Analysis of the Effect of Industrial Transformation of Resource-Based Cities in Northeast China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper examines the transformation of industrial structure of resource-based cities in Northeast China.

While this is an interesting topic, I cannot suggest publication of this paper to a scientific journal for the following three reasons:

a) The author(s) argue that they analyze the effect of industrial transformation of resource-based cities in Northeast China. To my best understanding, this paper does not examine any effect (and if so, effect on what? e.g. effect on urban development, effect on urban welfare, effect on urban productivity, and so on), but just it analyses the industrial transformation of resource-based cities. This paper is very descriptive. The key problem is that the discussion is not guided by the attempt to address a clear research question that goes beyond the aim to provide a purely descriptive account of the the transformation of industrial structure.

b) There is no any theoretical argument. The author(s) present three indicators of industrial structure (i.e. diversification, rationalization and upgrading), but they do not connect their findings with any theory. There could also be a clear and theoretical statement on the relevance of the present paper, what is the justification of the present paper; what is the research question / hypothesis of the paper? How can the paper contribute to the literature?

c) There is no any empirical and theoretical connection between the three indicators of industrial structure. While the empirical case and evidence are potentially interesting, the study falls short of the standards required for publication in an academic journal. The paper could be characterized at most as a report.

Turning this paper into one that is suitable for publication in an academic journal would require a complete reshaping of the work. The questions that the author(s) should ask in looking at their empirical material are, first and foremost: What kind of general debate can we contribute to with our study? What broad theoretical question can we shed light on? Can we come up with a theoretical framework that helps to address that question – and can the data be used to validate it? At present, the paper is too far from this basic standard to be considered for publication.

Author Response

a) In the revised version, added a new part of "Impart on the economic growth of industrial transfermation" with the calculation results of the above part and get new conclusion.

b) Add literature review to connect the selecting of 3 indexes(diversification, rationalization and upgrading) with previous research

c) see a)

All revised part been specified with green color.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

The English of the paper needs significant improvement. However, the biggest concern is the way the material is presented. Below are my concerns:

Many statements in the Introduction need referencing. For example, who says that the resource cities in the Northeast China "have successfully entered the mature and recession period of urban resource development"? All figures quoted need a reference source.

The paper does not properly engage with previous literature about resource cities, including international experience from countries, such as Canada, USA, South Africa and Australia. In fact, there should be a literature review-based section which specifically talks about transformation strategies for resource cities.

It is not clear or substantiated why and how the three indicators of diversification, rationalisation and upgrading have been selected. Also, there is no discussion what they mean, why they are important, what are the pros and cons of these strategies.

The classification of the resource-based cities based on types of resources and stage of development/maturity needs to be introduced first as an international reader may not be familiar with the Chinese classification.

The statement that "using entropy to measure the diversification of industrial structure is also widely accepted by most scholars" requires references. The same applies for "some domestic scholars have used the newly defined Theil index to analyse the rationalisation of industrial structure" and "used by... some other scholars to directly measure industrial upgrading".

The methodology sections at the start of each of the three aspects of the analysis, namely diversification, rationalisation and upgrading, do not properly justify the particular choice of indicators but only announce what this study uses. There is no discussion of what are the advantages or disadvantages of the selected indicators.

The analysis is conducted city by city and is mainly descriptive. There should be some higher level of thinking which identifies trends and groupings among the analysed cities. It will help put light on developments that could potentially be of interest to a broader audience.

The acronym TS is not introduced and this is essential to understanding the analysis in section 5. If TS is the ratio of tertiary to secondary industries, the formula should also be presented.

The paper should include a discussion section which puts the findings from this study into perspective compared to other studies. For example, in the conclusion the author/s state/s: "some scholars in China have conducted relevant research from one or several aspects of these three aspects". Which are these studies?  How do their findings compare with the current study?

Author Response

1) Add a new part "Impart of industrial transfermation on economic growth"

2) Add literature review

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Congratulations to the authors as they have successfully revised the paper. Section 4 has improved the paper and now I am happy to suggest publication of the paper in its current form.

Author Response

1.      It is desirable to make clear not the fact-findings of a case study but the academic contribution of this paper in Introduction and/or Conclusion.
     It was mentioned once in the paper, already get it rid of.

2.      It is desirable to make clear the contribution of this paper to previous studies in Introduction and/or Conclusion. 
    In the new version, the contribution of this paper already be added.

