A Study on the Impact of Sci-Tech Finance Policies on the Value Added of Urban Accommodation and Catering Industries
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/zkcq1648Keywords:
Fintech policies; Hospitality and food service industry; Financing constraints.Abstract
The hotel and restaurant sector plays a crucial role. This sector has helped to stimulate consumption, create jobs and improve people’s standard of living. However, over many years, the sector has faced three major challenges: a lack of assets, a lack of collateral and difficulty in accessing finance. Fintech policies bridge the digital economy and financial services, offering new ways to address these issues. This study uses data from 276 Chinese cities covering the period from 2009 to 2023. We analyse a pilot programme known as the ‘Pilot Programme for Promoting the Integration of Science, Technology and the Financial Sector’. In this study, we treat this programme as a natural experiment. Using a multi-period difference-in-differences model, we examine the impact of fintech policies on the value added of the accommodation and food services sector. The results are as follows: first, fintech policies lead to a significant increase in the value added of this sector. After controlling for fixed effects related to cities and years, the net policy effect is 0.282. This result is statistically significant at the 1% level. This result has been confirmed by numerous robustness tests. Second, these policies serve to ease the constraints on financing for small and micro-enterprises. With easier access to finance, these firms can expand their operations, upgrade their equipment and move forward with digital transformation. This, in turn, increases the value added of this sector. Thirdly, the effects of the policies are not uniform across all cities. The more developed a city’s tourism industry is, the more pronounced the effects are. The impacts are also more evident in cities with advanced digital infrastructure. This study illustrates how fintech policies support the lifestyle services sector. It provides concrete evidence and practical guidance, contributing to the deepening of fintech reforms, as well as promoting high-quality development in the accommodation and restaurant sectors.
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