Digital economy development and venture capital networks: Empirical evidence from China

Abstract

This paper examines the impact of digital economy on urban venture capital (VC) networks constructed from 44,122 inter-city VC events involving 285 cities in China from 2011 to 2019. Specifically, digital infrastructure, digital industry development, digital innovation capacity and digital inclusive finance are identified as four critical dimensions of digital economy. Further, panel regressions reveal that digital economy plays a pivotal role in facilitating the flow of VC resources, and thus positively influencing the agglomeration, radiation, and intermediation of cities embedded in the inter-city VC networks. Further, the results show heterogeneity in the focal impact of digital economy. First, it is stronger in central cities. Second, it follows an inverted-U shape, with the maximum effect observed at approximately 550 km distance between start-ups and investment centers. Third, digital economy has a stronger impact at the seed and start-up stages than at the expansion and maturity stages. These findings have implications for policy-making concerning the development of digital economy and the strategic planning of urban VC networks.