This article contributes the previous literature by selecting three indicators of industrial structure diversification, rationalization and upgrading instead of one or two indicators and comparing all different types of resource-based cities in Northeast China instead of analyzing just one type resource-based cities. The effects of industrial transformation of resource-based cities of the same kind are analyzed, and the development of industrial structure among provinces are compared. We expand the study in the area by conducting a broader and more comprehensive research. In addition, instead of giving a general advice of industrial restructuring, the article tries to provide restructuring path byanalyzingthe effect of industrial structure changing including industrial structure upgrading and rationalization on economic growthwiththepreviouscalculation results.We hope our research will provide more targeted policy recommendations for the industrial transformation path of resource-based cities in Northeast China.

3.      The paper should add the organization of the paper at the end of the introduction.
     Yes, after the added contribution the organization of the paper is already added.

The main purpose of the article is to analyze the problems existing in the industrial structure development progress of prefecture-level resource-based cities in Northeast China,evolution from a more comprehensiveand comparativeperspective and try to give advice on the restructuring path by analyzing the influenceofindustrialtransformation oneconomicgrowth. The outline of this article is as follows. In Section 2, the overview of resource-based cities classification in Northeast China and sample selected in the article will be introduced. In Section 3, analysis of industrial structure transition from diversification, rationalization and upgradingwill be examined and compared. In Section 4, with calculation results in the above section, an empirical model will be used to analyze theimpact ofindustrialtransformation oneconomicgrowth. In Section 5, we will conclude with recommendations to facilitate industrial reconstructing and shed light on the sustainable development of resource-based cities in Northeast China.

4.      Introduction:

The purpose of the paper in academic sense, which is not clear, should be added at Introduction.
     Yes, the main purpose is added in the Introduction. See 3.

5.      Consistency between Abstract and Conclusion may be desirable.
      Yes, the Abstract has been revised.

Abstract: Based on the development of industrial structure of prefecture-level resource-based cities in Northeast China, this paper selects three indicators of industrial structure: diversification, rationalization and upgrading, conducting empirical analysis on the transformation of industrial structure of these resource-based cities. The effects of industrial transformation of resource-based cities of the same kind are analyzed, and the development of industrial structure among provinces are compared. It indicates that the transformation process and adjustment effect of the industrial structures in resource-based cities of Northeast China were different and were not very satisfactory on the whole and the secondary industry was still the leading industry in most cities. In addition, the article analyzes the impact of the industrial transformation on economic growth of resource-based cities in Northeast China. It can be drawn that the rationalization andupgradingof industrial structure generally promotedthecities’economic growth. In most years, the promotion of industrial structureupgradingwas greater than that ofrationalization. While occasionally, there would  be cases that the effect of the rationalizationwas more obvious than theupgrading. In order to promote the sustainable development of resource-based cities’ economy in Northeast China and solve problems in the process of the cities’ development, two suggestions are proposed. One is tocontinueto promote the process of industrial structureupgrading by introducinghigh-tech industries through preferential policiesanddevelop relevant industries based on the advantages of the cities, instead of just extending theoriginal industry. Another is topayattention to the rational development of the industrial structure, soit is necessary to strengthen the overall planning of resource-based cities in the Northeast region, promote regional coordination, and rationally arrange and adjust the industrial structure from the overall scope of the region.

6.      Conclusion may be compact and its present conclusion had better be moved into the other section, for example Section 4?

     Yes, in Section 3 and 4 add 3.4 Summary and 4.4 Result respectively. The current conclusion is compact and more relevant.

3.4  Summary

In the section, the value of 3 indexes of industrial structure entropy, Tyre index andTSof 19 resource-based cities during the period of 1995-2015 were calculated and compared.

It has been foundthrough comparison that in respect of the diversification of industrial structure, the development of non-ferrous metallurgical cities was relatively fine, and the development of petroleum cities was relatively poor. The development of Liaoning Province was better than that of Heilongjiang Province and Jilin Province.

As for the rationalization, the forest industry cities was relatively good, while the oil cities was relatively poor. Among provinces, there were large differences. Heilongjiang Province presented polarization characteristics, but the overall volatility trend was relatively flat, and the entire industrial structure was better than Jilin Province and Liaoning Province.

As for industrial upgrading, the forest industry cities was relatively good, while the oil cities was relatively poor. Heilongjiang Province was generally better than that of Jilin and Liaoning Province, though the best and worst industrialization level cities both belong to Heilongjiang Province. The overall level of industrial upgrading development of Jilin Province was relatively stable among the three provinces. On the whole, although the tertiary industry had a certain degree of development, only several individual cities’ industrial adjustment was ideal, and the secondary industries of some cities still occupy a relatively high share. Thus it can be seen, the industrial upgrading should be a long-term project for the resource-based cities in the Northeast China.

