Does the Belt and Road Initiative facilitate China’s corporate overseas investment: Based on a sustainable development perspective

Figures & data

Figure 1. Influential mechanisms of the BRI.

Source: Authors.

Table 1. Descriptive statistics of variables.

Variable	Variable Name	Obs	Mean	Min	Max
COI	Corporate overseas investment	15052	0.706	0	6.327
Treat $\times$ Post	BRI	15052	0.376	0	1
Staff	Number of employees	15052	7.808	4.159	11.187
Asset	Total Assets	15052	22.398	19.563	26.366
RD	R&D Costs	15052	4.472	0	21.132
Lev	Asset-liability ratio	15052	0.444	0.050	0.956
Growth	The growth rate of operating revenue	15052	0.145	−0.632	4.070
ROE	Returns on net assets	15052	0.062	−0.759	0.368

Source: CSMAR database and authors' calculations.

Table 2. Baseline regression results.

Variables	(1))	(2)	(3)	(4)
	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.339**	0.339**	0.339**	0.339***
	(0.146)	(0.161)	(0.141)	(0.103)
Staff	0.105***	0.105***	0.105***	0.105***
	(0.033)	(0.027)	(0.034)	(0.036)
Lev	0.215	0.215	0.215*	0.215
	(0.138)	(0.167)	(0.122)	(0.168)
Asset	0.152***	0.152***	0.152***	0.152***
	(0.047)	(0.053)	(0.052)	(0.052)
RD	0.013***	0.013***	0.013***	0.013***
	(0.003)	(0.002)	(0.004)	(0.004)
Growth	−0.036*	−0.036	−0.036	−0.036
	(0.022)	(0.029)	(0.023)	(0.025)
ROE	−0.141	−0.141*	−0.141*	−0.141*
	(0.094)	(0.076)	(0.084)	(0.081)
Constant	−3.786***	−3.786***	−3.786***	−3.786***
	(0.958)	(1.134)	(1.078)	(1.025)
Observations	14,290	14,290	14,290	14,290
Adjusted R-squared	0.712	0.714	0.712	0.714
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Cluster	Firm	Industry	City	Province

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Figure 2. Parallel trend test.

Source: Authors.

Table 3. Robustness checks.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Excluding years of initiative implementation	Initiative year pushed back one year	Replacement of foreign investment variables	PSM-DID
Variables	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.340**	0.330***	0.307***	0.339***
	(0.128)	(0.094)	(0.086)	(0.102)
Constant	−3.719***	−3.765***	−2.704***	−3.897***
	(1.008)	(1.029)	(0.925)	(1.035)
Controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Observations	12814	14290	14289	14280
Adjusted R-squared	0.718	0.714	0.720	0.714
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table 4. Policy exogeneity test.

	(1)	(2)
Year	2011	2012
Variables	Treat
COI	0.223	0.136
	(0.148)	(0.093)
Controls	Yes	Yes
Observations	1654	1654
Pseudo R-squared	0.011	0.013
Year Fixed Effects	No	No
Firm Fixed Effects	No	No
City-Specific Time Trend	No	No

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table 5. Heterogeneity analysis.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Large size	Small and medium size	Key industries	Non-key industries
Variables	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.042	0.202***	0.465***	−0.141***
	(0.060)	(0.033)	(0.119)	(0.025)
Constant	−0.166***	−0.863***	−5.352***	−3.671***
	(0.630)	(0.220)	(1.857)	(1.708)
Controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Observations	6165	7566	8239	5329
Adjusted R-squared	0.767	0.688	0.731	0.723
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table 6. Mediating effects.

Variables	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)	(6)
	COI	Tax	COI	Credit	COI	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.339***	0.014***	0.316***	0.127***	0.316***	0.300***
	(0.103)	(0.003)	(0.096)	(0.025)	(0.010)	(0.093)
Tax			1.429***			1.359***
			(0.338)			(0.358)
Credit					0.231**	0.179**
					(0.085)	(0.084)
Constant	−3.786***	−0.441***	−3.169***	−11.853***	−1.225***	−1.293
	(1.025)	(0.071)	(1.069)	(0.311)	(1.299)	(1.349)
Controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Observations	14290	14193	14193	14232	14232	14136
Adjusted R-squared	0.714	0.759	0.718	0.965	0.715	0.718
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table 7. Enterprises in different types of industries.

