Abstract:

Spatio-temporal differentiation of regional economic growth viewed from inner functional structure in a typical area is a hot research topic in economic geography in recent years. Based on the core-peripheral theory and the creative methodology framework, we identified the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region into the first central group, the secondary central group and peripheral group, and then displayed the evolution of spatio-temporal differentiation of regional economic growth and disparities in the region from 1994 to 2014 using some indexes which can represent regional economic growth and economic level respectively supported by some statistical indictors and geostatistical analysis methods. The results indicated that there was a positive correlation between accelerating economic growth and widening economic disparities, and the inter-group differences become the main portion of the widening disparities after 2001 in the BTH region. The evolution of spatial differentiation can be divided into four stages according to the characteristics of overall regional economic growth and spatial distribution. In the first stage, economic growth dispersed from the core to peripheral areas. The differences include the intra-group differences, the inter-group differences, and the differences decreased. During the second stage, the economic growth slowed down and clustered in core areas, which resulted in an increase in economic disparities. In the third stage, the overall economic growth rate of the BTH region rose but fluctuated, and the high-speed economic growing regions were mainly distributed surrounding the core. In the last stage, the average economic growth rate declined and the high-speed economic growing regions returned to the core. In summary, the peripheral areas have not yet received the steady and robust driving force emitted from the core. After that, some factors influencing economic growth of three types of groups were estimated in a constructive multiple linear regression model. The coefficient estimates of variables indicated a significant gradient which reflected the gradient of economic structure and economic level among the three groups.

Key words: economic growth, spatio-temporal differentiation, influencing factor, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region