Based on panel data from 285 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above from 2007 to 2023, this study integrates digital infrastructure into a comprehensive evaluation framework. We assess basic public service levels across six dimensions: education, healthcare, culture, public facilities, ecological environment, and social security. By employing the Entropy Weight-TOPSIS method, Kernel Density Estimation, Dynamic Gini Decomposition, and Markov Chain analysis, this paper systematically characterizes the dynamic evolution and spatial disparities of public services across city tiers defined by the State Council’s "five categories and seven grades" classification scheme. Furthermore, a two-way fixed-effects model is constructed to identify the primary driving factors. The findings indicate that: The evolution of public service levels follows a "three-stage" trajectory characterized by "accelerated expansion, brief adjustment, and steady growth." A rank reorganization occurs among lower-tier cities, marked by "small-city catch-up and medium-city stagnation," which breaks the traditional linear correspondence between city hierarchy and supply capacity. The spatial pattern exhibits a duality of "gradient rigidity" and "club convergence," where megacities remain locked in high-level tiers while smaller cities demonstrate a significant "late-comer acceleration" effect. Regional disparities are primarily driven by the interaction between small cities and high-tier metropolitan areas. Economic development, industrial structure, urbanization, educational attainment, openness, and marketization exert significant positive driving effects, whereas fiscal decentralization acts as a notable constraint. Accordingly, this paper proposes policy recommendations, including the establishment of "spatially coordinated and multidimensionally linked" planning, the refinement of fiscal transfer payment systems, and the implementation of data-driven collaborative governance and differentiated supply strategies. these measures aim to dismantle scale-related gradient barriers and provide a theoretical and practical roadmap for achieving the equalization of basic public services.
SHANG Ai-ling
,
WANG Xiao-yu
,
YI Xin
. Research on the dynamic evolution, regional disparities, and driving factors of basic public service levels:An analysis from the perspective of city - tier hierarchies[J]. Urban Problems, 2025
, 363(10)
: 48
-58
.
DOI: 10.13239/j.bjsshkxy.cswt.251005
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