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We seek to quantify the relationship between urbanization and economic growth in China using recent advances in econometric techniques.

This study adopts a smoothed instrumental variables quantile regression (SIVQR) estimator to obtain consistent estimates of the effects of urbanization on economic growth in China. Our approach accounts for the differential impacts of urbanization across the conditional distribution of economic growth while allowing for an identification strategy that addresses the endogeneity of urbanization. Our main findings reveal that ignoring urbanization endogeneity leads to inconsistent estimates of urbanization effects. Further, we find a positive relationship between urbanization and growth resembling an inverted U-shape. This supports the hypothesis that the beneficial effects of urbanization intensify at initial stages while diminishing beyond a certain threshold, due perhaps to weakening scale economies.

Our main results indicate that the individual productivity gains brought by urbanization outweigh the negative effects thereof that impede productivity, thus contributing to the economic growth in China. Further, we find that ignoring differential impacts of urbanization underestimates the beneficial effects of urbanization for provinces whose quality of governance is in the vicinity of the center of quality distribution. Ignoring the endogeneity of urbanization generates inconsistent estimates of the elasticity of economic growth with respect to urbanization. Finally, we estimate an inverted U-shape resembling relationship between urbanization and growth.

First, future studies would benefit from incorporating more data as provinces further east on the mainland become more urbanized and urbanization runs its course. Second, controlling the barriers to rural-urban mobility would contribute to the robustness of the estimated relationship between urbanization and growth once such data became available. Unveiling the impact of government-imposed barriers is key to designing optimal policies that help fuel economic growth in the country. Finally, future research could benefit from information on urbanization sources not considered here such as inter-provincial migration, as such data become publicly available.

Quantifying the beneficial effects of urbanization on economic growth can help guide the government in China to further fuel the growth through a set of relevant policy tools that promote urbanization.

Rural-urban migration in China lays the groundwork for economic advancement in recipient cities and economies, as it may induce scale economies. This can benefit both the economy at large and the migrants.

The SIVQR estimator accounts for potential heterogeneous effects of urbanization across the entire conditional distribution of growth while allowing for an identification strategy that addresses the endogeneity of urbanization. An additional distinguishing feature of the current study is our use of the most recent novel, provincial-level data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics of China. Our focus on a single country allows sidestepping issues arising from the inconsistency of the definition of urban across different countries while accounting for intra-country urbanization drivers intrinsic to China, such as natural features and geographic characteristics. Therefore, our approach has the potential to sidestep the bias resulting from the differences in mechanisms behind urbanization-growth relationships across different countries.

This study aims to empirically examine the impact of digital finance on spatial urbanization and elucidate its underlying mechanisms.

Using panel data of Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2011 to 2021, and using a spatial dynamic panel model, the authors analyzed the effects of digital finance on spatial urbanization and the mechanism of its action.

The findings of the study reveal that digital finance, along with its sub-dimensions, namely coverage breadth, usage depth and digitization degree, all contribute to the enhancement of spatial urbanization. The information channel effect generated by the development of postal and telecommunication businesses, the goods delivery effect generated by the development of retail businesses and the wealth accumulation effect generated by the accumulation of household wealth are all important channels through which digital finance promotes spatial urbanization. Digital finance exerts a significant promotional effect on spatial urbanization in second-tier cities, third-tier cities and their subsequent tiers. This observation alludes to the regionally inclusive nature of spatial urbanization promotion facilitated by digital finance.

The present study endeavors to fill this void by employing empirical analysis to investigate the ramifications of digital finance on spatial urbanization, thereby shedding light on the pivotal role played by digital finance in expediting the progression of spatial urbanization. This study undertakes an examination of the spatial spillover effects, thus providing a comprehensive exposition of the influence of digital finance on spatial urbanization. This study introduces this crucial dimension, and the empirical findings elucidate that digital finance fosters the evolution of spatial urbanization by broadening the coverage of information channels, augmenting the efficiency of goods distribution and enhancing wealth accumulation efficacy.

