Abstract

Middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration provides “middle” support for China’s strategic regional plan of Yangtze River economic belt and also positioned as the core growth pole in central China. It holds important positions to build the economic horizontal axis of sustainable development and form new momentum of regional economic growth under the background of China’s “New Normal”. Besides，along with the rapid development of new urbanization and the fact that urban agglomeration is becoming a critical carrier of China to participate the international competition，it is of great significance to study on the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration integration. We take “the integration mode and mechanism of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration” as the subject，use “market integration-industrial integration-spatial integration” as the framework and consider “micro market basis-meso industrial support-macro spatial carrier” as the analytic logic. We build the theoretical analysis framework of urban agglomeration integration under the three dimensions of “market-industry-space” by analyzing the theoretical basis of urban agglomeration integration，the measurement indexes and methods of “market-industry-space” integration，the “market-industry-space” integration modes and the “market-industry-space” integration mechanism. Also，we provide theoretical support and decision-making reference for government to formulate the development strategy of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration integration by analyzing the realistic basis，empirically measuring the market integration，industrial integration and spatial economic linkage，discovering the evolution rules and problems，putting forward market integration mode，industrial integration mode and spatial integration mode，finally building the integration mechanism and the implementation strategy. Around the above objects，several researches are taken.

Analyze the theoretical basis of urban agglomeration integration to provide the theoretical support. Urban agglomeration integration means the free flow of productivity factors and the state of geographically concentration，close industrial relationship and market convergence. The theories of regional division and cooperation，regional integration，spatial evolution of urban agglomeration and symbiosis provide theoretical enlightenments for urban agglomeration integration as below：pay attention to the difference of factor endowment，the re-creation of comparative advantage and the externality of regional division；value the necessity of unified institution，the effectiveness of government intervention and the superiority of integrated market；attach importance to construct the industrial chain，strengthen the driving effects of central cities，coordinate the intercity benefit relationship and improve the infrastructure network；concern the different symbiosis，cooperated symbiosis and evolving symbiosis among cities inside the urban agglomeration.

Explain the realistic basis of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration integration. The main realistic basis of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration integration are the common profound culture and favorable historical opportunity；unique location conditions and well-built infrastructure；improved economic strength and superior development opportunity；similar industrial basis and common interest demand；multi-field cooperation and communication among governments，enterprise and non-governmental organization；the gradual integration of critical fields such as transportation，industry and market.

Evaluate the market integration of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration and select the market integration mode. Firstly，we build the market integration evaluation system，construct composite indexes and use the projection pursuit classification evaluation model to analyze the market integration of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration in recent 15 years. Result shows：the market integration has been improved，but still stays at the low level with the single drive（city contact）；three subordinate urban agglomerations show gradient difference，product market integration and government efficiency are the main drives；Wuhan urban agglomeration is four factors synergistic drive pattern，Pan-Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration is single factor （city contact） drive pattern，around Poyang Lake urban agglomeration is two factors （city contact and element market integration） drive pattern. Secondly，we select different market integration mode according to the empirical conclusions. The middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration should select coordinated regional policy mode；Wuhan urban agglomeration should select multi-level traffic system mode；Pan-Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration and around Poyang Lake urban agglomeration should select the combined mode of sequential coordinated regional policy and government driven product and factor market integration.

Analyze the industrial integration of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration and select the industrial integration mode. Firstly，we build industrial integration index to evaluate the three industries integration and the second industry integration of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration in recent 15 years. Result shows：the three industries isomorphism stays at high level and the industry complementarity need to be improved；the integration level of the second industry has improved，but still at low level and specialization division should be improved. Secondly，we use location quotient to analyze the evolution of specialized industries. Result shows：the 16 specialized industries of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration are almost low-technology or high energy-consuming，which means the industrial structure is at low level and high technology industry lacks comparative advantage；the energy intensive industries has declined while the advantage of textile manufacturing has formed，which shows industrial structure has been improved，but the specialized industries still lack high technology support. Thirdly，we select the industrial integration mode according to the empirical conclusions. Different industry should select different mode，petrochemical industry，equipment manufacturing industry，strategic emerging industry and metallurgical industry should select longitudinal industrial chain mode，the combined mode of synergistic technology and complementary structure，cobweb spread mode and the combined mode of synergistic technology and cobweb spread respectively. The development strategy is strengthening the driving effect of growth pole and developing complementary industries；optimizing industrial distribution along the economic belt；developing effective industrial clusters and promoting industry transfer；improving the low-carbon development of energy intensive industries and formulating industry planning properly.

