Redai dili (Apr 2023)
Spatial Structure and Influencing Factors of Urban Network in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area from the Financial Relationships Perspective
Abstract
As a typical representative of advanced producer services, banks can be used to characterize the spatial structure of urban networks through the headquarters-branch connections and the implied capital flow process, which can guide the exploration of financial market connectivity and coordinated regional development. In this paper, the financial linkages of 26 representative banks in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) were transformed from city scale to county scale urban network using the interlocking network model, and the structural characteristics and influencing mechanism of urban network are discussed using the Social Network Analysis and Geographically Weighted Regression model. The results show that: 1) The Pearl River Estuary in the GBA is a dense area of financial linkages. The level of financial linkages on the east bank of the Pearl River is generally higher than that on the west bank of the Pearl River, and the hierarchical expansion to the peripheral space is continuous or progressive. 2) The clustering and accessibility of the overall network perform well. The whole network presents a typical "small world" effect. Guangzhou Tianhe, Guangzhou Yuexiu, Foshan Nanhai, Foshan Shunde, and other nodes are of high gradability and proximity, and they are also important intermediaries for financial connections in the GBA. 3) Most of the nodes with high gradability have higher effective scale and efficiency, and have the advantage of structural holes. The peripheral spatial nodes have a high restriction degree. The network mainly relies on some nodes in the core or sub-core subgroups to generate financial linkages, while the financial linkages among most nodes of the edge subgroup are weak. 4) The variables negatively correlated with the total number of linkages are population density, economic development level, and government control behavior. The variables that are positively correlated with the total number of linkages are the degree of transportation convenience and social consumption ability. The relationship between the demand for financial services and the level of openness to the outside world and the total linkages is complex and has bidirectional effects. An additional contribution of this paper is as follows: 1) The preference for location choice of APS enterprises represented by banks is higher for geographical agglomeration in local markets, and the financial relationship at the county scale is more important for the location choice of bank branches within cities. 2) The differentiated urban network structure characteristics revealed by the heterogeneity of bank branches provide a reference value for the appeal of different types of bank branches.
Keywords
