An Exploration of Regional Capability
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An Exploration of Regional Capability Towards A Comprehensive Understanding of Regional Development, Governance and Planning in China with Case Studies from the Northeast and Yangtze River Delta, 1978-2015 Dissertation by Yan Li submitted to the Department of Earth Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor rerum naturalium in Geography Berlin, 2016 First Supervisor Prof. Dr. Dörte Segebart Second Supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Ibert Date of Disputation 14.07.2016 First Supervisor Prof. Dr. Dörte Segebart Freie Universität Berlin Department of Earth Sciences Human Geography Malteserstraße 74-100 12249 Berlin Germany Second Supervisor Prof. Dr. Oliver Ibert Freie Universität Berlin Department of Earth Sciences Human Geography Malteserstraße 74-100 12249 Berlin Germany Date of Disputation 14.07.2016 Erklärung Hiermit versichere ich, die vorliegende Arbeit selbstständig verfasst und keine anderen als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel verwendet zu haben. Ich erkläre weiterhin, dass die Dissertation bisher nicht in dieser oder in anderer Form in einem anderen Prüfungsverfahren vorgelegen hat. Berlin, den Yan Li ....................................... ............................... Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................. I List of Tables ................................................................................. VII List of Figures ................................................................................. IX Abbreviations ................................................................................ XIII Summary ...................................................................................... XVI Zusammenfassung ...................................................................... XVII Acknowledgements .................................................................... XVIII 1 Introduction ................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research background and research questions ......................................... 1 1.2 Research objective and arguments ........................................................... 3 1.3 Significance of the research ...................................................................... 4 1.4 Organization of the thesis ......................................................................... 5 2 Theoretical Framework ................................................................. 6 2.1 Multi-perspectival turns in economic geography ....................................... 6 2.1.1 The relational perspective and the relational turn .......................................... 7 2.1.2 The institutional perspective and the institutional turn ................................... 8 2.1.3 The evolutionary perspective and the evolutionary turn .............................. 10 2.1.4 Summary of the turns and a relational-dynamic perspective ....................... 12 2.2 Contextuality, path dependence and contingency ................................... 14 2.2.1 Contextuality ............................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Path dependence ........................................................................................ 17 2.2.3 Contingency ................................................................................................ 18 2.2.4 Summary .................................................................................................... 18 2.3 Regional development and regional capability ........................................ 19 2.3.1 Regional development: a relational-dynamic perspective ............................ 19 2.3.2 The concept of capabilities and the capability approach ............................. 20 (1) The concept of capabilities ............................................................................... 20 (2) The capability approach ................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Regional capability ...................................................................................... 21 (1) Regional capabilities and dynamic capabilities ................................................ 21 (2) Regional capability: definition and characteristics ........................................... 22 (3) Regional assets ................................................................................................ 23 I 2.3.4 Summary .................................................................................................... 24 2.4 Regional governance: towards regional sustainability ............................. 25 2.4.1 Regional governance: a synergy of multi-level governance and multi-actor governance .......................................................................................................... 25 2.4.2 Regional planning as governance ............................................................... 26 2.4.3 Regional governance and regional planning: towards regional sustainability . 27 2.4.4 Summary .................................................................................................... 29 2.5 Concluding remarks on the theoretical framework .................................. 29 3 Analytical Framework, Methodology and Research Areas .......... 31 3.1 Analytical framework and methodology ................................................... 31 3.1.1 Research design and analytical framework ................................................. 31 3.1.2 Methodology ............................................................................................... 32 3.2 Research areas ....................................................................................... 36 3.2.1 The Northeast (NE) ..................................................................................... 40 3.2.2 Yangtze River Delta (YRD) ......................................................................... 42 4 Path-Assets Analysis I: Economic Dimension ............................. 44 4.1 Regional economy and structure............................................................. 44 4.1.1 Gross regional product (GRP) ..................................................................... 45 4.1.2 GRP per capita ........................................................................................... 46 4.1.3 GRP by three strata of industry ................................................................... 46 4.2 Employment and unemployment ............................................................. 47 4.2.1 Total number of employed persons ............................................................. 47 4.2.2 Employment by three strata of industry ....................................................... 48 4.2.3 Registered urban unemployment rate ......................................................... 49 4.3 Fixed asset investment (FAI)................................................................... 50 4.3.1 Regional total FAI and its percentage to national total FAI .......................... 50 4.3.2 The percentage of FAI to GDP .................................................................... 51 4.3.3 FAI by sector ............................................................................................... 51 4.4 Government revenue .............................................................................. 53 4.5 Transport ................................................................................................. 53 4.5.1 Length of railways and highways ................................................................ 54 4.5.2 Regional inland transport network density ................................................... 56 4.5.3 Passenger and freight traffic ....................................................................... 56 4.6 Foreign trade ........................................................................................... 58 4.6.1 Imports and exports .................................................................................... 58 II 4.6.2 Foreign direct investment ............................................................................ 59 4.7 Conclusion .............................................................................................. 61 5 Path-assets analysis II: Social-cultural Dimension ...................... 63 5.1 Population ............................................................................................... 63 5.1.1 Population at year-end ................................................................................ 63 5.1.2 Natural growth rate and total fertility rate ..................................................... 64 5.1.3 Population density....................................................................................... 65 5.1.4 Population change besides natural growth .................................................. 65 5.1.5 Average life expectancy .............................................................................. 66 5.1.6 Urbanization rate......................................................................................... 66 5.1.7 Ethnic groups and religions ......................................................................... 67 5.2 People’s living conditions ........................................................................ 68 5.2.1 Average wage of staff and workers ............................................................. 68 5.2.2 Annual income per capita ...........................................................................