Abstract
The theory of “flow space” presents a new paradigm for understanding the transformation and reconstruction of urban and regional spatial structure in the Internet age, and the advancement of big data acquisition and mining technology paves a new foundation for robust empirical study of the flow space. Talent flow, as an important element in the flow space between cities, can act as a reflection of the spatial pattern of the regional flow network and the talent attraction capacity of different cities. Yet, the characteristics of the flow space from this perspective have not been well studies in existing literature. By analyzing the flow of graduates in 2015 from universities directly administered by the Ministry of Education of China, this paper aims to understand the talent redistribution pattern of 23 major cities within China and each province’s capacity to supply and attract graduates in this process. Therefore, a set of assessment indexes are proposed and spatial analysis by ArcGIS is applied to the evaluation of the regional development potential of the 23 cities and the overall flow patterns of graduates among all the provinces. It is revealed that the flow space is showing a flattening trend, compared with the early period featured by polarization development. The middle part of China is rising in terms of talent attraction, while the Northeast China is showing signs of contraction as a result of the outflow of talents. Then, it further discusses the underlying causes of these new changes by considering China's current development transformation. The analysis indicates that the comparatively bigger scale of higher education and stronger talent contribution capability, lower living cost, better air quality and rising job opportunities in the gradually emerging high technology industries are the key factors contributing to this pattern change.
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Notes
- 1.
Implementation rate, refers to the proportion of graduates clearly knowing where to go and what to do after graduation. The calculation equation is: (number of students continuing study in China + number of students studying abroad + number of students having signed temporary tripartite agreements + number of students having signed formal labor contracts + number of students with flexible employment + number of students self-employed) / the total number of graduates * 100%.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to give our special thanks to the following funding: (1) The Recruitment Program of Global Experts (Youth Group) of China (Grant No. D1218006); (2) the Independent Research Grant from HUST (Grant No. 2015MS106).
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Nie, J., Liu, H. (2021). The Inflow and Outflow Pattern of University Graduates of Major Cities in China from the Perspective of Flow Space. In: Li, W., Hu, L., Cao, J. (eds) Human-Centered Urban Planning and Design in China: Volume II. GeoJournal Library, vol 130. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-83860-7_17
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