Construction of a Unified National Market, Cross-Regional Capital Flow and Regional Economic Disparities: Evidence from Listed Companies Establishing Non-Local Subsidiaries
Construction of a Unified National Market, Cross-Regional Capital Flow and Regional Economic Disparities: Evidence from Listed Companies Establishing Non-Local Subsidiaries
FAN Wencheng1,2, WANG Shoukun3
1. School of Digital Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China; 2. Philosophy and Social Sciences Laboratory of Data Sciences in Finance and Economics of the Ministry of Education, Nanchang 330013, China; 3. School of Economics, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China
Abstract Based on geographic information data of parent companies and subsidiaries of listed enterprises from 2016 to 2022, this study examines how capital flows across regions during the advancement of the unified national market construction and the resulting patterns of regional economic distribution. The evidence shows that efforts to build a unified national market at the city level produce a “diversion effect” with capital preferentially flowing to more integrated markets. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promoting effect of market integration on cross-regional capital inflows is more pronounced for non-state-owned enterprises, large-scale firms, cross-provincial flows, and in eastern regions. Mechanism analysis indicates that market integration can effectively reduce the institutional and information costs associated with cross-regional capital inflows by prompting local governments to relax market entry barriers and enhancing the information acquisition capabilities of non-local enterprises. Further empirical evidence suggests that market integration fosters capital agglomeration from peripheral to central cities within the core-periphery structure, creating a “siphoning effect” that amplifies the spatial concentration of economic activities-a pattern explained by the superior market scale and industrial comparative advantages of central cities. The conclusions provide valuable insights for understanding the new development patterns of cross-regional capital flows in China during the construction of a unified national market.
FAN Wencheng,WANG Shoukun. Construction of a Unified National Market, Cross-Regional Capital Flow and Regional Economic Disparities: Evidence from Listed Companies Establishing Non-Local Subsidiaries. Economic Survey, 2026, 43(2): 03.
2026, Vol. 43 
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