Abstract： In the digital economy era, digital innovation centered on advanced technologies is reshaping economic development systems and serves as a critical driver for high-quality economic growth. However, the characteristics of digital technological innovation—long cycles, high investment, and substantial risk—necessitate external financial support, particularly the impact of government on fiscal autonomy. The 20th Party Congress’ Third Plenary Session stressed the importance of establishing a fiscal relationship between central and local governments that balances financial resources and achieves regional equity, thereby increasing local fiscal autonomy. Enhancing local fiscal resources provides governments with greater discretion in fiscal management. Existing literature has extensively explored corporate innovation under fiscal decentralization; however, two significant gaps remain. First, limited research has been conducted on the nuances of digital innovation, hindering the precise identification of its characteristics. Second, using fiscal resources alone to measure decentralization fails to capture the extent of local governments’ autonomy in fiscal control and expenditure allocation, thereby providing an incomplete basis for effective fiscal governance in promoting innovation. Accordingly, systematically examining the relationship between fiscal autonomy and corporate digital technological innovation is of critical theoretical and practical importance for advancing economic digital transformation and enhancing development quality.
This study investigates the impact of fiscal autonomy on corporate digital technological innovation, using the proportion of fiscal expenditures under the authority of local government as an indicator of fiscal autonomy. Digital innovation is measured through the number of citations of corporate digital patents, enabling precise identification of the effects of fiscal autonomy. Employing data from Chinese publicly listed firms between 2010 and 2022, this study conducts an empirical analysis to examine the effects of fiscal autonomy on digital innovation and the underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal that higher fiscal autonomy significantly enhances firms’ digital innovation performances. Mechanism analysis shows that greater fiscal autonomy promotes corporate digital innovation by increasing R&D subsidies, alleviating financing constraints, and improving resource allocation efficiency. Heterogeneity analysis further indicates that the positive effects of fiscal autonomy on digital innovation are more pronounced among state-owned enterprises, technology-intensive firms, firms led by executives with technological expertise, and mature firms. Overall, a balanced fiscal relationship between central and local governments, coupled with enhanced local fiscal autonomy, is essential for fostering both qualitative and quantitative economic development. Policymakers should consider increasing R&D subsidies, expanding financing channels, and optimizing resource allocation efficiency to drive economic transformation.
Compared to existing literature, this study makes three primary contributions: First, it expands the research domain of digital technological innovation by linking local fiscal autonomy with corporate digital technological innovation, providing a novel perspective to examine the influence of fiscal autonomy on firms’ digital innovation efforts. Second, it introduces a theoretical hypothesis on how fiscal autonomy impacts digital technological innovation at the micro-enterprise level. The analysis focuses on the effects of local fiscal autonomy—encompassing fiscal capacity, the distribution of fiscal power between government levels, the degree of control over fiscal revenues and expenditures, and the ability to independently allocate fiscal resources—on digital innovation. The findings reveal a positive relationship between fiscal autonomy and digital technological innovation, thereby enriching the theoretical framework of fiscal decentralization’s role in enterprise innovation, which has traditionally focused on fiscal capacity alone. Third, the study identifies the mechanisms through which fiscal autonomy influences digital innovation. Specifically, it demonstrates that local fiscal autonomy enhances digital technological innovation through three mechanisms: increased R&D subsidies, alleviation of financing constraints, and improved resource allocation efficiency.
刘穷志 夏一峰. 地方财政自主性与企业数字技术创新——基于财政支出视角的实证研究[J]. 浙江大学学报(人文社会科学版), 0, (): 1-.
Liu Qiongzhi Xia Yifeng. Local Fiscal Autonomy and Corporate Digital Technological Innovation: An Empirical Study from the Perspective of Fiscal Expenditure. JOURNAL OF ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, 0, (): 1-.
