Wenli Han, Siyu Chen

Siyu Chen

December 30, 2025

National Digital Economy Innovation and Development Pilot Zone, Policy pilot, Policy effect, Urban innovation capacity.

The implementation of the “National Digital Economy Innovation and Development Pilot Zone Implementation Plan” in 2019 provided a comprehensive systematic design and target requirements for innovation and governance in China’s digital economy. Utilizing panel data from prefecture-level cities in China between 2015 and 2022, this study employs the Difference-in-Differences (DID) method to examine the innovation effects of this pilot policy and to elucidate its specific mechanisms. The findings reveal that the pilot policy has a positive and significant effect on promoting urban innovation. Mechanism tests indicate that the policy effectively enhances urban innovation capacity primarily by increasing government financial investment in science and technology, improving government service efficiency, stimulating the cultivation of innovation entities, and promoting the aggregation of digital talent. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the policy’s effect on enhancing innovation capacity is more pronounced in cities with lower administrative ranks and lower levels of science and education resources compared to their higher-ranked counterparts. Consequently, it is advisable to appropriately expand the scope of the pilot policy, create a conducive innovation environment, foster the integration of innovation factors, tailor the construction of pilot zones to local conditions, and further leverage the policy’s role in leading and demonstrating innovation.

© 2025, the Authors. Published by ISCCAC

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license