The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness
Industry and occupation are closely interwoven. Focusing solely on industrial structure cannot adequately address regional development challenges. Multifactor cross-relatedness provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the interplay between regional industrial and occupational relatedness....
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Editorial Committee of Tropical Geography
2025-02-01
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| author | Zhou Xiaoqi Ao Rongjun Chen Jing Hou Chunguang |
| author_facet | Zhou Xiaoqi Ao Rongjun Chen Jing Hou Chunguang |
| author_sort | Zhou Xiaoqi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Industry and occupation are closely interwoven. Focusing solely on industrial structure cannot adequately address regional development challenges. Multifactor cross-relatedness provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the interplay between regional industrial and occupational relatedness. This study introduces the concept of industry-occupation cross-relatedness to investigate how urban labor skills influence industrial evolution in China, while also analyzing regional and industrial heterogeneity. Specifically, we construct a city-industry panel dataset using Chinese customs import-export data (2000-2015), census data (2000 and 2010), and population sampling survey data (2005 and 2015). This dataset enables us to analyze the structural evolution of the spatial network of industry-occupation interactions. Employing a linear probability model, we examine the impact of industrial relatedness and industry–occupation cross-relatedness on industrial evolution, with a focus on regional and industrial heterogeneity. The main findings are as follows: (1) The cross-relatedness between industries and occupations in Chinese cities has increased over time. Average industrial relatedness density exhibits a significant increase, particularly in eastern regions. Cross-relatedness density shows an increase in regions with moderate cross-relatedness values but a noticeable decline in the northeastern regions. The spatial distribution of the average industrial relatedness density and industry-occupation cross-relatedness density exhibits high consistency. (2) Industry-occupation interaction drives industrial evolution in Chinese cities. A path-dependence effect is evident in industrial evolution. The synergy between industries and occupations enhances regional industrial comparative advantages. The spillover effect of locally related industries strongly supports industrial comparative advantages, second only to the influence of pre-existing industrial foundations. (3) Regional and industrial heterogeneity is notable. Regionally, the probability of previous-stage dominant industries remaining dominant decreases from east to west. Industrial path dependence also declines from east to west, while cross-relatedness has a more significant impact on forming comparative advantages in eastern regions, followed by central regions. Larger cities exhibit a higher probability of path breakthroughs through skill-relatedness. Industrial heterogeneity shows that skill structures contribute the most to the diversification of technology-intensive industries, followed by capital- and labor-intensive industries. This study also provides several policy implications. First, regions should adhere to the principles of economic and social development to formulate reasonable talent demand. Second, vocational education should undergo deeper supply-side structural reforms to better meet industry needs. Finally, cities in different regions should adopt differentiated industrial and labor policies to align with their unique contexts and development stages. Compared with previous research, the marginal contributions of this study are threefold. First, it emphasizes the critical role of human capital as a foundation for high-quality regional industrial development, offering theoretical and methodological insights for promoting employment and addressing structural employment challenges. Second, it explores the bidirectional influence of labor and industry from a multi-factor interaction perspective, advancing research integration in evolutionary economic, industrial, and labor geography. Third, by focusing on coordinated development between industries and occupations, this study provides practical insights for aligning industrial and labor policies, facilitating the deep integration of industrial and talent chains to achieve high-quality development. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c8b1042a21684c8f98a9af1aa98114fa |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1001-5221 |
