From agglomeration to dispersion: How does China's noncapital functions' relief affect regional development?
研究中国非首都功能疏解政策对北京周边地区经济增长的影响，发现该政策通过改变新企业进入和人口分布促进了周边地区发展，且欠发达地区受益更多。
Abstract Agglomeration economies can bring about positive externalities, while excessive agglomeration backfires. However, existing literature on place‐based policies mainly focuses on policies that enhance agglomeration economies. Few studies discuss dispersion policies coping with the negative externality from excessive agglomeration. Owing to the unclear effects of dispersion policies, we conduct empirical research on the noncapital function relief (NCFR) policy, which is implemented to decrease the agglomeration in Beijing, the capital of China, and promote the development of surrounding areas. Exploiting the difference‐in‐difference model, we find that the NCFR policy implementation significantly facilitates the economic growth of the surrounding areas of Beijing. Changes in the distribution of new firm entry and population are two main channels, while no significant effect on the productivity is found. Furthermore, areas that are less‐developed could benefit more from the NCFR policy. Our findings may enlighten other developing countries in urban economic management.