Journal of Statistics and Information

Accelerating the development of new quality productive forces is essential for China to achieve high-quality economic growth and to build new advantages in international competition.It also constitutes a key pathway for advancing Chinese modernization.As a major structural reform in the domain of production relations,the unified national market provides an internal driving force for the sustained development of new quality productive forces.Given China's vast territory and pronounced regional disparities,the development of new quality productive forces requires each region to formulate strategies based on local conditions and to promote a complementary regional division that harnesses comparative advantages.Therefore,at this critical stage of transitioning from old to new growth drivers,it is essential to examine the relationship between the unified national market and new quality productive forces from the perspective of regional division.Based on the core concept of new quality productive forces,this study develops a comprehensive evaluation system encompassing laborers,objects of labor,and means of labor to measure the level of new quality productive forces in Chinese cities from 2011 to 2022.Drawing on the perspective of regional division,the analysis further examines how the construction of the unified national market influences the development of new quality productive forces.The findings are as follows:first,during the study period,the overall level of new quality productive forces in China increased steadily,but inter-city disparities widened.Second,the construction of the unified national market significantly promotes the development of new quality productive forces,and this effect remains robust after accounting for endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness tests.Third,heterogeneity analysis based on regional characteristics,government attention,and pilot policies shows that the driving effect is stronger in eastern region,during periods of heightened governmental focus,and in cities designated as free trade zones.Fourth,mechanism analysis indicates that the unified national market strengthens regional division,thereby promoting the development of new quality productive forces.This effect primarily operates through improved technological specialization,while technological diversification has not yet played a significant role at the current stage.This study offers the following policy implications.First,accelerate the development of a unified national market by improving institutional frameworks and enhancing intercity cooperation.Second,promote a complementary pattern of technological division by encouraging cities to specialize based on their comparative advantages,while enhancing inter-regional innovation networks to balance technological specialization and diversity.Third,implement differentiated regional development strategies to foster new productive forces by aligning industrial upgrading with local conditions.