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| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Editorial Committee of Tropical Geography |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c8b1042a21684c8f98a9af1aa98114fa2025-08-20T02:57:33ZzhoEditorial Committee of Tropical GeographyRedai dili1001-52212025-02-0145229130410.13284/j.cnki.rddl.202406731001-5221(2025)02-0291-14The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-RelatednessZhou Xiaoqi0Ao Rongjun1Chen Jing2Hou Chunguang3Key Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation of Hubei Province,Central China Normal University,Wuhan 430079, ChinaKey Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation of Hubei Province,Central China Normal University,Wuhan 430079, ChinaKey Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation of Hubei Province,Central China Normal University,Wuhan 430079, ChinaKey Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis and Simulation of Hubei Province,Central China Normal University,Wuhan 430079, ChinaIndustry and occupation are closely interwoven. Focusing solely on industrial structure cannot adequately address regional development challenges. Multifactor cross-relatedness provides a theoretical foundation for understanding the interplay between regional industrial and occupational relatedness. This study introduces the concept of industry-occupation cross-relatedness to investigate how urban labor skills influence industrial evolution in China, while also analyzing regional and industrial heterogeneity. Specifically, we construct a city-industry panel dataset using Chinese customs import-export data (2000-2015), census data (2000 and 2010), and population sampling survey data (2005 and 2015). This dataset enables us to analyze the structural evolution of the spatial network of industry-occupation interactions. Employing a linear probability model, we examine the impact of industrial relatedness and industry–occupation cross-relatedness on industrial evolution, with a focus on regional and industrial heterogeneity. The main findings are as follows: (1) The cross-relatedness between industries and occupations in Chinese cities has increased over time. Average industrial relatedness density exhibits a significant increase, particularly in eastern regions. Cross-relatedness density shows an increase in regions with moderate cross-relatedness values but a noticeable decline in the northeastern regions. The spatial distribution of the average industrial relatedness density and industry-occupation cross-relatedness density exhibits high consistency. (2) Industry-occupation interaction drives industrial evolution in Chinese cities. A path-dependence effect is evident in industrial evolution. The synergy between industries and occupations enhances regional industrial comparative advantages. The spillover effect of locally related industries strongly supports industrial comparative advantages, second only to the influence of pre-existing industrial foundations. (3) Regional and industrial heterogeneity is notable. Regionally, the probability of previous-stage dominant industries remaining dominant decreases from east to west. Industrial path dependence also declines from east to west, while cross-relatedness has a more significant impact on forming comparative advantages in eastern regions, followed by central regions. Larger cities exhibit a higher probability of path breakthroughs through skill-relatedness. Industrial heterogeneity shows that skill structures contribute the most to the diversification of technology-intensive industries, followed by capital- and labor-intensive industries. This study also provides several policy implications. First, regions should adhere to the principles of economic and social development to formulate reasonable talent demand. Second, vocational education should undergo deeper supply-side structural reforms to better meet industry needs. Finally, cities in different regions should adopt differentiated industrial and labor policies to align with their unique contexts and development stages. Compared with previous research, the marginal contributions of this study are threefold. First, it emphasizes the critical role of human capital as a foundation for high-quality regional industrial development, offering theoretical and methodological insights for promoting employment and addressing structural employment challenges. Second, it explores the bidirectional influence of labor and industry from a multi-factor interaction perspective, advancing research integration in evolutionary economic, industrial, and labor geography. Third, by focusing on coordinated development between industries and occupations, this study provides practical insights for aligning industrial and labor policies, facilitating the deep integration of industrial and talent chains to achieve high-quality development.https://www.rddl.com.cn/CN/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240673skill structure of labor forceindustrial relatednessoccupational relatednesscross-relatedness perspectiveindustry evolutionheterogeneity analysischina |
| spellingShingle | Zhou Xiaoqi Ao Rongjun Chen Jing Hou Chunguang The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness Redai dili skill structure of labor force industrial relatedness occupational relatedness cross-relatedness perspective industry evolution heterogeneity analysis china |
| title | The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness |
| title_full | The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness |
| title_fullStr | The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness |
| title_short | The Impact of Urban Labor Skill Structure on Industrial Evolution in China and Its Heterogeneity from the Perspective of Cross-Relatedness |
| title_sort | impact of urban labor skill structure on industrial evolution in china and its heterogeneity from the perspective of cross relatedness |
| topic | skill structure of labor force industrial relatedness occupational relatedness cross-relatedness perspective industry evolution heterogeneity analysis china |
| url | https://www.rddl.com.cn/CN/10.13284/j.cnki.rddl.20240673 |
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