STUDY ON THE PATTERN EVOLUTION OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC DISPARITY IN JIANGSU SINCE 1978

By researching the pattern changes of regional economic disparities about 65 units at the county level in Jiangsu since the reform and opening up,the paper shows that the overall regional economic difference in Jiangsu province expands rapidly since 1978.Based on Mann-Kendall method’s mutation analysis,regional economic difference changes in Jiangsu since the reform and opening up can be divided into two phases,1978-1999 and 1999-2007.Accordingly,by adopting cluster analysis to study the pattern changes of regional economic disparities in Jiangsu in 1978,1999 and 2007 respectively,which,in 1978 the spatial distribution pattern on the level of regional economic development in Jiangsu manifest significant gradient differences between the north-south,in 1999 the spatial distribution pattern on the level of regional economic development in Jiangsu province change forgathering characteristics,that is centerareas gatherto Southern Jiangsu,and Northern Jiangsu gatherto Central Jiangsu,in 2007,the pattern of economic development level in Jiangsu province changes more to the Southern Jiangsu,particularly gathering in the eastern region of the Southern Jiangsu.Finally,adopting stepwise regression analysis methods to analyze the main formation reasons evolution of the regional economic development pattern in Jiangsu province.