Study On The Spatial Diversion Effect Of Xinjiang Transportation Infrastructure Investment On Regional Economic Growth

In the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt,a complete transportation infrastructure is the basic condition for achieving interconnection.As the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt,Xinjiang is an important land route connecting China with central Asia and eastern Europe.The implementation of the the Belt and Road initiative provides an opportunity for Xinjiang to improve transportation construction.Driven by the reform and opening policy and China Western Development,Xinjiang's traffic conditions have been continuously improved,the economic level in the region has improved significantly.However,compared with the eastern and central areas of China,the overall development level of Xinjiang is relatively backward.Xinjiang presents the “central-periphery” economic geography structure as a whole.The problems of unbalanced and uncoordinated development in the Xinjiang region are outstanding,especially the economic development in the three southern state s and northern regions of Xinjiang has long lag.The improvement of traffic conditions has a growth effect on the regional economy,promoting the optimal allocation of resources and upgrading the scale economy.However,some studies have shown that improved traffic conditions will have a spatial diversion effect on marginal areas and reduce the activity of economic activities in peripheral regions.The analysis of the spatial diversion effect of Xinjiang transportation infrastructure investment on the economic growth of its peripheral areas is helpful to promote the balanced economic growth in Xinjiang,and has reference significance for the study of other marginal areas.This paper draws on the "central-periphery" model of regional economics and new economic geography,analyzes the mechanism of spatial diversion effect at the theoretical level,and proposes three propositional hypotheses based on the actual situation in Xinjiang.Drawing on the existing research results,using the data of transportation infrastructure and economic growth of various states(cities)in Xinjiang from 1990 to 2015,the paper analyzes the spatial diversion effect of transportation infrastructure investment on regional economic growth from the perspective of GDP,per capita GDP,population and employment.The empirical results show that:(1)The shortening of interregional traffic time drives the growth of regional GDP and per capita GDP,which verifies the growth effect of transportation infrastructure investment in Xinjiang on regional economy.(2)Investment in transportation infrastructure in Xinjiang has a spatial diversion effect on regional economic growth.Affected by the siphon effect of the central city,the regional economic growth range within a range of 500 km from the central city is small.As residents seek better public facilities and employment opportunities,the improved transportation conditions have shifted the population of the region to the central city.From the perspective of employment changes,the region within the range of 1000 km is affected by the spatial diversion effect of transportation infrastructure,and the labor force shifts to the central city,with a small increase in employment.(3)The transport infrastructure investment in Xinjiang has spatial heterogeneity and industrial heterogeneity in its spatial diversion effect on regional economic growth.Within 500 km of the central city,the spatial diversion effect of traffic on regional economic growth is significant.The area more than 1000 km away from the central city is weakened by the diffusion effect and siphon effect of the central city,with insignificant economic growth but significant population growth.From the perspective of industry,the employment proportion of commercial service industry increased significantly within 1000 km from the central city,but part of the employment growth of commercial service industry within 500 km was offset by the spatial diversion effect,which verified the spatial heterogeneity of the spatial diversion effect of transportation infrastructure on regional economic growth.Since the location layout of the secondary industry is more dependent on the monetary transportation cost rather than the time cost,the impact of highway construction on its employment is not significant,indicating that the impact of transportation infrastructure investment on the regional economy has industrial heterogeneity.Based on the above theoretical research and empirical res earch results,this paper proposes policy recommendations to promote peripheral regions to avoid disadvantages and achieve coordinated development of economy in Xinjiang.First of all,increase the investment in transportation infrastructure and further im prove the three-dimensional transportation network.By encouraging the free flow of resources,upgrading the industrial structure of each state(city).Furthermore,it is necessary to innovate the inter-regional cooperation system and mechanism to play the role of the core area,and cultivate the endogenous dynamics of regional economic growth.