The Impact of Smart City Policies on City Resilience: An Evaluation of 282 Chinese Cities

Yahong Feng, Jie Wang and Tianlun Zhang ()
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Yahong Feng: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Jie Wang: School of Management, Xi’an University of Science and Technology, Xi’an 710054, China
Tianlun Zhang: School of Public Policy and Management, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an 710049, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-19

Abstract: This study uses four dimensions, namely social resilience, economic resilience, infrastructure resilience, and ecological resilience, to construct an index system for urban resilience. The subject data came from the panel data of 282 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020. We selected a multiperiod double-difference model to study the effects of smart city pilot policies on macro-urban resilience. By conducting parallel-trend tests and selecting appropriate robustness tests, this study drew the following relevant conclusion: smart city pilot policies can have a positive effect on the urban resilience level. These policies exert their influence by facilitating industrial structure upgrading, which plays a partial mediating role. Considering different city area distributions and city scales, smart city pilot policies can have significant heterogeneity in their enhancement of urban resilience. The effect is pronounced in the “east > central > west” states and is more likely to have a significant impact on small- and medium-sized cities. Therefore, promoting the scope of smart city pilots, strengthening the intermediary role of industrial structure upgrading, and implementing differentiated policies for different regions and city sizes are important for sustainable urban development.

Keywords: smart city; urban resilience; industrial structure upgrading; multiperiod double difference (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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