The road to entrepreneurship: The effect of China's broadband infrastructure construction

Zhuo Huang, Yunqing Tao, Qidi Zhang and Yongwei Ye

Economic Analysis and Policy, 2023, vol. 80, issue C, 1831-1847

Abstract: Reasonable assessments of the impact of information infrastructure construction on entrepreneurship will support the development of the digital economy in China. Using nationwide data from 2005 to 2017, this paper analyzes the causal effect of the “Broadband China” pilot policy on entrepreneurship based on a difference-in-differences approach. We find that information infrastructure construction significantly enhances entrepreneurship, which is robust under different settings. A mechanism exploration suggests that constructing information infrastructure benefits information acquisition, knowledge spillovers, and risk-taking behavior, which illustrate the internal mechanism of promoting entrepreneurship. Taken together, this paper supports the positive role of the digital economy in the promotion of entrepreneurship in addition to providing new insights into the construction of information infrastructure to support entrepreneurship.

Keywords: Information infrastructure; Entrepreneurship; Information acquisition; Knowledge spillover; Risk-taking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G38 O18 O38 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:80:y:2023:i:c:p:1831-1847

DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2023.11.004

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