Market Integration and the Dynamic Evolution of China’s Comparative Advantages

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China's Qualitative Economic Transformation
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Abstract

In a big country like China, economies of scale based on the domestic market are an important source of the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages. In the process of market integration, economic activity has a better chance to gain returns in a larger market. A unified big market is the basis for realizing economies of scale. In light of the international division of labor, a large domestic market is an advantage in production and division, which is obtained by means of economies of scale. According to the theory of the home market effect, a large domestic market brings about large-scale production and improvement in efficiency. Such production can not only meet the demands on the domestic market, but also gain new advantages in export. Consequently, the integration of the domestic market is bound to boost the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages and bring into shape new comparative advantages. Such new comparative advantages take shape based on the domestic market demand and facilitate the formation of a more proactive model of international division driven by domestic demand. After decades of opening-up and economic growth oriented to external demands, China’s economic development is gradually and inevitably transforming into a more active model oriented toward its domestic demand. It is evident that constant improvement in the degree of domestic market integration can not only promote the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages, but also facilitate the transformation of economic growth. In this chapter, we will first analyze in theory the relationship between market integration and the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages. Next, we will make empirical tests of market integration and the home market effect in China. Finally, we will put forth some policy suggestions on how to boost market integration and the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Peter Robson, The Economics of International Integration, trans. Chen Yan (Shanghai: Shanghai Translation Publishing House, 2001), 1–6.

  2. 2.

    Davis, D. R., and D. E. Weinstein, “Does Economic Geography Matter for International Specialization?” NBER working paper, no. w5706 (1996); “Economic Geography and Regional Production Structure: An Empirical Investigation.” European Economic Review 43, no. 2 (1999): 379–407; Davis, D. R., and D. E. Weinstein. “Market Access, Economic Geography and Comparative Advantage: An Empirical Test.” Journal of International Economics, (2003).

  3. 3.

    Rodrik, Dani, “What’s So Special About China’s Exports?” China & World Economy 14, no. 5 (2006): 1–19.

  4. 4.

    Schott, Peter K., “The Relative Sophistication of Chinese Exports.” Economic Policy, CEPR; CES; MSH 23, no. 53 (2008): 5–49.

  5. 5.

    Lin Faqin and Tang Yihong, “Comparative Advantages, Home Market Effect, and Export of China’s Manufactured Goods,” Journal of International Trade, no. 1 (2010).

  6. 6.

    Jacques Pelkmans, European Integration: Methods and Economic Analysis, trans. Wu **an (Bei**g: China Social Sciences Press), 4.

  7. 7.

    Milan Brahmbhatt, “Measuring Global Economic Integration: A Review of the Literature and Recent Evidence,” World Bank’s World Development Indicators, (1998).

  8. 8.

    Gui Qihan et al., “Is China’s Domestic Goods Market Disintegrated or Integrated: An Analysis Based on the Relative Price,” Journal of World Economy, no. 2 (2006): 20.

  9. 9.

    Davis, D. R., and D. E. Weinstein. “Economic Geography and Regional Production Structure: An Empirical Investigation.” European Economic Review 43, no. 2 (1999): 379–407.

  10. 10.

    Zhang Fan and Pan Zuohong, “Home Market Effect and Its Influence on China’s Inter-Provincial Production and Trade,” China Economic Quarterly, no. 5 (2006).

  11. 11.

    Qian Xuefeng and Chen Liufu, “Estimation of the Home Market Effect in Sino-US Trade and the Orientation of China’s Trade Policy,” Word Economy Studies, no. 12 (2007).

  12. 12.

    Yan Yingen, “Empirical Studies on Home Market Effect of Chinese Industries: Interpreting the Expansion of Domestic Demand in Light of New Economic Geography,” Journal of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics (Social Sciences Edition), no. 3 (2010).

  13. 13.

    Qian Xuefeng and Chen Liufu, “Estimation of the Home Market Effect in Sino-US Trade and the Orientation of China’s Trade Policy,” Word Economy Studies, no. 12 (2007).

  14. 14.

    Source: https://unctad.org

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Liu, Y., Yuan, F. (2023). Market Integration and the Dynamic Evolution of China’s Comparative Advantages. In: Yang, X. (eds) China's Qualitative Economic Transformation. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4437-6_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-4437-6_7

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