7. Local Government Competition and Industrial Structure Convergence

This paper has carried out statistical analysis about deviation degree of the share of the gross industrial output value, similarity in industries structure coefficient, and location quotient of industrial enterprises above designated size, choosing 27 manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Delta (short for YRD) region from 2001–2007 as the research object, based on local government competition, industrial structure convergence and industrial division of labor evolution. Results show that since 2000, industrial structure has evident differences and complementarity in the two provinces and one city of the YRD region and is moving in two directions, isomorphism and collaboration, and the differences in the provincial city and county are very obvious. The main conclusion is that industrial structure and the pattern of industrial division of labor in the YRD region do not come from the competition between local governments, but are mainly driven by market forces. The existence of the difference of industrial structure derives from differential positioning, the enterprises’ initiative choice under open conditions of international division of labor.