ABSTRACT
Urban economic growth is the most important segment of China’s rapid economic growth. This chapter examines the relationship between per capita GDP growth and investment, foreign direct investment, labor force growth, government expenditures, and urban infrastructures based on the data for 189 large and medium sized Chinese cities for the period 1991-98. Crosssection analyses indicated that several factors, such as foreign investment, paved roads, and government expenditures on science and technology were positively related to per capita GDP growth, while the overall size of government, measured by total government spending share in GDP, appears negatively related to per capita GDP growth. Contrary to the literature on economic growth, total investment share in GDP was insignificantly related to per capita GDP growth. Also, there is no clear evidence of convergence in per capita GDP among Chinese cities.
