IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0315264.html

Policy evaluation of place-based strategies on upgrading county industrial structures amid economic structural transformation: Insights from pilot counties of China’s returning entrepreneurs

Author

Listed:
  • Xianghui Tian
  • Zhang Juan

Abstract

In the context of the transformation of urban-rural dual economic structure, one of the important ways to realize urban-rural integrated development is to carry out county industrial structure upgrading. Based on the policy of returning home to start business as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper empirically analyzes the relationship between returning home to start business and upgrading of county industrial structure. Selecting 1997 counties across the country from 2000 to 2021 as the research sample, a multi-temporal double-difference model is used to test the impact of the place-based policy on county industrial structure and the mechanism of the impact, and the result confirms that the implementation of the pilot policy of returning home entrepreneurship plays a positive and obvious role in promoting the level of industrial development of county-level areas. Subsequent investigations reveal diverse regional impacts, notably in Central and Western and the significantly older regions; thus, the influence of the prototype program of reintroducing home entrepreneurship on enhancing industrial development is more pronounced. Viewing from a mechanistic standpoint, the pilot initiative, which motivates entrepreneurs to go back and establish new businesses, aids in enhancing industrial frameworks by boosting innovation and stimulating the market. The article offers valuable direction and understanding to decision-makers aiming to enhance the combined growth of urban and rural sectors, as well as to elevate and reform the economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Xianghui Tian & Zhang Juan, 2024. "Policy evaluation of place-based strategies on upgrading county industrial structures amid economic structural transformation: Insights from pilot counties of China’s returning entrepreneurs," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0315264
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315264
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315264
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0315264&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0315264?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Luoqiong Zhou & Lei Du, 2024. "Improving the sustainable development of firms: Evidence from the environmental constraint target policy in China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 1217-1225, February.
    2. Gilles Duranton & Anthony J. Venables, 2018. "Place-Based Policies for Development," NBER Working Papers 24562, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dorine Cornet & Jean Bonnet & Sébastien Bourdin, 2023. "Digital entrepreneurship indicator (DEI): an analysis of the case of the greater Paris metropolitan area," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 71(3), pages 697-724, December.
    2. Hasan, Rana & Jiang, Yi & Rafols, Radine Michelle, 2021. "Place-based preferential tax policy and industrial development: Evidence from India’s program on industrially backward districts," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    3. Cheng, Qi & Yang, Jun, 2024. "Is green place-based policy effective in mitigating pollution? Firm-level evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 530-547.
    4. Benjamin Austin & Edward Glaeser & Lawrence Summers, 2018. "Jobs for the Heartland: Place-Based Policies in 21st-Century America," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 49(1 (Spring), pages 151-255.
    5. Bei Liu & Xing Bao & Zhaoxuan Qiu & Yunyun Zhang & Qiu Xia, 2024. "How does financial openness affect pollution emission of industrial enterprises?—Empirical evidence from the entry of foreign banks in China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 2910-2930, August.
    6. Katrin Hussinger & Lorenzo Palladini, "undated". "Do China’s Special Economic Zones Increase Incentives to Invest in R&D?," DEM Discussion Paper Series 25-10, Department of Economics at the University of Luxembourg.
    7. Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés & Bartalucci, Federico & Lozano-Gracia, Nancy & Dávalos, María, 2024. "Overcoming left-behindedness. Moving beyond the efficiency versus equity debate in territorial development," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 125629, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Kemeny, Thomas & Storper, Michael, 2020. "Superstar cities and left-behind places: disruptive innovation, labor demand, and interregional inequality," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 103312, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Keisuke KONDO & Toshihiro OKUBO, 2025. "Learning and Spillovers in Place-Based Policy Making," Discussion papers 25078, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    10. Martin Ferry, 2021. "Pulling things together: regional policy coordination approaches and drivers in Europe [‘PiS wchodzi w buty marszałków. Cel? Miliony z funduszy europejskich’]," Policy and Society, Darryl S. Jarvis and M. Ramesh, vol. 40(1), pages 37-57.
    11. Ciani, Emanuele & de Blasio, Guido & Poy, Samuele, 2022. "A freeway to prosperity? Evidence from Calabria, South of Italy," Economics of Transportation, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    12. Gilles Duranton & Diego Puga, 2020. "The Economics of Urban Density," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 34(3), pages 3-26, Summer.
    13. Galiani, Sebastian & Gertler, Paul J. & Undurraga, Raimundo, 2021. "Aspiration adaptation in resource-constrained environments," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    14. Rami Mikko Ahmed Galal, 2024. "Place-Based Preferential Policies and Firm Performance," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10781, The World Bank.
    15. Arti Grover & Somik V. Lall & William F. Maloney, 2022. "Place, Productivity, and Prosperity," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 36843, April.
    16. Giedrė Dzemydaitė, 2021. "The Impact of Economic Specialization on Regional Economic Development in the European Union: Insights for Formation of Smart Specialization Strategy," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, May.
    17. Baskaran, Thushyanthan & Lopes da Fonseca, Mariana, 2021. "Appointed public officials and local favoritism: Evidence from the German states," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    18. Franklin, Simon, 2020. "Enabled to work: The impact of government housing on slum dwellers in South Africa," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    19. Knudsen, Camilla & Moura, Fernanda Senra de & Bucker, Joris Joseph Johannes Hendrik & Mealy, Penelope Ann, 2025. "Five Frictions : Key Labor Market Barriers to Unlocking Job Growth in the Green Transition," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11224, The World Bank.
    20. Nian Meng & Zhang Haipeng & Wang Yao, 2024. "The Growth Contribution of China’s Regional Coordinated Development Strategy—On the Dispute of Regional Policy Paths," China Finance and Economic Review, De Gruyter, vol. 13(4), pages 24-44.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0315264. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.