关键词: 生产分割, 城市网络, 正则等价, 凝聚子群

Abstract:

This article aims to analyze the spatial structure and its determinants of network positions of cities to serve the purposes of developing urban network theory and improving urbanization policy in China in the new era. Data on headquarter and branch locations of the largest 500 listed companies in China in 2016 are subjected to ownership linkage model to approximate the urban network, and regular equivalence block techniques are employed to generalizing about the configuration of position of cities in the system, leading to 15 blocks and 4 positions, i.e. primacy, broker, snob and isolates. Then the influence factors are examined by using 2 broad types of econometric models, i.e. ordinal logit model and multinomial logit model, and the mechanism is explored under the “behavior-structure-performance” conceptual framework of urban network growth. 4 main findings are concluded. First, the 15 blocks identified from applying the regular equivalent criterion can be allocated to 4 positions: 3 blocks occupy what Burt terms the primacy position, 5 blocks occupy the broker position, 3 blocks occupy the snob position, the rest 4 blocks are in the isolation position. Second, the image matrix resulting from the density criterion to the block-model density table reveals that the relationship among the blocks presents a core-peri periphery-periphery characteristics, in which the primacy blocks are located in the core, forming a high densely clique and playing the role of “headquarter cities”, the broker and snob blocks are located in the outskirt, while the isolation blocks are in the periphery, playing the role of “branch plant cities”. Third, market potential, key resources, location conditions and development basis are the key factors affecting the position of China's urban network. The improvement of economic scale, population size, political power, knowledge capital and network facilities will greatly enhance the network position in China, increasing the odds of cities being in the primacy position while decreasing the probability in the snob and isolate position. Fourth, the expansion of urban network space in China is a process of preferential attachment, geographical proximity and path dependence, which will further strengthen the power of cities with traditional advantages such as larger economic scale, rich political resources, etc. Under the environment of network development, China’s urbanization policy and urban governance system need to be adjusted accordingly. The Chinese government must actively respond to the possibly increasing gap between cities under the network environment and promote the cooperation between cities on a larger spatial scale.

Key words: production fragmentation, urban network, regular equivalence, cohesive subgroup