Institute of Management, Shanghai University of Engineering Science, Shanghai, China.
Institute of Geography, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
PLoS One. 2022 Dec 1;17(12):e0278274. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0278274. eCollection 2022.
Infrastructure construction related to the new generation of information technology and 5G technology is an important measure taken by the Chinese government to promote regional economic development. Large-scale infrastructure investment is being carried out simultaneously in China's core and peripheral regions. The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a severe blow to China's tourism industry, and the application of new technologies seems to blur the spatial boundaries of the tourism industry. Therefore, it is debatable whether the zealous development of large investment projects can really improve the competitiveness of the regional tourism industry. This paper discusses this topical issue by empirically analyzing data from 31 Chinese provinces and cities from 2008-2019 and draws the following conclusions (1) The continuous expansion of new infrastructure investment in China indeed has a positive effect on improving China's overall tourism competitiveness. However, the inverted U-shaped relationship between the two shows that China should not blindly expand the scale of infrastructure construction and make appropriate investment according to the regional industrial development level. (2) Although convergent infrastructure plays an important role in regional industrial competitiveness, the marginal effect has begun to weaken, so the problem of scale inefficiency needs to be addressed. In contrast, the input of innovation infrastructure is insufficient to enhance industrial competitiveness and can be moderately increased to achieve better results. (3) China's core economic areas have a good driving effect on new infrastructure investment, but the original technological innovation and transformation-type facilities are still the key to limiting the improvement of industrial competitiveness. Peripheral areas are more passive recipients with strong demand. Therefore, investment in various types of infrastructure can drive regional development.
基础设施建设与新一代信息技术和 5G 技术有关，这是中国政府促进区域经济发展的重要举措。中国的核心和周边地区同时进行着大规模的基础设施投资。新冠疫情对中国旅游业造成了严重打击，新技术的应用似乎模糊了旅游业的空间边界。因此，大规模投资项目的热情发展是否真的能提高区域旅游业的竞争力，这一点值得商榷。本文通过对 2008-2019 年中国 31 个省、市的数据进行实证分析，讨论了这一热门话题，得出以下结论：（1）中国新基础设施投资的持续扩大确实对提高中国整体旅游竞争力有积极影响。然而，两者之间的倒 U 型关系表明，中国不应盲目扩大基础设施建设规模，而是应根据区域产业发展水平进行适当投资。（2）虽然收敛性基础设施对区域产业竞争力起着重要作用，但边际效应已开始减弱，因此需要解决规模效率问题。相比之下，创新基础设施的投入不足以增强产业竞争力，可以适度增加以取得更好的效果。（3）中国核心经济区对新基础设施投资具有良好的带动作用，但原始技术创新和转化型设施仍然是限制产业竞争力提高的关键。外围地区是需求较强的被动接受者。因此，各种类型的基础设施投资可以带动区域发展。
