Abstract In order to solve those urban disease problems encountered in China’s urban development, also to promote the healthy and sustainable development of urban economy, as well to improve urban management capacity and service level, the state has launched the Smart City pilots at the end of year 2012. Based on the data of 271 prefecture-level cities, this paper used the SBM Model with Undesirable Output to estimate the Green Total Factor Productivity in China. Then, this paper uses the difference-in-differences method to investigate whether national Smart City pilots can help promote the quality of urban development. The regression results indicate that after controlling regional factors, socio-economic factors and various fixed effects, the construction of smart cities has significantly enhanced the quality of pilot cities, but has heterogeneity. Compared with non-pilot areas, the quality of economic development in the pilot areas has been significantly improved, especially in eastern and western regions, and it is more significant in cities with higher administrative rank, lower human capital, and less population. Furthermore, in order to better verify the impact of smart cities on urban development, this paper conducts a series of robust tests. On this basis, this paper puts forward corresponding policy recommendations to promote better implementation of smart city pilot projects in cities.
ZHAO Caijing,WU Bojun. Does Smart City Construction Promote the Quality of Urban Development?——An Evaluation of Policy Effect Based on Multiphase DID Method. Economic Survey, 2020, 37(6): 018.
2020, Vol. 37 
