The impacts of airport economic zones on local urban development in China

IF 3.6 2区工程技术 Q2 TRANSPORTATION

Journal of Air Transport Management Pub Date : 2025-08-05 DOI:10.1016/j.jairtraman.2025.102875

Jianhua Pi , Xingjian Liu , Will W. Qiang , Chris Webster

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

China's implementation of Airport Economic Zones (AEZs) seeks to capitalize on aviation infrastructure for local development. While existing studies have assessed airport-related urban development in China, the specific impacts of AEZ policies on local economies remain underexamined. To this end, our study evaluates the impacts of AEZs on local economies, utilizing a panel dataset of 62 prefecture-level cities in China spanning 2000–2019. We employ a heterogeneous timing difference-in-differences method to assess localized economic impacts of AEZs, considering three specific treatment timings. The results show that AEZs have positive but limited impacts on localized economic growth, particularly evident in increased economic activities around airports. Local economic impacts of more recently announced national airport economic demonstration zones are insignificant in the analysis. Meanwhile, the establishment of other kinds of development zones around airports fosters nearby economic activity and employment in airport-related sectors, oftentimes with higher levels of statistical significance. These findings add empirical evidence for airport region development's impact on economy and underscore the importance of institutional support for maximizing AEZs' contributions to urban development.

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中国空港经济区对地方城市发展的影响

中国实施空港经济区（aez）旨在利用航空基础设施促进地方发展。虽然现有的研究已经评估了中国与机场相关的城市发展，但经济特区政策对当地经济的具体影响仍未得到充分研究。为此，本研究利用2000-2019年中国62个地级市的面板数据集，评估了经济特区对地方经济的影响。考虑到三种特定的治疗时机，我们采用了一种异质时间差中差的方法来评估aez的局部经济影响。结果表明，经济特区对地区经济增长的影响是积极但有限的，特别是在机场周边经济活动增加方面。在分析中，最近公布的国家空港经济示范区对地方经济的影响不显著。与此同时，在机场周围建立其他类型的开发区会促进附近与机场相关部门的经济活动和就业，通常具有更高的统计显著性。这些发现为空港区发展对经济的影响提供了经验证据，并强调了制度支持对于最大限度地发挥空港区对城市发展的贡献的重要性。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Air Transport Management TRANSPORTATION-

CiteScore

12.40

自引率

11.70%

发文量

期刊介绍： The Journal of Air Transport Management (JATM) sets out to address, through high quality research articles and authoritative commentary, the major economic, management and policy issues facing the air transport industry today. It offers practitioners and academics an international and dynamic forum for analysis and discussion of these issues, linking research and practice and stimulating interaction between the two. The refereed papers in the journal cover all the major sectors of the industry (airlines, airports, air traffic management) as well as related areas such as tourism management and logistics. Papers are blind reviewed, normally by two referees, chosen for their specialist knowledge. The journal provides independent, original and rigorous analysis in the areas of: • Policy, regulation and law • Strategy • Operations • Marketing • Economics and finance • Sustainability