Research On The Effect Of Urban Network Connection On Regional Economic Development Gap In Yangtze River Economic Belt

Regional economy is the foundation of national economy and the important support for realizing national development goals.As an important strategic region related to the overall development of China,the Yangtze River Economic Belt stretches across the East and West,with cities scattered in the east and the west,and the development conditions of different regions are quite different.It is of great significance and far-reaching influence to deepen connectivity among cities and narrow the gap in regional economic development along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.At present,with the rapid rise of central cities and urban agglomerations as well as trans-regional transportation,communication and other infrastructure connectivity,the network connections between cities and the economic development gap between regions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt are undergoing profound changes.Opportunities and challenges coexist in the adjustment and optimization of urban spatial organization structure and the coordinated development of regional economy.In this context,the effect and mechanism of urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt on regional economic development gap has become an important theoretical and practical issue worth further exploration.This paper focuses on the influence of urban network connection on regional economic development gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.First,under the scientific guidance of urban network theory,flow space theory,interregional relationship theory,new economic geography theory and regional economic development theory,the connotation of urban network connection and regional economic development gap is analyzed and defined,and the mechanism of urban network connection affecting regional economic development gap is summarized.Secondly,using the statistical data of 108 cities at or above prefecture-level in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the city network data based on enterprise connections,the evolution characteristics of urban network connections and regional economic development gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt are quantitatively measured and described.Thirdly,combined with the panel data of5,778 pairs of cities composed of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2005 to 2020,the paper empirically tested the influence of urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt on regional economic development gap,identified the internal influence mechanism and main conduction path,and deeply analyzed the main problems.Finally,combined with the research conclusions,the paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions to optimize the urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt to narrow the regional economic development gap more effectively.The research findings of this paper are as follows: First,the connectivity among cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has a significant feature,with the intensity of the network connection increasing and the spatial coverage expanding day by day.However,the distribution of the connections among cities is unbalanced and the hierarchical characteristics are obvious.During the sample period,the regional economic development gap of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is narrowing on the whole,but the evolution characteristics of different periods and regions are different.The network connection strength of the sample cities is positively correlated with the relative per capita income.Secondly,the urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has nonlinear influence on the regional economic development gap,and has obvious heterogeneity.The full sample and sub-sample regression results show that the enhancement of urban network connections will first expand and then narrow the regional economic development gap,that is,there is an inverted "U" shaped effect,indicating that the impact of urban network connections on regional economic development gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt is complex and dynamic.Thirdly,the intermediary effect test confirms that the urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt exerts an influence on the regional economic development gap mainly through accelerating the flow of regional factors and promoting the regional industrial division of labor.By introducing the dummy variables of central cities and urban agglomerations,it is found that the central cities leading urban agglomerations to drive regional development can help narrow the regional economic development gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.Fourth,at the present stage,the Yangtze River Economic Belt is faced with such problems as obvious imbalance in the strength of urban networks,prominent regional unbalanced and inadequate development,local protection and its negative impact,market segmentation hindering the orderly and efficient flow of factors,and unsound regional coordination and benefit sharing mechanism.It also restricts the optimization of urban network and the narrowing of regional economic development gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.On the basis of current situation analysis and empirical test,combined with the strategic positioning and development reality of the Yangtze River Economic Belt,this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to more effectively promote the optimization of urban network connection in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and narrow the gap of regional economic development,that is,strengthen the guidance of planning and cohesion of network development;Improve transportation connectivity and increase network communication channels;Optimize the urban hierarchical system,cultivate and expand the connection nodes;Promote the development of urban groups and form a tight network structure;Strengthen industrial division of labor and cooperation,give play to the spillover effect of the network;We will accelerate the development of a unified market and strengthen the function of network transmission.