Agglomeration and spatial distribution of e-commerce sector in China: A case study of Jiangsu Province
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-12-2022
Abstract
The research intends to examine the pattern of e-commerce and to investigate the clustering of e-commerce activities in the Jiangsu Province of China. The development of ``Taobao villages'' has become a new growth pattern for the economy of rural areas in China. This typical model of e-commerce industry agglomeration has generated huge sales, which is not only important for local economic development but also has some implications for other places with underdeveloped e-commerce industries. The proposed study combines theory and empirical evidences based on panel data generated from ``Taobao villages'' in all 13 regions of Jiangsu Province, China. To explore the spatial distribution and economic returns of e-commerce in the perspectives of economic agglomeration, data of five years-2016 to 2020-is exploited. Samples of regions are selected based on different agglomeration types. The type of e-commerce industry agglomeration in the form of ``Taobao villages'' is measured by constructing a spatial weight matrix. Using the facts and figures of the five years, a Moran scatterplot and a Local Indicators of Spatial Association (LISA) cluster map are drawn. From the perspective of economic agglomeration, the e-commerce industry in Jiangsu Province presents three basic patterns: High-High cluster, Low-High cluster, and Low-Low cluster. In addition, the Location Quotient (LQ) was used to quantitatively characterize the agglomeration of ``Taobao villages.'' Findings of the analysis revealed that there is a positive spatial correlation between the clusters of Taobao villages, mainly between the H-H cluster and L-L cluster. The results are summarized and the most useful solutions for promoting the e-commerce industry in China. The empirical model proposed has great significance in e-commerce and may be used to enhance rural economy of China.
Keywords
Economy, Trade
Divisions
FacultyofEconomicsAdministration
Funders
None
Publication Title
Wireless Communications & Mobile Computing
Volume
2022
Publisher
Wiley-Hindawi
Publisher Location
ADAM HOUSE, 3RD FL, 1 FITZROY SQ, LONDON, WIT 5HE, ENGLAND