Does Cross-Border E-Commerce Promote Economic Growth? Empirical Research on China’s Pilot Zones

Abstract

Whether the construction of China’s cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) comprehensive pilot zones can promote economic growth and social sustainable development is an important question worthy of discussion. This paper uses the difference-in-differences (DID) method to test the impact of the establishment of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones on economic growth and discusses the impact mechanism. The results are as follows. (1) The construction of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones can promote economic growth. After testing with parallel trend, placebo, and other robustness methods, the results are still valid. (2) The economic promotion effect of the construction of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones will be more evident in the coastal and eastern regions. The economic promotion effect of the first, second, and third batch of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones is clear. (3) The main ways that the construction of CBEC comprehensive pilot zones can facilitate economic growth are through urban digitalization, trade openness, and information service industry agglomeration.