Research On The Influence Mechanism Of Export Expansion Effect Of CR Express On Urban Economic Growth

As one of the significant achievements of the Belt and Road Initiative,the CR Express has significantly expanded the export trade of cities along the route.However,to some extent,the expansion of export trade brought by the CR Express comes from the high subsidies given by the cities to export enterprises,and non-market behavior can have an impact on the existing economic operation mechanism.Therefore,studying the trade expansion effect of the CR Express on the economic growth of cities along the route has certain theoretical and practical significance.The paper first analyzes the current situation of the CR Express and its export trade and economic growth effects;secondly,based on relevant theories,it analyzes the impact mechanism of the CR Express’ s export expansion effect on the economic growth of cities along the route from four perspectives: capital accumulation,technological progress,industrial structure upgrading,and institutional change;then,using data from 285prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2019,the export expansion effect of the CR Express on the economic growth of cities along the route is empirically studied through a difference-in-differences model and mediation effect model,robustness tests are conducted,and non-normalized operation cities are analyzed;finally,through a chained mediation effect model,capital accumulation,technological progress,industrial structure upgrading,and institutional change are taken as chained mediating variables to empirically study the mechanism of the CR Express’ s export expansion effect on the economic growth of cities along the route,and regional heterogeneity tests are conducted.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The export expansion effect of the CR Express promotes the capital accumulation,technological progress,industrial structure upgrading,and institutional change of cities along the route by strengthening scale economies,investment inducement,market competition;technology spillovers,technological innovation,intellectual property protection;integration into the global industrial chain,locational advantages,and industrial agglomeration,and industrial digitalization;institutional spillovers,institutional competition,and changing institutional change subjects,thereby promoting the economic growth of cities along the route.(2)The export expansion effect of the CR Express promotes the exports and economic growth of cities along the route,but the CR Express does not significantly promote the exports and economic growth of non-normalized operation cities.(3)The export expansion effect of the CR Express can promote the economic growth of cities along the route through four pathways: capital accumulation,technological progress,industrial structure upgrading,and institutional change.(4)The export expansion effect of the CR Express has a higher promotion effect on the economic growth of central and western cities and CR Express assembly center cities than eastern cities and non-CR Express assembly center cities.The economic growth promotion effect of the four mediating mechanisms for central and western cities and CR Express assembly center cities is higher than that for eastern cities and non-CR Express assembly center cities.Based on the main issues of the CR Express and the four pathways,this paper puts forward five policy recommendations: enhancing the capacity for normalized operation;deepening infrastructure connectivity to attract capital into central and western cities;strengthening technology spillovers and institutional innovation;promoting both the quantity and quality of export trade;and emphasizing institutional reform and innovation.