Adjusting Regional Division for Economic Disparities: A Business Attractiveness Approach

Traditional regional divisions often rely solely on geographic proximity, neglecting the economic disparities between cities within a region. This approach can obscure significant development gaps. To provide a more nuanced understanding, this study incorporates the '2020 Business Attractiveness Ranking of China's Cities' as a measure of city-level economic development. By analyzing this ranking, we can better account for the economic heterogeneity within regions. Figure 2 presents a mean value trend graph derived from the ranking, illustrating the economic development trends across different city groups.