数字基础设施促进生产率增长的网络外溢效应——来自“增量提质”的双重视角

The network spillover effect of digital infrastructure in promoting TFP growth:from the double perspective of“quantity increment and quality improvement”

数字基础设施是推动技术创新与数字融合的核心力量,对赋能经济新增长、推动经济高质量发展至关重要。基于数字基础设施的公共性、外部性、网络性与迭代升级特征,研究了数字基础设施的网络外溢效应与全要素生产率(TFP)之间的关系及作用机理。利用面板随机前沿分析方法测算全要素生产率,发现数字基础设施对全要素生产率具有显著的促进效应,这种效应来源于数字基础设施对技术效率与规模效率的促进作用。省际个体的数字基础设施能对与其在地理、经济、人口方面相关联的其他省份的全要素生产率产生显著的正向网络外溢效应。机制研究揭示:一方面,数字基础设施网络外溢效应可通过提升创新数量、创新质量显著促进全要素生产率的增长;另一方面,数字基础设施网络外溢效应也能通过缓解资本错配、劳动力错配促进全要素生产率的增长。进一步研究显示:数字基础设施数量网络与数字基础设施质量网络在通过创新促进全要素生产率增长时具有异质性。数字基础设施质量网络能通过创新推动全要素生产率的增长,但数字基础设施数量网络却无法通过创新来显著推动全要素生产率的增长。因此,推动经济高质量发展的关键不仅在于数字基础设施数量规模的扩张,更在于数字基础设施质量的迭代升级。

Digital infrastructure is key to promoting technological innovation and digital integration and is crucial to enabling economic new growth and promoting high quality economic growth.By integrating the publicity and externality of digital infrastructure,as well as its networking and continuous-iterative-upgrading characteristics,this paper studies the relationship between the network spillover effect of digital infrastructure and total factor productivity(TFP)..We use panel stochastic frontier analysis to measure the TFP,finding that digital infrastructure has a significant positive network spillover effect on TFP,which comes from the promotional effect of digital infrastructure on technical efficiency and scale efficiency.The digital infrastructure of interprovincial individuals can have a significant positive network spillover effect on the TFP of other provinces,which are related to their geography,economy,and population.Mechanism research reveals that,on the one hand,the network spillover effect of digital infrastructure can significantly promote the growth of TFP by improving the quantity and quality of innovation;on the other hand,the spillover effect of the digital infrastructure network can promote the growth of TFP by alleviating capital and labor mismatch.Further,the quantity and quality of the digital infrastructure network are heterogeneous when promoting TFP through innovation.The quality of the digital infrastructure network can promote the growth of TFP through innovation,but the quantity of the digital infrastructure network cannot significantly promote the growth of TFP through innovation.Therefore,we believe that the key to promoting high-quality economic growth is not only to expand the scale of digital infrastructure but to improve its quality.