The article aims to identify the determinants of the urbanization process given the magnitude of this phenomenon and also its economic, social and environmental implications and pressure on public authorities to find viable solutions in the context of sustainable development.

The research is based on regression analysis with urbanization growth being the dependent variable and enrollment in higher education, GDP, value added by industry and female labor force as independent variables.

The main factors that favor urbanization are the increase in population, industry value-added and the female labor force. Urbanization is an objective that must be pursued differently by public authorities in developed and developing countries, given the different realities they face-population growth in developing countries, and population aging and international migration in developed countries.

The present research has limitations generated by the selection of independent variables, which is why in future directions, the research will consider the use of other indicators such as the number of graduates, exports as percent of GDP or migrations as a percentage of the total population. Given the complexity of the phenomenon of urbanization, future research will focus on groups of countries as they resulted from the clustering made by this article.

The impact of higher education on urbanization is low, which is why the intensification of partnerships between municipal authorities and universities could be a solution that ensures not only the transfer of knowledge from academia to the public sector but also from entrepreneurs increasingly aware of the importance of promoting SDGs for urban development in the context of the challenges posed by global warming. The involvement of women in the labor market is essential for the intensification of the urbanization process. The increasing presence of women in the labor market generates an increase in the income of families, an increase in the level of education and an intensification of national and international migration. The research findings can be used by policy and decision-makers to develop appropriate urbanization and education policies and strategies.

The existence of inhomogeneous clusters is noticeable, which demonstrates the complexity of the urbanization phenomenon that is present in all countries around the world, but under the influence of different factors such as the export of natural resources (mainly oil) or the intensification of industrial activity. Taking into account the variables used, this study stands out in the multitude of articles published in the international mainstream.

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of urbanization on energy consumption, including economic growth, globalization and “foreign direct investment (FDI)” inflow as control variables.

This study uses yearly panel data from 19071 to 2018 on five selected South Asian economies. It applies the “pooled mean group (PMG)” estimator and the “Dumitrescu-Hurlin (D-H)” panel causality test.

The PMG estimators reveal that urbanization causes energy consumption negatively in the long run because of an unusual and messy urbanization process. At the same time, it has no impact on the latter in the short run. Per capita income has both long- and short-run positive influences on energy use. Globalization causes energy consumption positively in the long run but does not affect it in the short run. FDI inflow has a strong positive impact on energy use in the long run and adverse effects in the short run. The Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality test reveals feedback relationships between “urbanization and energy consumption,” “globalization and energy consumption” and one-way causation from “per capita income to energy consumption.” It validates the findings of the PMG estimators.

The results of this study indicate that South Asia may focus on enhancing the availability of energy in the region and producing more renewable energy to add to its energy portfolio to meet growing energy demand, particularly among urban dwellers. Moreover, they should raise their real per capita incomes and augment the standard of living of low-income city dwellers to make urbanization more serviceable and comfortable.

This study is original. As far as the author is aware, this is a maiden attempt to investigate urbanization's effects on energy usage in South Asia in the preview of globalization and FDI.

The coordinated development of the urbanization and construction industry is crucial for the sustainable development of cities. However, the coupling relationship and coordination mechanism between them remain unclear. To bridge this gap, this study attempts to explore the level of coupling coordination between new urbanization and construction industry development and investigate the critical driving factors influencing their coupling coordination degree.

By referring to the existing literature, two index systems were established to evaluate the development level of the new urbanization and construction industry. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the coupled coordinated development of the new urbanization and construction industry in China from 2014 to 2020 were investigated using the coupling coordination model. The Markov chain and geographic detector were adopted to understand the transition probability and driving factors of the coupling coordination degree.

