Can the Spatial Function Division of Urbanization Promote Regional Coordinated Development? Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

The spatial function division of urbanization (SFDU) based on the value chain has an important impact optimizing industrial layouts these areas and promoting regional coordinated development. Based urban panel data from Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) 2007 to 2016, this paper uses SYS-GMM, fixed-effects, quantile regression methods test SFDU development further reveals its mechanism impact. results show following: (1) significantly improves level development, introduction SYS-GMM method enables us overcome endogenous problem regression; (2) improvement capital allocation efficiency is way for promote whereas labor related “process distortion”; (3) in middle lower reaches YREB stronger than that upper reaches; (4) effect higher “economic coordination dimension” “people’s livelihoods” “ecological coordination” dimensions. This provides a valuable reference government formulate policies basin economies around world perspective sustainable