IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i7p1381-d1191260.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does the Smart City Policy Influence Digital Infrastructure? Spatial Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Meijing Song

    (School of Finance and Economics, Hainan Vocational University of Science and Technology, Haikou 571126, China)

  • Yuan Xiao

    (Blockchain Research Institute, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

  • Yige Zhou

    (School of Statistics and Mathematics, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China)

Abstract

With the rapid development of the Internet and digital technology, digital infrastructure has become an important part of urban infrastructure. Many cities are enacting smart policies to promote the development of digital technology infrastructure. However, what are their mechanisms? There is currently a shortage of literature on the subject. This paper tried to solve this problem and used China as an example. Using panel data from cities in China, this paper used the spatial multiple-period difference-in-difference (SDID) method to investigate the impact of smart city policy (SCP) on digital infrastructure. First, we found that SCP significantly promotes the construction of digital infrastructure, with strong positive spatial spillover effects. This result remained valid after a series of rigorous robustness tests. Second, we discovered that the indirect effects of policy implementation outweigh the direct effects. Furthermore, smart city development enhances local government investment in digital infrastructure, attracts more high-tech enterprises, and consequently drives improvements in urban digital infrastructure levels. Lastly, we observed that the effectiveness of smart city policies is stronger in cities with good fiscal conditions, strong economic development, and a thriving digital economy. This research will not only enrich research on smart cities but also provide policy recommendations for strengthening digital infrastructure.