The results indicate that the coupling degree of China's new urbanization and construction industry is high, and the two systems exhibit obvious interaction phenomena. However, the construction industry in most provinces lags behind the new urbanization. A positive interactive relationship and coordination mechanism has not been established between the two systems. Furthermore, the  coupling contribution degree of the driving factors from high to low is as follows: market size > labor resource concentration > government investment ability > economic development level > industrial structure > production efficiency > technology level. Accordingly, a driving mechanism including market, policy, economic, and production technology drivers was developed.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge by providing a set of scientific analysis methods to address the deficiency of coordination mechanism research on new urbanization and the construction industry. The results also provide a theoretical basis for decision makers to develop differentiated sustainable development policies.

This paper offers a unique perspective on the urbanisation process in developing cities, with a particular focus on the region of the Gulf States. Beyond economic considerations, the analysis sheds light on the complex interplay of socio-cultural factors, gender dynamics and urban development. Based on the calls for human-centred approaches to rethinking urban design and management of cities require the integration of these cities’ inhabitants’ lived experiences, that impact residents’ daily lives. The focus is on the importance of women’s perspectives in the development process.

The paper uses a systematic literature review that builds on existing knowledge relating to urbanisation, modernisation, sustainable cities, gender and the Arabian Gulf. It uses Lefebvre’s 'right to the city' theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities which is a novel approach. This adaptation offers a unique perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face. Furthermore, it offers a firm foundation for developing advanced knowledge on the interdisciplinary nature of the topic discussed and assists in integrating empirical findings and perspectives from different resources.

The extreme levels of transformation in urbanisation in the Gulf States built cities that are no longer solely places for settlement, production and services but operate as significant influencers on the social, economic and political relations that produced design and cultural challenges. These cities became epicentres of power and politics that shaped the national visions and influenced policy. The process of inclusive and considerate urban development that the Arabian Gulf region is aiming to embark on is not a new exclusive strategy. But a process that has been implemented and tested in other urbanised areas globally.

Very little historical urban research on the Arabian Gulf countries exists, hence, the difficulty in researching the Gulf urbanisation process or providing historical encounters of the change.

This paper delves into the gendered aspects of urban planning, an aspect that is frequently overlooked. It contributes to the discourse on gender inclusivity in urban spaces by focussing on Khaleeji women’s experiences, offering insights that go beyond economic considerations. The use of Lefebvre’s “right to the city” theory to understand the evolution of the Gulf Cities is a unique approach. It investigates the interaction of various factors such as economic, cultural and political influences on Gulf urban development. This adaptation offers a distinctive perspective on the transformations and challenges that these urban spaces face.

This paper explores the relationship between state-led urbanization and primary industry development using the difference-in-differences (DiD) method.

The study uses the DiD method.

Exploiting county-city mergers during 2010–2018, the key strategy to expand the city outward and promote urbanization on the urban fringe by local government, the authors find that county-city mergers led to the growth of primary industry decline by 4.23%. The result can be explained by the loss of essential production factors, including land and labor used for farming. In addition, the negative effect is more pronounced for counties with more substantial manufacturing. The results indicate that urbanization in China relocates land and labor; however, it does not improve the efficiency of agricultural output.

This paper contributes to the understanding of urbanization and rural development from the perspective of the primary industry by showing production factor redistribution. Second, this study complements the literature on local government mergers.

Modern renewable energy is crucial for environmental conservation, sustainable economic growth and energy security, especially in developing East African nations that heavily use traditional biomass. Thus, this study aims to examine urbanization and modern renewable energy consumption (MREC) in East African community (EAC) while controlling for gross domestic product (GDP), population growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), industrialization and trade openness (TOP).

This study considers a balanced panel of five EAC countries from 1996 to 2019. Long-run dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least squares estimations were used to ascertain the relationships while the vector error-correction model was used to ascertain the causal relationship.

Results show that urbanization, FDI, industrialization and TOP positively affect MREC. Whereas population growth and GDP reduce MREC, the effect for GDP is not that significant. The study also found a bidirectional causality between urbanization, FDI, TOP and MREC in the long run.

Investing in modern renewable energy facilities should be a top priority, particularly in cities with expanding populations. The governments of the EAC should endeavor to make MREC affordable among the urban population by creating income-generating activities in the urban centers and sensitizing the urban population to the benefits of using MREC. Also, the government may come up with policies that enhance the establishment of lower prices for modern renewable energy commodities so as to increase their affordability.