	(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)
	Polluting industries	Non-polluting industries	High-energy-consuming industries	Low-energy-consuming industries
Variables	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.390***	0.042*	0.339***	0.130**
	(0.063)	(0.022)	(0.099)	(0.062)
Constant	−5.717**	−4.243***	−7.368	−4.162***
	(2.164)	(0.893)	(4.563)	(1.151)
Controls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Observations	4261	9435	1912	11803
Adjusted R-squared	0.717	0.726	0.711	0.717
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table 8. Environmental governance intensity.

	(1)	(2)
	High environmental governance	Low environmental governance
Variables	COI
Treat $\times$ Post	0.275***	0.222
	(0.026)	(0.215)
Constant	−3.692**	−3.581*
	(1.318)	(1.841)
Controls	Yes	Yes
Observations	6608	7412
Adjusted R-squared	0.715	0.769
Year Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes
Firm Fixed Effects	Yes	Yes
City-Specific Time Trend	Yes	Yes

Note: *, **, *** indicate significance at the 10%, 5%, and 1% levels, respectively; standard errors are displayed in parentheses; all regressions include firm fixed effects, year fixed effects, and city-specific time trend terms.

Source: Authors.

Table A1. Policy overview.

Promulgator	Policy Document
MOFCOM	Guide for Country-specific Investment Tax
	Foreign Investment Cooperation Country (Region) Guide
Jilin Province	Adhere to the implementation of "five cooperation" to lead the "one main six double" high-quality development strategy, to further improve the level of development of the open economy, to build an important window of China’s opening to the north and Northeast Asia cooperation center hub
Shaanxi Province	"Shaanxi Province 14th Five-Year Plan to deeply integrate into the BRI pattern and build an inland open highland plan"
Qinghai Province	"Qinghai Province in 2021 to promote the BRI construction of key work division of the program"
Zhejiang Province	"Zhejiang Province to create a BRI hub to build a new pattern of comprehensive openness supervision and incentive measures supporting the implementation of measures"
Yunnan Province	"Implementation Plan for Yunnan Province’s Participation in the Construction of China-Myanmar Economic Corridor (2020–2030)"
Xinjiang Province	"Construction Program of the Central European Liner (Urumqi) Consolidation Center (2020-2024)"
Guangxi Province	"Several Policy Measures for Financial Support to the Construction of New Western Land and Sea Corridors"
Chongqing	"Chongqing Municipal Implementation Plan for Promoting the Construction of New Western Land and Sea Corridors"
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region	"Work Plan for 2020 for the Autonomous Region to Promote the BRI and the Construction of Pilot Inland Open Economy Zone"
Gansu Province	"The new era of Gansu into the BRI construction to build "five high points" planning"
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region	"Outline of the Planning of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor"
Heilongjiang Province	Investment security and taxation policy briefing for Heilongjiang overseas enterprises
Liaoning Province	China (Liaoning) - Central and Eastern European Countries Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Cloud Docking Meeting Held
Tibet Autonomous Region	IRS-Service the BRI Policy Interpretation Meeting
Shanghai	Action Plan for Shanghai to Play a Bridgehead Role in Serving the National BRI Construction
Fujian Province	2021 Fujian Province the BRI foreign cooperation in science and technology innovation platform project plan
Guangdong Province	"Guangdong Province, a number of policy measures to stabilize foreign trade"
Hainan Province	Relying on the "Hainan Free Trade Port Construction Master Plan"; deeply integrated into the BRI

See https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/info/iList.jsp?cat_id=10010.

Source: Authors.

Table B1. Matching results.

Variable	Unmatched/ Matched	Mean Treated Control		%bias	%reduct	t-test	V(T)/
					|bias|	t	p>|t|	V(C)
Lev	U	0.44598	0.44285	1.5		0.91	0.364	0.89*
	M	0.44604	0.44956	−1.7	−12.6	−0.95	0.342	1.01
RD	U	6.2862	3.3769	36.8		22.45	0.000	1.49*
	M	6.2811	6.1153	2.1	94.3	1.02	0.306	1.01
Growth	U	0.14409	0.14548	−0.4		−0.22	0.826	1.28*
	M	0.14186	0.14115	0.2	49.3	0.10	0.924	1.04
Asset	U	22.544	22.31	19.1		11.29	0.000	0.89*
	M	22.544	22.6	−4.6	76.1	−0.17	0.012	0.99
Staff	U	7.7827	7.8228	−3.4		−1.99	0.047	0.95*
	M	7.7839	7.8224	−3.2	3.9	−1.73	0.084	0.98
ROE	U	0.05476	0.06669	−10.6		−6.35	0.000	1.24*
	M	0.055	0.05734	−2.1	80.4	−1.09	0.278	1.13*

Source: Authors.