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The competitiveness of China's Leading Regions: Benchmarking Their Knowledge‐based Economies
Author(s) -
Huggins Robert,
Luo Shougui,
Thompson Piers
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.766
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1467-9663
pISSN - 0040-747X
DOI - 10.1111/tesg.12065
Subject(s) - benchmarking , metropolitan area , china , knowledge economy , order (exchange) , economics , economic geography , competitive advantage , economy , business , geography , finance , archaeology , management
Abstract C hina's spectacular economic growth has been spatially uneven, with much development occurring in eastern coastal areas. In particular, three metropolitan ‘super‐regions’ have become C hina's most competitive knowledge‐based economies, consisting of the P earl R iver D elta, the Y angtze R iver D elta, and the B ohai G ulf R egion. This paper benchmarks the competitiveness of these regions, with a view to exploring which region is best positioned to become the most dominant knowledge‐based economy over time. Through the theoretical lens of dynamic comparative advantage, it is shown that each region has hugely increased its competitiveness through improvements in the capacity to absorb and diffuse knowledge. It is further shown that due to multi‐dimensional advantages the Y angtze R iver D elta, incorporating the S hanghai metropolis, is best positioned to become the dominant hub of C hina's future knowledge economy. It is concluded that C hina's leading regions will require further economic policy adjustments in order to secure their future competitiveness.