Beyond Mere Growth: An "Identity-State" Synergistic Framework for Regional Economic Development

Prevailing paradigms in regional development economics predominantly focus on the quantitative growth of the economic "state"—metrics such as GDP, investment, and employment. This perspective often overlooks the critical dimension of a region's "identity," defined as its distinctive role and raison d'être within broader environmental systems (e.g., global value chains, national strategies, and inter-regional networks). Inspired by the philosophical principle that "existence is reasonable," this paper proposes a novel Identity-State Synergistic (ISS) framework. We posit that sustainable development emerges from the dynamic co-evolution between a region's externally constituted identity (its positional reasonableness) and its internally coordinated state (its quantitative and qualitative properties). Identity provides strategic direction and value context for state accumulation, while the state furnishes the material foundation and feedback for identity validation and evolution. Through theoretical elaboration and conceptual analogy, we argue that development strategies fixated solely on state growth while neglecting identity construction are inherently fragile and unsustainable. The ISS framework advocates for a balanced approach that deeply integrates strategic positioning (identity rationalization) with endogenous capacity building (state optimization). This synthesis offers a new theoretical lens for diagnosing regional development dilemmas and designing policies aimed at sustainable prosperity, moving beyond the myopia of purely quantitative accumulation.