The impact of digital infrastructure on labor productivity
Xiang Zhao and
Jiali Liu
Economic Analysis and Policy, 2025, vol. 86, issue C, 274-287
Abstract:
The enhancement of labor productivity is a critical determinant of economic growth and plays a key role in intensifying global competition. The study employs a staggered difference-in-differences model to evaluate the impact of the Broadband China policy on labor productivity, using panel data from 280 cities from 2011 to 2021. The results show that: (1) The Broadband China policy has a significant positive effect on labor productivity, with the conclusion holding after a series of robustness checks. (2) Mechanism analyses indicate that the primary channels through which the policy promotes labor productivity are the alleviation of labor mismatch, the enhancement of urban innovation capacity, and the upgrading of human capital. (3) Heterogeneity analyses suggest that the policy's effect on labor productivity is more pronounced in regions with higher levels of marketization, industrial clustering, and industrial structure, compared to regions with lower levels of these factors. This study provides valuable insights into the optimal utilization of digital infrastructure to enhance labor productivity.
Keywords: Digital infrastructure; Labor productivity; Labor mismatch; Urban innovation capability; Human capital (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:
Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S031359262500102X
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.
Export reference: BibTeX
RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan)
HTML/Text
Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:86:y:2025:i:c:p:274-287
DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.03.030
Access Statistics for this article
Economic Analysis and Policy is currently edited by Clevo Wilson
More articles in Economic Analysis and Policy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().