“撤县设区”能提升区域全要素生产率吗?——来自2000—2018年市域尺度的经验证据

Can the Re-designation of Counties as City Districts Improve Regional Total Factor Productivity?—Empirical Evidence of Municipal Scale from 2000to 2018

撤县设区是扩大城市发展空间、促进区域一体化的重要举措。基于2000—2018年全国市域数据,应用双重差分模型识别撤县设区对市域全要素生产率的影响。结果发现,撤县设区使得市域平均全要素生产率提高1.27个百分点。进一步分析发现,撤县设区对市域全要素生产率的促进作用仅在东部地区显著,而在中部、西部地区不显著。同时,财政依赖度低、人口城镇化率高、经济关联度高的市域撤县设区政策效应更加明显。机制分析发现,撤县设区主要通过扩大城区规模吸引企业进入,提升地区创新水平以及促进产业结构转型升级等途径提升市域全要素生产率。

The re-designation of counties as city districts is an important measure to expand the space of urban development and promote regional integration.Based on the national dataof municipal scale from 2000to 2018,a difference-in-difference model is used to identify the impact of the re-designation of counties as city districts on the municipal total factor productivity.The results show that it increases the average municipal total factor productivity by 1.27%.Through further analysis,it is found that the promoting effect on the municipal total factor productivity is significant in the eastern regions,but not significant in the central and western regions.At the same time,the effect of it is more obvious in the cities with low fiscal dependence,high population urbanization rate and high economic correlation.Mechanism analysis finds that with the re-designation of counties as city districts,the total factor productivity is improved by expanding the municipal scale to attract enterprises,improving the regional innovation level,and promoting the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure.