Urban resilience under local government competition: A new perspective on industrial resilience

• Published in: Cities Vol. 155; p. 105409
• Main Authors: Meng, Xia, Ding, Tao, Wang, Haisen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2024
• Subjects: Industrial resilience; Industrial structure distortion; Local government competition; Market segmentation; Urban resilience; Industrial resilience; Market segmentation; Industrial structure distortion; Local government competition; Urban resilience
• ISSN: 0264-2751
• DOI: 10.1016/j.cities.2024.105409

Enhancing industrial development and building a modern economic system are vital components for constructing resilient cities. This study constructs a theoretical model based on a decentralization model that integrates factor markets and industrial structure to examine the relationship between local government competition and urban industrial resilience. The relevant theoretical hypotheses are then tested empirically with city-level data in China from 2007 to 2020. This study reveals several intriguing findings. First, local government competition significantly inhibits urban industrial resilience, primarily through market segmentation and distortions in industrial structure, thus impeding the construction of resilient cities. Second, producer service agglomeration and intellectual property protection are identified as critical factors that mitigate the inhibitory effects of local government competition on urban industrial resilience. Finally, heterogeneity analysis indicates that local government competition hinders only the enhancement of industrial resilience in resource-based cities without significantly affecting nonresource-based cities. This study not only provides a theoretical foundation and empirical evidence for understanding the impact of local government competition on urban industrial resilience but also offers policy insights for reforming official assessment systems and actively promoting industrial development and resilient urban construction. •Based on the decentralization model, a theoretical model incorporating industrial structure and factor markets is constructed.•Local government competition only inhibits industrial resilience in resource-based cities.•Market segmentation and industrial structure distortion can aggravate the negative effect of competition.