Author(s)

Lidan Yu, Shiyu Shang

Institute of Industrial Economics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.

As a grand policy of realizing the rapid development of the western region and narrowing the income gap between the western region and the eastern and central regions after China’s reform and opening up, it is of great practical significance to objectively study its policy effects. This paper uses the data of municipal districts in Chinese cities from 1997 to 2014 in China City Statistical Yearbook to evaluate the policy effect of the western development strategy by using the method of difference-in-difference propensity score matching (PSM-DID). The research results show that the western development policy has not improved the economic growth of the western region, but has negatively affected the economic growth of the western region. In addition, economic growth in the western region may be due to factors such as fixed asset investment, foreign direct investment, and higher education levels, etc. Therefore, the strategic direction of the development of the western region should focus on human capital investment, improve the market economy system, and strengthen exchanges and cooperation between regions in the future.

Policy Intervention, Regional Economic Growth, PSM-DID

Yu, L. and Shang, S. (2018) The Impact of Policy Intervention on Regional Economic Growth in China. Modern Economy, 9, 2224-2232. doi: 10.4236/me.2018.912137.