Measure the spatial economic linkage of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration and select the spatial integration mode. Firstly，we analyze the spatial integration in recent 15 years from space node，traffic channel，intercity factor mobility，hierarchical structure and spatial pattern. Result shows：factors distribute dispersedly and center convergence has not formed；the hierarchical structure is “small top layer，big middle layer and large bottom layer”；the spatial pattern is “one core，two secondary cores，three circles and four axles”. Secondly，we use modified gravity model，principal component analysis and GIS visualization to analyze the spatial integration. Result shows：the economic linkage among cities has been on the rise，Xinyu，Yiyang and Pingxiang perform well among non-center cities；the regional disparity has been enlarged and the spatial pattern is dual-core circular spreading layout with one circle centering on Wuhan and another circle centering on Changsha and Xinyu，along with the characteristic of closer linkage in northern and central southern areas but weaker linkage in eastern area；the interactive cluster among the three subordinate urban agglomerations has not formed. Thirdly，we select the spatial integration mode according to the empirical conclusions. The middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration should select the triangle integration mode with Wuhan as the core and Changsha and Nanchang as secondary cores，which should gradually evolve to constellation integration mode and make the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration become a part of international urban network. The development strategy is building the urban network of “one district，three circles，four groups and five axles”；developing the core area and intensifying its driving effect；improving urban network and promoting cooperation.

Analyze the integration mechanism of the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration. Firstly，we analyze the connotation and constitution of urban agglomeration integration mechanism briefly. Urban agglomeration integration mechanism refers to the interconnected and interactional relationship set among various elements which is formed during the formation，development and maturation process. It has features like integrity，objectivity，complexity and dynamics and it includes interest mechanism，dynamic mechanism，linkage mechanism and guarantee mechanism. Secondly，enlightenments of urban agglomeration integration mechanism at home and abroad are discussed. For interests mechanism，it is suggested to focuse and optimize the participation of each subject，clear the interest and function range of different executive levels of government and show respect for the market dominant position of enterprises；for dynamic mechanism，attention shall be paid to the diversity of vehicle construction to strengthen scientific and technological innovation and foster industrial clusters innovation ability；for linkage mechanism，it is required to build spatial layout dislocation development to form complementary industries；for guarantee mechanism，a sound system of laws and regulations and policies should be established，focusing on policy continuity and the build of monitoring and feedback mechanism. Thirdly，we discover the missing of the integration mechanism in the middle Yangtze River urban agglomeration and put fomard the ideas and strategies of integration mechanisms build. （1）Build a reasonable benefit mechanism，including reasonable and effective mechanisms for interest expression and participation，harmony and win-win mechanism for benefit-sharing and compensation；（2）Improve the urban traffic network and strengthen intercity interoperability；increase innovation investment and build synergistic innovation mechanism；（3）Promote effective industrial division in the “core-periphery” cities and optimize the industrial distribution；“string point into line” to integrate resources and form industrial competitiveness；strengthen points，lift lines and develop circles orderly to properly build urban agglomeration chain；（4）Establish regional laws and regulations，strengthen internal regional cooperation，eliminate local protectionism and build an evaluation mechanism for urban agglomeration integration.

Keywords：Middle Yangtze River Urban Agglomeration；Market Integration；Industrial Integration；Spatial Integration；Mode Selection；Mechanism Build