China?s Belt and Road Initiative and Corporate Innovation

This study examines the relation between the Belt and Road Initiative (B&R Initiative) and the different types of firm innovation. We show that the B&R Initiative has a significant positive impact on the technical innovation of firms. The effect of B&R Initiative on the technical innovation mainly occurs in non-state-owned firms and non-high-tech firms. Furthermore, we examine the possible mechanisms through which B&R Initiative affects the innovation of firms, and results show that B&R Initiative affect the technical innovation through market competition and capacity utilization, the above two paths are beneficial to the technical innovation of firms.