Has “The Belt and Road” initiative promoted regional economic growth and economic innovation?

摘要

The article regards “The Belt and Road” initiative as a quasi-natural experiment. Based on the county panel data from 1999 to 2017, difference-in-differences model (DID) is used to examine the impact of the “The Belt and Road” initiative on regional economic growth and economic innovation. The study found that the “The Belt and Road” initiative can significantly increase the economic growth and innovation of the region. Through the placebo test and the robustness test, it shows good policy uniqueness characteristics. The article further analyzes the heterogeneity of the initiative. The study found that the initiative has more obvious economic growth and innovation in the central region.