Does internet development affect urban economic resilience? New evidence from China

ABSTRACT

Global macroeconomic development is faced with great uncertainty, especially the repeated impact of COVID-19, which exacerbate the challenges. This study explores the impact of Internet development on the resilience of cities. In the first place, a theoretical model is used to analyse how Internet development affects productivity and further influences urban economic resilience. Based on this, a long-differences model is established for empirical analysis. The study found that improving Internet development is an important step enhancing urban economic resilience. The results provide new perspectives and evidence for the study of urban economic resilience.

KEYWORDS:

• Economic resilience
• Internet development
• Sensitivity index
• Long-differences model
• Resistibility
• Recovery ability

JEL CLASSIFICATION:

• L86
• R10
• R11
• R58

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ We also add province fixed effects to absorb the province-level time trend, and to remove the macro-level confounding of the results at the province level, finding no significant difference in the results.

² Similar consideration to those in downturns, here we also add province fixed effects and find no significant difference in the results.

³ For The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, see http://infogate.fmprc.gov.cn/web/ziliao_674904/zt_674979/dnzt_674981/qtzt/2030kcxfzyc_686343/yw/202206/P020220620444256180663.pdf.

⁴ For the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People’s Republic of China and the outline of the 2035 Vision, see http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2021-03/13/content_5592681.htm?pc.

⁵ For China’s economic growth data, see https://data.stats.gov.cn/easyquery.htm?cn=C01.

⁶ For the China Urban Statistical Yearbook, see https://data.cnki.net/yearBook?type=type&code=A.

⁷ For China Academy of Information and Communication Research ‘Global Digital Economy White Paper (2022)’, see http://www.caict.ac.cn/kxyj/qwfb/bps/202212/P020221207397428021671.pdf.