Provincial variation of urbanization and urban primacy in China

Provincial variations in urbanization and urban primacy in China are analyzed for 1978 using factor analysis and regression techniques. The authors suggest that government policies have not only led to a relatively low level of urbanization but are also responsible for many of the regional differences observed. It is concluded that "low urban primacy in the eastern provinces is mainly the result of the urbanization policy of controlling the development of large cities that favours the development of small and medium cities. The spatial industrial policy of decentralizing industries from the coastal provinces to interior provinces encouraged high urbanization and urban primacy in the western interior provinces of China."