自由贸易试验区设立对城市创新能力的影响

Research on the Impact of the Establishment of Free Trade Zone on Urban Innovation Ability

将自由贸易试验区设立作为一项准自然实验,通过构建数理模型,基于2001—2021年中国278个城市的面板数据,使用多期双重差分法考察自由贸易试验区设立对城市创新能力的影响。研究结果表明,自由贸易试验区设立能够提升城市创新能力且结果具有稳健性,但不同区位条件、要素禀赋或设立批次的自由贸易试验区对城市创新能力的促进作用表现出异质性特征。机制检验结果表明,要素集聚和市场竞争是自由贸易试验区影响城市创新能力发展的重要机制变量。基于研究结论,从推动生产要素高效集聚和完善高标准市场体系建设,进而更好发挥自由贸易试验区政策功效的角度提出政策建议。

This paper explores the impact of establishing free trade zones(FTZs)on urban innovation capabilities and its mechanisms in the context of the new development paradigm.It comprehensively reviews the current effectiveness of FTZ construction,holding significant theoretical and practical importance for disseminating FTZ development experience and achieving the innovation-driven development strategy.Specifically,this paper treats the establishment of FTZs as a quasi-natural experiment and employs rigorous mathematical models to theoretically analyze the impact of FTZ on urban innovation.Utilizing panel data from 278 Chinese cities from 2001 to 2021 and employing the multiple-period difference-in-differences(DID)method,the paper investigates the effects of the FTZ establishment on urban innovation capabilities.Empirical test results indicate a significant enhancement of urban innovation capabilities due to the FTZ establishment,a conclusion supported by a series of robustness tests.The impact of FTZ on urban innovation capabilities exhibits typical heterogeneity due to differences in geographical conditions,factor endowments,and establishment batches.The mechanism test indicates that factor aggregation and market competition are crucial mechanism variables influencing the development of urban innovation capabilities in FTZs.Finally,from the perspective of promoting the efficient aggregation of production factors and improving the high-standard market system,the paper provides policy recommendations to better showcase the effectiveness of FTZ policies.The potential marginal contributions of this paper are as follows.First,through rigorous mathematical models,it explicates the mechanism through which the establishment of FTZs influences urban innovation capabilities,thereby refining the technical treatment of mathematical models in FTZ research.Second,in terms of indicator selection,this paper overcomes differences in previous literature by employing the urban innovation capability index to characterize innovation levels.Third,unlike existing studies that predominantly discuss the impact of FTZs on innovation from a single perspective,this paper integrates FTZ development,production factor aggregation,competition effects,and innovation capabilities into a unified analytical framework.It concludes that factor aggregation and strengthened market competition are crucial channels through which FTZs improve urban innovation capabilities.