Spatio-temporal evolvement of economic development of Shandong at the county level

We assess the economic development level of 140 counties, districts, county-level cities of Shandong Province by choosing per capita GDP, per local fiscal revenue, and cost-income ratio of local fiscal revenue as index and using the national average value as reference values. We assess the development level and spatial status from 5 level regions and 4 types of county-level administrational regions, and analyze the tendency of evolvement of 5 classes regions and spatial status of Shandong Province. The findings are as follows: First, the economic level of Shandong Province had risen more from 2002 to 2005 and had fallen slightly from 2005 to 2011. Second, the ranking of 4 typical county-level administrational regions is an urban district, county-level city, district, and county. Third, evolution of 5 classes regions and spatial status of Shandong Province is division between high level and low level regions. Fourth, the spatial status of economic development in 2002 is 5 core regions dispersed over a wide area and from the peninsula to inland displayed a northeast-southwest variation trends from high level to low level. The spatial status of economic development in 2011 is 2 core regions parallel distributed the east of Shandong peninsula and Jinan-Dongying, the relatively low level region distributed through north-west to middle south of whole Province, and the Liaocheng-Heze low level region and Linyi circle low level region distributed on both sides of the south part of the relatively low level region. The most likely change of the spatial status of economic is the peninsula middle level region distributes on Yantai will change to high level regions, and the trends of two low level regions is hard to predict, the basic status marked by six regions will not change.