Evaluating the institutional performance of the Pearl River Delta integration policy through intercity cooperation network analysis

Adopting a macroscopic perspective, this study employs intercity cooperation network analysis to assess the institutional performance of the Pearl River Delta's (PRD) integration policy. To assess whether the existing PRD intercity cooperation network is advancing the three objectives of the PRD integration policy in terms of cooperation patterns, actors' involvement, and cooperation fields, this study analyzed news published on the Internet and official government websites. The study concludes that: (1) the Shenzhen-Dongguan-Huizhou sub-region (SDH) and the Zhuhai-Zhongshan-Jiangmen sub-region (ZZJ) are entirely integrated as institutional entities, while Zhaoqing and Yunfu have not been integrated into the Guangzhou-Foshan-Zhaoqing sub-region (GFZ); (2) the PRD integration process remains a government-led administrative process, with market and civil society actors having had little influence on the governance structure; and (3) the primary areas of cooperation involve institutional design and economic development, and secondary functions, such as entertainment, education, and environmental protection, have not been fully undertaken. We also consider that the PRD's institutional spatial structure is a monocentric structure centered on Shenzhen, which is inconsistent with previous studies indicating a functional spatial structure known as a “Polynuclear Urban Region.”