School of Business, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 15;19(8):e0308477. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308477. eCollection 2024.
Pilot Free Trade Zones (PFTZs) are a crucial new platform for China to build a more open economic system. Existing literature primarily focuses on the 'Bring In' effect of PFTZs, often overlooking the importance of 'Going Out' aspects. To bridge this gap, this paper uses data from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed enterprises from 2007 to 2021 and constructs a time-varying difference-in-differences (DID) model to test the impact of establishment of PFTZs on international expansion of enterprises. The study finds that establishment of PFTZs can significantly promote international expansion of enterprises, with a more pronounced effect on the scope of international expansion than on its depth. Mechanism analysis reveals that PFTZs can facilitate international expansion of enterprises by driving digital transformation, enhancing total factor productivity and management efficiency, and alleviating financing constraints. Notably, senior managers with overseas work experience play a crucial role in enhancing this relationship. Further, PFTZs not only have a linkage effect with the Belt and Road Initiative but also a radiation effect on neighboring cities. This study provides an analytical perspective and empirical evidence for evaluating policy effects of PFTZs and offers valuable insights that will enable PFTZ policies to be refined and facilitate successful implementation of the 'Going Out' strategy.
中国自由贸易试验区（FTZ）是中国构建更开放经济体系的重要新平台。现有文献主要关注 FTZ 的“引进来”效应，往往忽略了“走出去”方面的重要性。为了弥补这一差距，本文利用 2007 年至 2021 年中国上海和深圳 A 股上市公司的数据，构建了一个时变双重差分（DID）模型，以检验 FTZ 的设立对企业国际化扩张的影响。研究发现，FTZ 的设立可以显著促进企业的国际化扩张，对企业国际化扩张的广度的影响比深度更为显著。机制分析表明，FTZ 可以通过推动数字化转型、提高全要素生产率和管理效率以及缓解融资约束，促进企业的国际化扩张。值得注意的是，具有海外工作经验的高级管理人员在增强这种关系方面发挥着至关重要的作用。此外，FTZ 不仅与“一带一路”倡议有联动效应，而且对周边城市也有辐射效应。本研究为评估 FTZ 政策效果提供了分析视角和经验证据，并为完善 FTZ 政策和促进“走出去”战略的成功实施提供了有价值的见解。
