| Export product quality in the manufacturing industry is related to the nation’s livelihood and is the core and key to building a strong trade nation.The report of the20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasises that China should adhere to the point of economic development on the real economy,strengthen the competitive advantage of the manufacturing industry,accelerate the digital transformation,and promote high-quality development in the manufacturing field.Export product quality in the manufacturing industry,as a proper part of the high quality development of the manufacturing industry,is an important sign of the high quality development of China’s exports.Information and communication technology can provide a digital,networked and informational peripheral technical environment for manufacturing companies to achieve technological transformation and equipment updates,and is an important technical foundation to promote the transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing industry.In the context of the digital economy,the study of the impact of ICT on the quality of manufacturing export products in China plays an important role in helping the transformation of manufacturing exports,achieving a high level of openness to the outside world and promoting the construction of a strong trade nation.This paper adopts a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis and normative and empirical analysis to study the impact of ICT on the quality of manufacturing export products in China at the city level.Based on the enterprise heterogeneity model,the mechanism of the effect of ICT on the quality of manufacturing export products is analysed,the ICT in Chinese cities from 2006 to2013 is evaluated through the China City Statistical Yearbook,the quality of Chinese manufacturing export products from 2006 to 2013 is measured through the China Customs Import and Export Database,and then a multi-dimensional fixed-effects model and a mediated-effects model are constructed to test the effect of ICT on the quality of Chinese manufacturing export products,and heterogeneity is examined from the perspective of the region where the enterprise is located,the factor intensity of the industry and the size of the enterprise.The findings of this paper are as follows.Firstly,ICT in China showed a steady increase year on year from 2006 to 2013.The cities with high level of ICT development were mainly located in the Yangtze River Delta region,the Pearl River Delta region,some municipalities directly under the Central Government and some provincial capitals,while the cities with low ICT development levels were mainly concentrated in the central and western region.ICT in the south and the north were both on the rise year on year,and the level of ICT development in the south was higher than that in the north.Secondly,the quality of Chinese manufacturing export products in general,the eastern region and the central and western regions all show a fluctuating upward trend from 2006 to 2013.The quality of export products in the eastern region was higher than that in the central and western regions.In addition,large manufacturing enterprises had the highest export product quality,medium-sized manufacturing enterprises had the second highest export product quality,and small manufacturing enterprises had the lowest export product quality.Thirdly,ICT in China can significantly improve the quality of manufacturing export products,and robustness tests support this finding.Heterogeneity analysis found that the positive impact of ICT on the quality of manufacturing export products was universal,especially for enterprises in the east,enterprises in the south,enterprises in capital-intensive industries,enterprises in technology-intensive industries and large enterprises.In addition,the mechanism analysis shows that ICT affects the quality of manufacturing export products mainly through the paths of firm productivity and firm innovation capacity.In order to use information and communication technology to improve the quality of manufacturing export products.This article proposes the following policy recommendations.Firstly,improve the construction of information infrastructure and develop regional ICT to empower the quality of manufacturing export products.Secondly,promote the construction of industry information sharing,eliminate industry information barriers and improve the quality of manufacturing export products.Thirdly,combine regional development conditions,apply policies according to local conditions and develop information and communication technology in an orderly manner.Fourthly,strengthen the role of ICT in the quality of manufacturing export products. |
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