New-type infrastructure and urban economic resilience: Evidence from China

Abstract

Rising global uncertainties pose challenges to the resilience of economic development, and new-type infrastructure, referring to a system that is supported by next-generation information technology, can be a crucial stabilizing factor in the digital era to overcome uncertainties. This study uses 5244 observations from 276 cities in China from 2003 to 2021 to investigate the impact of new-type infrastructure on urban economic resilience. The empirical findings indicate that new-type infrastructure can effectively enhance regional economic resilience, and urban economic resilience can be improved in the digital age. New-type infrastructure can effectively mitigate the adverse impact of Corona Virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on economic resilience. The effect of new-type infrastructure on economic resilience is larger in central regions, cities with medium and large economic scales, and cities with well-developed traditional infrastructure. New-type infrastructure exhibits threshold effects with changes in mechanism variables, decreasing as the threshold of resource dependence is crossed and increasing as the threshold of capital deepening and human capital is crossed. New-type infrastructure can enhance economic resilience by promoting innovation, including digital and green innovation. In addition, new-type infrastructure can cultivate emerging industries, advance industrial structure optimization, and promote collaborative agglomeration, which also contributes to enhancing economic resilience.