Study on the relationship between agglomeration of service industry and economic growth in Yangtze River Delta based on spatial econometric models

Based on the panel data of 26 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2007 to 2016, this paper studies the impact of service industry agglomeration on economic growth in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. We construct a series of spatial econometric models, and use the maximum likelihood estimation method to estimate the parameters. Our results present notable regional differences of economic growth between cities and there exists significant spatial autocorrelations of economic development within Yangtze River Delta. Meanwhile, we find that agglomeration of services will depress economic growth in the surrounding areas. Based on this, some policy suggestions are put forward to adjust and optimize the spatial distribution of the service industry in the Yangtze River Delta region and to promote regional economic levels.