The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Development on Economic Growth

Yingxin Ma

doi:10.54097/mr6m3v90

Authors

Yingxin Ma Business School, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malasia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54097/mr6m3v90

Keywords:

Artificial intelligence; economic growth; technological innovation.

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a key technology to enable economic growth. However, existing empirical research primarily relies on data from Western developed countries, and the analysis of industry heterogeneity in the early application stage of AI is insufficient. Based on industry panel data from China from 2003 to 2017, this paper employs the double difference method (DID) to examine the impact of AI technology innovation on economic growth. The results show that AI technology innovation has a significant positive impact on economic growth. The industry growth rate of the treatment group with intensive AI application or patent concentration is significantly higher than that of the control group, and this effect increases over time. The effect exhibits industry heterogeneity. The high-tech manufacturing industry, knowledge-intensive service industry, and capital-intensive industry benefit more significantly. The short-term effect of labor-intensive industry is weak. The mechanism of action is efficiency improvement and innovation drive. The synergy between AI and Research and Development investment can amplify the growth effect and has a higher marginal effect on capital-intensive industries, which confirms the "capital-technology complementarity" theory. Through various robustness tests, the conclusion is reliable. This study not only verifies the mainstream consensus but also complements the experience of developing countries in the early application stage of AI, providing reference for policy formulation.

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