The Catena between Urban Clusters and Higher Education Clusters and Its Impact on Economic Development—An Empirical Analysis Based on the Statistical Data of Three Major Urban Clusters from 2012 to 2021
Based on the theory of dynamics,this study uses the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei ur-ban agglomeration,Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration,and Chengdu-Chongqing urban ag-glomeration in China from 2012 to 2021 as samples to compare and analyze the differences in in-dex and coupling coordination between the three major urban agglomerations and higher education clusters in China,and further explore their relationship with economic growth.The study found that:(1)the overall development of higher education clusters and urban clusters in the three ma-jor urban agglomerations is good,but there are significant differences in regional development trends between urban agglomerations.The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration shows an in-creasing trend in the process of higher education and urban cluster development;(2)From 2012 to 2021,the coupling and coordination levels of the three major urban agglomerations have all un-dergone changes and presented the characteristics of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration>Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration>Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration;(3)The higher education clusters,urban clusters,and coupled coordinated development levels of the three major urban agglomerations can all promote economic growth and exhibit differentiated effects.The weaker the degree of development of urban clusters,the stronger the impact of urban clusters.The higher the degree of development of urban clusters,the stronger the impact of high-er education clusters and the level of coupled and coordinated development;Government interven-tion(MEC)has a significant promoting effect on the economic growth of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration;Technological innovation(Ist)has a significant promoting effect on the eco-nomic growth of both the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration;Human capital(Hr)has a significant promoting effect on the economic growth of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration,and has a significant hindering effect on the economic growth of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.