Spatial structure of the Yangtze River Delta urban network based on the pattern of listed companies network

Abstract

In this study, we created 2005 and 2010 A- share listed companies network database of the Yangtze River Delta and used social network analysis and rank-size analysis methods to analyze the spatial structure of urban network in the Yangtze River Delta. The result shows that:(1) The Yangtze River Delta listed companies' headquarters tended to agglomerate in the Shanghai- Hangzhou- Ningbo Z- shaped corridor. The most important change of the spatial structure of company headquarter distribution during the study period was the development from three centers to four centers. Suzhou replaced Nanjing and became the third largest hub of company headquarters, after Shanghai and Hangzhou;(2) Urban network structure maintained a core-periphery pattern. Cities along the Z-shaped corridor showed higher centrality and have strong influences on the spatial pattern of the urban network;(3) The network structure showed hierarchical diffusion, neighborhood diffusion, and administrative constraint characteristics. The provincial capitals Nanjing and Hangzhou of Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces became major investment stronghold only after Shanghai. Nanjing's network centrality was higher than Suzhou because of its higher administrative status;(4) In the background of the Yangtze River Delta economic integration, cross- regional linkages has been strengthened, especially the diffusion of companies from Shanghai and Southern Jiangsu to Central and Northern Jiangsu was very clear. Centrality of Southwest Zhejiang was relatively low. The area was still relatively isolated within the network;(5) Administrative status and divisions and market scale were the main factors affecting the spatial structure of urban network in the Yangtze River Delta. The impact of temporal distance to Shanghai by express way, labor costs, and land costs were not statistically significant.

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