数字基础设施能否提升地区对外贸易竞争力?——基于“宽带中国”战略的准自然实验

Can Digital Infrastructure Enhance Regional Competitiveness in Foreign Trade?——A Quasi Natural Experiment Based on the“Broadband China”Strategy

本文基于中国1990—2021年293个城市的面板数据,构建渐进双重差分模型,评估数字基础设施对我国试点城市对外贸易竞争力的影响。研究发现,建设数字基础设施能显著促进试点城市对外贸易竞争力的提高,且“宽带中国”战略对中东部试点城市对外贸易竞争力增长有更加显著性的促进作用,第三产业主导的试点城市比第二产业主导的城市对外贸易竞争力增长效果更明显。本文的研究结论有利于完善我国数字基础设施,促进出口贸易高质量发展。

This paper,based on the panel data of 293 Chinese cities from 1990 to 2021,constructs a progressive difference-in-differences model to assess the impact of digital infrastructure on the foreign trade competitiveness of China's pilot cities.The studyfinds that the development of digital infrastructure greatly enhances the foreign trade competitiveness of pilot cities,and the"Broadband China"strategy has a more significant promotional effect on the growth of foreign trade competitiveness in pilot cities in the central and eastern regions.Pilot cities dominated by the tertiary industry show a stronger improvement in foreign trade competitiveness compared with those dominated by the secondary industry.Thesefindings offer valuable insights for bolstering China’s digital infrastructure and promoting high-quality development of export trade.