Suggested Citation

  • Meijing Song & Yuan Xiao & Yige Zhou, 2023. "How Does the Smart City Policy Influence Digital Infrastructure? Spatial Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-14, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:7:p:1381-:d:1191260
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/7/1381/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/7/1381/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrzej Sobczak & Leszek Ziora, 2021. "The Use of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) as an Element of Smart City Implementation: A Case Study of Electricity Billing Document Management at Bydgoszcz City Hall," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-22, August.
    2. Bouwman, Harry & Nikou, Shahrokh & de Reuver, Mark, 2019. "Digitalization, business models, and SMEs: How do business model innovation practices improve performance of digitalizing SMEs?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(9).
    3. Glenn Ellison & Sara Fisher Ellison, 2005. "Lessons About Markets from the Internet," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 19(2), pages 139-158, Spring.
    4. Junjun Tang & Xing Zhao, 2023. "Does the new digital infrastructure improve total factor productivity?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 895-916, October.
    5. Gilles Duranton & Matthew A. Turner, 2011. "The Fundamental Law of Road Congestion: Evidence from US Cities," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(6), pages 2616-2652, October.
    6. Jeffrey P. Cohen & Catherine J. Morrison Paul, 2004. "Public Infrastructure Investment, Interstate Spatial Spillovers, and Manufacturing Costs," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 551-560, May.
    7. Bibri, Simon Elias, 2022. "Eco-districts and data-driven smart eco-cities: Emerging approaches to strategic planning by design and spatial scaling and evaluation by technology," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    8. Dagmara Kociuba & Mariusz Sagan & Waldemar Kociuba, 2023. "Toward the Smart City Ecosystem Model," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-26, March.
    9. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    10. Ann Bartel & Casey Ichniowski & Kathryn Shaw, 2007. "How Does Information Technology Affect Productivity? Plant-Level Comparisons of Product Innovation, Process Improvement, and Worker Skills," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1721-1758.
    11. Farhadi, Minoo, 2015. "Transport infrastructure and long-run economic growth in OECD countries," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 73-90.
    12. Ejaz Ghani & Arti Grover Goswami & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Highway to Success: The Impact of the Golden Quadrilateral Project for the Location and Performance of Indian Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 317-357, March.
    13. Caragliu, Andrea & Del Bo, Chiara F., 2019. "Smart innovative cities: The impact of Smart City policies on urban innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 373-383.
    14. Han, Wontae & Wang, Jian & Wang, Xiao, 2022. "FDI and firm productivity in host countries: The role of financial constraints," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    15. Abdullah Addas, 2023. "Influence of Urban Green Spaces on Quality of Life and Health with Smart City Design," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-19, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoli Jiang & Xue Han & Li Xue & Zhuo Yu & Shuo Wei & Hejun Xu, 2023. "How smart city building improved corporate performance: empirical evidence of China’s a-share listed companies," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-8, December.
    2. Sara Torabi Moghadam & Dana Al Mamlouk & Patrizia Lombardi, 2024. "Spatial Web-Interactive Impact Assessment Tool: Affordable Smart City Real Estate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-22, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Junjun Tang & Xing Zhao, 2023. "Does the new digital infrastructure improve total factor productivity?," Bulletin of Economic Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(4), pages 895-916, October.
    2. Das, Abhiman & Ghani, Ejaz & Grover, Arti & Kerr, William & Nanda, Ramana, 2024. "JUE insight: Infrastructure and Finance: Evidence from India’s GQ highway network," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    3. Yoshifumi Konishi & Akari Ono, 2024. "Do Winners Win More from Transport Megaprojects? Evidence from the Great Seto Bridges in Japan," Keio-IES Discussion Paper Series 2024-003, Institute for Economics Studies, Keio University.
    4. Gibbons, Stephen & Lyytikäinen, Teemu & Overman, Henry G. & Sanchis-Guarner, Rosa, 2019. "New road infrastructure: The effects on firms," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 35-50.
    5. Redding, Stephen J. & Turner, Matthew A., 2015. "Transportation Costs and the Spatial Organization of Economic Activity," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 1339-1398, Elsevier.
    6. Ghani, Ejaz & Goswami, Arti Grover & Kerr, William R., 2013. "The golden quadrilateral highway project and urban/rural manufacturing in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 6620, The World Bank.
    7. Ciani, Emanuele & de Blasio, Guido & Poy, Samuele, 2022. "A freeway to prosperity? Evidence from Calabria, South of Italy," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    8. Cheng, Dong & Shi, Xunpeng & Yu, Jian, 2021. "The impact of green energy infrastructure on firm productivity: Evidence from the Three Gorges Project in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 385-406.
    9. Li, Chunying & Zhang, Jinning & Lyu, Yanwei, 2022. "Does the opening of China railway express promote urban total factor productivity? New evidence based on SDID and SDDD model," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    10. Claudia N. Berg & Uwe Deichmann & Yishen Liu & Harris Selod, 2017. "Transport Policies and Development," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 465-480, April.
    11. Li, Zhigang & Wu, Mingqin & Chen, Bin R., 2017. "Is road infrastructure investment in China excessive? Evidence from productivity of firms," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 116-126.
    12. Zhong, Ninghua & Cai, Dongmei & Lian, Fangzhou & Yan, Shengyu, 2024. "Highway usage efficiency and debt burden: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. P. Charnoz & C. Lelarge & C. Trevien, 2016. "Communication Costs and the Internal Organization of Multi-Plant Businesses: Evidence from the Impact of the French High-Speed Rail," Documents de Travail de l'Insee - INSEE Working Papers g2016-02, Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques.
    14. Fan, Xiaomin & Xu, Yingzhi, 2023. "Does high-speed railway promote urban innovation? Evidence from China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    15. Gabriel Ahlfeldt & Pantelis Koutroumpis & Tommaso Valletti, 2017. "Speed 2.0: Evaluating Access to Universal Digital Highways," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 586-625.
    16. Bird, Julia & Straub, Stéphane, 2020. "The Brasília experiment: The heterogeneous impact of road access on spatial development in Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    17. Ghani,Syed Ejaz & Grover,Arti & Kerr,Sari & Kerr,William Robert, 2016. "Will market competition trump gender discrimination in India ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7814, The World Bank.
    18. Ejaz Ghani & Arti Grover Goswami & William R. Kerr, 2016. "Highway to Success: The Impact of the Golden Quadrilateral Project for the Location and Performance of Indian Manufacturing," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(591), pages 317-357, March.
    19. Piotr Rosik & Julia Wójcik, 2022. "Transport Infrastructure and Regional Development: A Survey of Literature on Wider Economic and Spatial Impacts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-19, December.
    20. Diao, Mi, 2018. "Does growth follow the rail? The potential impact of high-speed rail on the economic geography of China," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 279-290.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:7:p:1381-:d:1191260. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.