985, Journal of urban economics.