Can territorial cooperation improve regional development? Evidence from Zhejiang’s Mountain-Sea Cooperation
利用2010-2019年面板数据和双重差分法，研究浙江山海协作项目对县际投资流动和经济发展的因果效应，发现政策促进了投资和公共经济指标，但未显著提升居民收入。
Territorial cooperation is a key institutional tool to foster regional development. This study examines the causal effects of the Mountain-Sea Cooperation Project in China’s Zhejiang Province. Using 2010–2019 panel data and a difference-in-differences estimator, the paper measures the programme’s causal impact on inter-county investment flows and economic development. The results reveal a dual effect. We find that the policy increased investment flows between richer and poorer counties and boosted public economic outcomes, such as housing investment and fiscal revenue, in targeted areas. Yet, these gains failed to translate into household welfare, as the programme’s impact on individual income was negligible.