MREC is a new concept in the energy consumption literature. Much of the research focuses on renewable energy consumption including the use of traditional biomass which contributes to climate change negatively. Besides, the influence of factors such as urbanization has not been given significant attention. Yet urbanization is identified as a catalyst for MREC.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate sustainable green economy in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries over the period 1990–2019 using a quantile regression approach, considering the nexus between urbanization, economic growth, renewable energy, trade and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions.

The study used a dynamic panel quantile regression to investigate the conditional distribution of CO₂ emissions along the turn-points of urbanization, economic growth, renewable energy, trade and the regressors via quadratic modeling specifications.

The main findings are established as follows. There is strong evidence of the Kuznets curve in the nexus between urbanization, economic growth, renewable energy, trade and CO₂ emissions, respectively. Second, urbanization thresholds that should not be exceeded for sustainability to reduce CO₂ emissions are 0.21%, and 2.70% for the 20th and 75th quantiles of the CO₂ emissions distribution. Third, growth thresholds of 3.64%, 3.84%, 4.01%, 4.36% and 5.87% across the quantiles of the CO₂ emissions distribution. Fourth, energy thresholds of 3.64%, 3.61%, 3.70%, 4.02% and 4.34% across the quantiles of the CO₂ emissions distribution. Fifth, trade thresholds of 3.37% and 4.47% for the 20th and median quantiles of the CO₂ emissions distribution, respectively.

The empirical shreds of evidence offer policy implications in such that building sustainable development and environment requires maintaining the critical mass, not beyond those insightful thresholds to achieving sustainable development and environmentally friendly SSA countries.

Sustainable cities and communities in an era of economic recovery path COVID-19 mitigate greenhouse gas. The policy relevance is of particular concern to the sustainable development goals.

The study is novel considering the extant literature by providing policymakers with avoidable thresholds for policy formulations and implementations in the nexus between urbanization, economic growth, renewable energy and trade openness.

This study aims to clarify the impact of agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) on in situ urbanization (ISURB) of rural residents, to highlight the role of industrial integration in the process of China's ISURB and to provide industrial integration suggestions for promoting urbanization quality in Chinese counties.

By sorting out the panel data of China's 1868 counties, the evaluation index system of ISURB was constructed. Difference in difference (DID) and spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) model is used for estimate the relationship between ATI and ISURB.

First, ATI can improve ISURB by 11.4% higher than other regions. Second, theoretical analysis model of ATI on ISURB is constructed from four aspects of “drive–push–pull–block.” The results show that ATI can promote ISURB by increasing upgrading of rural industries, rural employment demand and income capacity, whereas ATI may inhibit ISURB by reducing farmland. Third, considering changes in institutional, hard and soft factors, rural collective economy, information infrastructure and digital finance all promote positive impact of ATI on ISURB. Fourth, ATI will produce spillover effects on ISURB in neighboring regions, which is more pronounced in the central and western regions.

This study lacks quantification of ATI, so future studies are encouraged to further quantify ATI at the county level.

This study has policy significance for constructing ATI demonstration counties and promoting ISURB in China's counties.

It is of great practical value to promote China's ISURB. By stimulating ATI, it can improve income and employment capacity of rural residents and stimulate ISURB of China.

This study enriches the theoretical and practical research on industrial integration behaviors during the process of ISURB.

1. Use county data to measure in situ urbanization (ISURB)

2. Agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) can increase ISURB

3. Constructs a “drive-push-pull-block” model to explain the influence mechanism

4. Use spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) models

5. Consider collective economy, rural information infrastructure and digital finance

Use county data to measure in situ urbanization (ISURB)

Agriculture–tourism integration (ATI) can increase ISURB

Constructs a “drive-push-pull-block” model to explain the influence mechanism

Use spatial Durbin-difference in difference (SDM-DID) models

Consider collective economy, rural information infrastructure and digital finance