Through analysis, it is also found that the changes of the industrial structure of these resource-based cities coincided with the implementation of the state's revitalization strategy for the Northeast region. In October 2003, the State Council issued "Opinions on the Implementation of Revitalization Strategies for the Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China", afterwards resource-based cities in Northeast China gradually began to transform their industries. Between 2004 and 2009, more and more resource-based cities in the Northeast such as Baishan and Liaoyuan began to transform their industries. In September 2009, the State Council issued “Opinions on Further Implementation of Revitalization Strategies for the Old Industrial Bases in Northeast China”, which clearly defined further transformation of resource-based cities and promoted sustainable development. Between 2010 and 2014, the resource-based cities in the Northeast had entered the stage of all-around industrial transformation, each city had developed relevant industries based on its own advantages and conditions, and the economy had achieved great development. However, how the industrial transformation impact on the economic development should be examined further.

 

4.4  Result

 Through the regression of the model, it can be found that the rationalization andupgradingof industrial structure hadpromoted the economic growth of resource-based cities in Northeast China, and the effect of industrial structureupgradingin economic growthwas greater than the effect of the industrial structure rationalization. However, due to differences in economic development and background, occasionally, there wouldbe cases that the effect of the rationalizationwas more obvious than theupgrading, for example, between 2000 and 2004, the effect of industrial structure rationalizationwas greater than the effect of industrial structureupgrading. For some reasons, the role of industrial structure diversification in the economic growth of resource-based cities in Northeast China could not be analyzed. In the future research, we will continue to analyze the role played by the industrial structure diversification and improve the model, so as to provide more comprehensive suggestions for the resource-based cities in Northeast China to promote economic development with industrial structure transformation.

 

5. Conclusion

This article comparatively analyzes the development of industrial structure from three aspects: industrial structure diversification, rationalization and optimizationupgrading, and the impact of rationality and upgrading on economic growthof resource-based cities economy in Northeast Chinaisempirically analyzed. is compared.In order to promote the sustainable development and solve problems in the process ofthesecities’development, twosuggestions are proposed for the transformation of industrial structure of resource-based cities in Northeast China:

Firstly, in the adjustment of industrial structure, continue to promote the process of industrial structureupgrading.While the resource-based cities in Northeast China are carrying out the transformation and upgrading of the original industrial technology, it is possible to combine the characteristics of its own city and vigorously develop the tertiary industry with urban characteristics, thus promoting the development process of industrial structureupgrading.Since most resource-based cities in the Northeast China are belong to declining type and new industries impact traditional industries, in the development ofindustry, theresource-based cities in the Northeast need to introduce substitute industries to gradually reduce their dependence on traditional resource-based industries. In the choice of industry, high-tech industries through preferential policiesshould be introduced, and develop relevant industries based on the advantages of the cities.This willupgradethe industrial structure and change the originalsingle resource-basedindustrial layout. For example, Fushun City, a coal city, reliedon coal resources to develop deep-processing industries such as coal chemical industry and electric power industryin addition to developing characteristic industries, had achieveda good transformation effect.WhileDaqingCity, where the industrial structure adjustment effectwas not very good, reliedon the advantages of the original petrochemical industry, vigorously developedthe petrochemical equipment manufacturing industry, formedan industrial cluster, and extendedthe original industry. It can be seen that successful industrial transformation is difficult to achieve by relying on the original industry and extending the original industryonly. More importantly, the traditional industries should carry out technology upgrading and enterprise reorganization, and develop upgraded industrial clusters, improve the production efficiency of enterprises and the technological content and competitiveness of products.  

Secondly, while the industrial structureupgradingis developing, it is necessary to pay attention to the rational development of the industrial structure. By comparison, it can be seen that the promotion in economies of the industrial structure rationalization is not as obvious as thatof industrial structureupgrading. However, in the adjustment of urban industrial structure layout planning, we should pay attention to the rational development of industrial structure. At the provincial level, there are resource-type cities of the same kind in the provinces of the three northeastern provinces. For example, as the coal cities, Jixi City, Liaoyuan City and Fushun City belong to Heilongjiang Province, Jilin Province and Liaoning Province respectively. And by comparing the development of industrial structure among resource-based cities in Northeast China, we can learn that the development of industrial structure among the three northeastern provinceswas different. This situation hadled to the limited resource consumption in the Northeast region in the repeated development among industries. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the overall planning of resource-based cities in the Northeast region, promote regional coordination, and rationally arrange and adjust the industrial structure from the overall scope of the region, improve the labor division and cooperation between regions, thereby improving the level of rationalization of the industrial structure between provinces.

 

 

 

7. All the revision according to the advice of the reviewer is colored in green. Those in blue is revision according to the advices of Ryerson English speaker students. Thanks!