Cluster Effects of the Manufacturing Industry in Sichuan Province: Insights from County-Level Economic Development

Manufacturing industry clusters contribute to the optimization of regional industrial structures and the improvement of economic growth efficiency.The role of inter-county carriers can further enhance the cluster effects of the manufacturing industry in Sichuan Province, promoting coordinated development across industries and accelerating the transformation of new productive forces.This study evaluates the degree of industrial agglomeration of the manufacturing industry in 183 counties in Sichuan Province.The results indicate that Sichuan's manufacturing industry exhibits a clear clustering effect, with a particularly pronounced structural agglomeration centered around Chengdu.However, economic development across counties in the province remains unbalanced.The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) regression analysis confirms that total factor productivity (TFP) and industrial interlinkages exert a significant positive influence on the agglomeration of the manufacturing industry.