Economic performance of spatial structure in Chinese prefecture regions: Evidence from night-time satellite imagery

This paper examines the causal link running from spatial structure to productivity in Chinese prefecture regions. Specifically, we investigate whether mono- or polycentricity leads to higher productivity in the context of China. We use satellite-derived data of night-time lights as a measurement of spatial structure to avoid potential measurement errors. While our descriptive statistics show that Chinese city-regions at the prefectural level have a weak tendency towards polycentricity from 2000 to 2010, regression models reveal that a more monocentric spatial structure performs better in terms of labor productivity, a result that a stricter two-stage least square estimation supports. Thus, we advise caution for urban plans and policies encouraging polycentric urban development, which may come at the loss of economic efficiency.