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This study focuses on state-led urbanisation in the Chinese context by examining the effects of urban administrative level upgrading on urbanisation and urban development. We argue that urban administrative level upgrading is an important policy instrument in China that empowers cities to play a leading role in driving national and regional economic development. However, there is a lack of systematic empirical investigation to determine whether the objectives of urban administrative level upgrading have been achieved. Using a quasi-experimental method that combines propensity score matching with the difference-in-difference approach, we thoroughly examine the effects of county- to prefecture-level city upgrading and county to county-level city upgrading on the development performance of cities. The results confirm that county- to prefecture-level city upgrading can positively lead to a significant increase in urban population growth and fiscal revenue in a few years after upgrading, although this may not necessarily lead to rapid industrialisation. However, the same is not true for county to county-level city upgrading. This difference may be because counties and county-level cities are at the same administrative level, whilst prefecture-level cities are at a higher administrative level compared with county-level cities and counties. The results indicate that China’s administrative division system, although restructured, retains hierarchical and level-based structure in the post-reform period. We highlight the continuing strategic role of the Chinese state by establishing new scales and arenas and adjusting administrative structures to promote urban development.
本项研究通过考察城市行政级别升级对城市化和城市发展的影响，重点关注中国背景下国家主导的城市化。我们认为，城市行政级别升级是中国的一项重要政策工具，它使城市在推动国家和地区经济发展中发挥主导作用。然而，缺乏系统的实证研究来确定，城市行政级别升级的目标是否已实现。我们采用将倾向评分匹配与双重差分法相结合的准实验方法，深入研究了县级到地级市升级和县到县级市升级对城市发展绩效的影响。结果证实，县级到地级市的升级可以在升级后的几年内积极地导致城市人口增长和财政收入的显著增加，尽管这可能不一定导致快速的工业化。但是，县到县级市的升级并非如此。这种差异可能是因为，县和县级市处于同一行政级别，而地级市与县级市和县相比处于较高的行政级别。结果表明，中国的行政区划体系虽然经过重组，但在改革后的时期保留了等级和层级结构。我们表明了中国政府发挥的持续性战略作用，其建立新的规模和舞台并调整行政结构来促进城市发展。