The Imprint of History: Observing Regional Development from the Long-term Impact of Major Projects

Since the founding of the PRC in 1949, China has experienced a major transformation from planned economy to market economy, and from semi-closed economy to open economy. Through the long-term impact of the “156 projects” born during the “First Five-year Plan” period on China’s economy and the conditions for their role, we can see the development path of China’s regional economy for more than 70 years, which will deepen our understanding of the transformation and characteristics of China’s economy. The research shows that “156 projects” still continue to affect the regional pattern of China’s economy by effectively improving the concentration density of local economic factors. Compared with the coastal areas, “156 projects” in inland areas are more important for local economic development, and when the national industrial growth is slow, the inland cities where “156 projects” are located can obtain more central transfer payments, but the lower total factor productivity of these cities may weaken the actual effect of transfer payments. After a series of endogenous tests, the above conclusions are still robust. The research results of this paper show that in the era of globalization, the actual effect of industrial investment depends on geographical location, and the regions with location advantages are easier to achieve investment objectives, while the low efficiency of the regions with location disadvantages hinders the promotion of industrial investment to economic growth.