On the Evolution of Spatial Agglomeration of China's Manufacturing Industries and Its Driving Factors Based on Continuous Distance

Using comprehensive geographic information and firm-level data,this paper transforms discrete space into continuous distance,and employs improved agglomeration measurement methods to analyze the evolution of spatial agglomeration of 84 sub-divided manufacturing industries.It also studies the factors influencing industrial agglomeration by panel regression model.It shows that,from the perspective of small geographic region and sub-divided industry,intermediate input sharing is the most important factor influencing manufacturing agglomeration in China,and labor maturity and knowledge spillover also contribute to industrial agglomeration,confirming the importance of Marshall's externalities.The returns to scale have nonlinear effects on industrial agglomeration.In addition,the increase in openness and the reduction in transportation costs are advantageous to industrial agglomeration and a large share of state-owned enterprises is disadvantageous to industrial agglomeration.