Advances in Management and Applied Economics

Can underdeveloped areas catch up with developed areas in China? Evidence from nighttime light intensity data from outer space

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  • Abstract

    Using nighttime light intensity data of prefecture-level cities and counties as a measure of economic development of China from 2005 to 2013, we make an attempt to explore whether underdeveloped areas can catch up with developed areas by evaluating ranking persistence of regional economy year by year. Our analysis suggests that underdeveloped areas cannot successfully catch up with developed areas during this period of time and the regional economy ranking did not change statistically significantly. Moreover, we should consider the uneven development of regional economies and the real effect of varieties of regional revitalization programs in China.

    JEL classification numbers: O11, R11, R58
    Keywords: regional economy, satellite light data, China economy