Economic transition and urban land expansion in Provincial China

• We investigate land use change (LUC) and urban expansion in a transition economy using the case of Jiangsu, China.
• The dramatical LUC in Jiangsu was dominated by the expansion of construction land in Sunan and other municipal districts.
• LUC is attributed to the participation in global economy, market & reforms, and increasing competition among governments.
• LUC was mainly driven by government firstly, followed by marketization and then globalization after China’s entry into WTO.
• Revenue from land development has prompted local governments to involve in land development and land use change.

China has undergone economic transition characterized by marketization, globalization and decentralization, which has resulted in profound change in land use and urban space. This paper integrates globalization, institutional change, and China's economic transition to better understand urban land expansion in China. We use land use survey data in Jiangsu province at the county level to shed the light on the impact of economic transition on land use change and urban land expansion in China. We have found that a dramatic land use change in Jiangsu characterized by rapid urban land expansion, particularly Sunan (Southern Jiangsu) and municipal districts. This can be well explained by government policies including tax reform and intergovernmental competition, the participation in the global economy, and the development of a market economy. We have also found that urban land expansion has a temporal dimension, and was driven mainly by local governments in the early stage of the reform, followed by marketization, and more recently globalization after China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO).