Border Effects within a City and Regional Coordinated Development in Emerging Economies

This paper investigates the influence and mechanism of border effects within a city on the coordinated development of the regional economy by combining a quasi-natural experiment in China’s municipal districts border reorganization and satellite night-time light data. We find that border effects of municipal districts within a city matter significantly in the coordinated development of the regional economy. Further, restructuring district borders works by improving the average level of public services. This study implies that borders within a city matter, and the border effect can be an effective tool to promote regional coordinated development in emerging economies