Digital infrastructure construction and urban industrial chain resilience
Evidence from the “Broadband China” strategy
Yi Chen (Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology)
Cailou Jiang (Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology)
Lin Peng (Chuzhou University)
Shuang Zhao (Hohai University)
Cheng Chen (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
Effective governance of industrial chain resilience (ICR) is crucial for urban sustainability, and the development of digital infrastructure provides actionable pathways to achieve this goal. However, limited attention has been paid to the influence of digitalization efforts on ICR. Utilizing panel data from 271 Chinese cities spanning 2009 to 2021, this study adopts the “Broadband China” strategy as a proxy and employs a staggered Difference-in-Differences model combined with machine learning algorithms to evaluate the impacts of digital infrastructure construction (DIC) on urban ICR. The results show that: (1) DIC significantly drives urban ICR. This conclusion shows strong reliability, as it is confirmed by extensive robustness checks. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates stronger effects of DIC on eastern cities, non-resource-based cities, and cities with high industrial agglomeration. The positive impact exhibits sustained growth in the eastern region yet gradual attenuation in the central region. (3) Mechanism analysis reveals that DIC improves ICR by bridging the digital divide, fostering digital human capital and elevating innovation quality. These findings provide critical insights for formulating policies to strengthen digital infrastructure development and enhance urban ICR.