How does e‐commerce demonstration city improve urban innovation? Evidence from China

Abstract

This paper provides a feasible way to realize urban innovation through the e‐commerce pilot. Based on the data of 289 cities in China from 2002 to 2019, we examine the impact of the National E‐commerce Demonstration City pilot on urban innovation with a staggered difference‐in‐differences method. The results show that after becoming a pilot city of National E‐commerce Demonstration Cities (NEDC), the quantity and quality of urban innovation have improved. Further, NEDC policy plays a greater role in promoting innovation in economically agglomerated areas, first‐and third‐tier cities and areas with a higher degree of marketization. Finally, NEDC policy can affect the level of urban innovation by optimizing the allocation of innovation factors, improving the efficiency of credit resource allocation and forming the logistics scale effect.

Can E-commerce development policies promote the high-quality development of agriculture?—A quasi-natural experiment based on a China’s E-commerce demonstration city

“…E-commerce has a strong radiation effect and spatial spillover effect. Through cluster effects, carbon emissions have been reduced [ 14 , 15 ], agricultural pollution has been alleviated [ 16 , 17 ], agricultural technological innovation has been promoted [ 18 , 19 ], and agricultural factor input efficiency has been improved [ 14 ]. The development of agricultural e-commerce will actively promote the upgrading and high-quality development of agricultural industry [ 4 , 20 , 21 ].…”

“…The development of e-commerce has a positive impact on carbon emissions [ 42 , 43 ], agricultural ecological environment [ 16 , 17 ], and green innovation development [ 14 , 18 ]. However, due to the "endogenous" nature of E-commerce technology, existing research is mainly limited to its role in promoting the development of rural industries [ 4 , 44 ].…”

“…Online transactions have the advantages of fewer links, lower costs, and higher efficiency [ 10 ], attracting capital investment. Therefore, it promotes agricultural technological innovation [ 18 ], generates economies of scale [ 14 ], and promotes the effective allocation of agricultural resources [ 45 ]. We will examine the dynamic impact of NEDC’s e-commerce development policy on high-quality agricultural development from three aspects: technological innovation, economies of scale and resource allocation.…”

“…From the perspective of technological innovation, e-commerce is a product of high information technology, with the advantages of high efficiency, low cost, and real-time transparency across time and space constraints. The development of e-commerce contributes to the dissemination of technical knowledge and promotes the improvement of regional innovation levels and innovation environment [ 18 ]. Higher regional innovation levels and a better innovation environment will lead to faster agricultural technology progress, and agricultural technology progress is positively correlated with high-quality agricultural development.…”

Can urban e-commerce transformation improve economic resilience? a quasi-natural experiment from China

“…Extant research has investigated the relationship between the construction of NEDC and social development, with most studies focusing on environmental pollution [11,12], carbon reduction [10,13], regional innovation [14,15], and economic development [16,17]. Only two articles have examined the economic effects of constructing NEDCs, with no study discussing how this construction affects economic resilience.…”