A Study Of The Regional Competitive Niche

During the past 20 years,the economic globalization is reinforced by the revolutionary information technology and the emerging knowledge economy.The increasing flows of capital,technology and talent have enhanced the competitions among different interest groups.It brings chances,challenges and competitions. Consequently,the regional competitiveness is becoming a very active research area. In China,there is obvious inequality in regional development between the East,the Central and the West.Due to the regional diversity in natural resources,cultural traditions,and the uneven regional development strategy,different regions usually have their specific development characteristics and localized interest groups. Inevitably,regional competitions are much more dramatic.Quite many researches on China's regional,urban and national competitiveness have been reported.Although the theories of competitive advantage and national competitiveness are widely applied in regional studies in China,it is argued that the theoretical foundations and research methods are still at the early stage.The researchers still have arguments on the issues such as the definition,the evaluation indicators,and the formation mechanism.It is also recognized that the current theories are not consistently applicable to regional development.On the other hand, the existing theoretical research on regional competition is mainly investigated from the viewpoint of regional competitiveness,which is only a part of the regional competition.Considering the lack of theory,this paper aims to introduce a theoretical framework and to examine the models through empirical case studies.Niche theory is established on the study of natural ecosystem.However, modern ecology has transferred the subjects from the purely natural ecosystem to the social-economic-natural complex ecosystem.The regional competition ecosystem is a case of such complex systems.This paper introduces niche theory and methodology to the study of the regional competitive ecosystem.The basic theories in human geography,regional economics,ecology and other fields have also been applied to it.Based on the theoretical discussions,the concept, measurement and evaluation of regional competitive niche is elaborated.The measurement models of regional competitive niche are examined by using qualitative and quantitative case studies.Finally,approaches to,and strategies for, improving regional competitive niche based on ecological unit and ecological elements are recommended.This paper is organized in eight chapters.Chapter One:Introduction.The background,main topics,objectives and significances of this research are highlighted.The research methodology and related techniques are discussed.Chapter Two:Literature Review.The research progress on regional competition and ecological niche is critically reviewed.The fundamental theories and analytical methods on regional development and competition are summarized,and the research progresses,methodology issues and key problems are outlined clearly. Especially,the applied researches using niche ecological theory from the perspectives of human geography are analyzed detailedly.Chapter Three:Theoretical Foundations of Regional Competition.Various theories of regional competition in human geography,regional economics,ecology and other related fields are discussed.Chapter Four:Theoretical Analysis of Ecological Niche.Based on the existing studies,the concept of ecological niche and its properties,characteristics, classification and measurement are generalized,which lays a theoretical foundation for its applications.Chapter Five:Theoretical Framework of the Regional Competitive Niche. Based on the theory of ecological niche,and considering the ecological characteristics of regional competitions,this chapter introduces a theoretical framework of the regional competitive niche.Issues such as the elements and environment of regional competition,the competitive relationship between regions, the structure and functions of the regional competitive niche system,the characteristics and classification of the regional competitive niche,and the width, overlapping,expansion,compression,separation and shift of the regional competitive niche are analyzed.Chapter Six:Measuring the Regional Competitive Niche.Based on the theoretical analysis in previous chapters,a family of models for measuring the regional competitive niche,such as the ecostate-ecorole model,the all-array-polygon integrated model,the suitability model and the spatially niche construction model,are discussed.The models are examined in three cases,i.e.the policy analysis of the economic development and regional competition in China since 1978,the measurement and evaluation of the regional economic niche of Henan province,and the measurement and spatial analysis of the city niches in Henan province.Chapter Seven:Approaches and measures to Improving the Regional Competitive Niche.This chapter discusses the strategies to upgrade the regional competitive niche in future from the perspectives of ecological niche,unit and elements.Optimization of the structure of ecological units,coupled with technologic innovations,industrial cluster,city cooperation,regional planning for regional competitiveness are recommended.Chapter Eight:Conclusions.The main findings and innovations in this research are highlighted.The limitations of this paper and the proposal for further studies are also discussed.