The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones

Yujing Lin

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones

Yujing Lin^*

Published in International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 6)

Received: 6 October 2026 Accepted: 27 October 2026 Published: 10 November 2026

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Abstract

As a reform experimental field for establishing high-level mechanisms facing the external world, fully releasing the spillover effects of the free trade zone is an important task for China to achieve technological leapfrog development at present. This paper takes the establishment of China's free trade zones as a natural experiment, using panel data of 283 Chinese cities from 2012 to 2023, and adopting the multi-period difference-difference method to conduct an empirical study on the technological spillover effects and their influencing mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) under the background of institutional openness. The research finds that the establishment of free trade zones has promoted the improvement of the technological spillover level of cities. After establishing free trade pilot zones, the local technological spillover level increased by approximately 15.8% on average. The mechanism test results show that free trade zones mainly affect the technological spillover of cities by enhancing regional resilience and promoting innovation agglomeration effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the technological spillover effects of free trade zones are more significant in central cities and cities with developed transportation. The research conclusions of this paper have clear policy implications and provide reference for developing countries to achieve higher levels of openness.

Published in	International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 6)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
Page(s)	454-463
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Institutional Opening-up, Free Trade Pilot Zones, Technology Spillover

References

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APA Style

Lin, Y. (2026). The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 14(6), 454-463. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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ACS Style

Lin, Y. The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2026, 14(6), 454-463. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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AMA Style

Lin Y. The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2026;14(6):454-463. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11,
  author = {Yujing Lin},
  title = {The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones},
  journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {6},
  pages = {454-463},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  abstract = {As a reform experimental field for establishing high-level mechanisms facing the external world, fully releasing the spillover effects of the free trade zone is an important task for China to achieve technological leapfrog development at present. This paper takes the establishment of China's free trade zones as a natural experiment, using panel data of 283 Chinese cities from 2012 to 2023, and adopting the multi-period difference-difference method to conduct an empirical study on the technological spillover effects and their influencing mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) under the background of institutional openness. The research finds that the establishment of free trade zones has promoted the improvement of the technological spillover level of cities. After establishing free trade pilot zones, the local technological spillover level increased by approximately 15.8% on average. The mechanism test results show that free trade zones mainly affect the technological spillover of cities by enhancing regional resilience and promoting innovation agglomeration effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the technological spillover effects of free trade zones are more significant in central cities and cities with developed transportation. The research conclusions of this paper have clear policy implications and provide reference for developing countries to achieve higher levels of openness.},
 year = {2026}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones
AU  - Yujing Lin
Y1  - 2026/11/10
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
T2  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
SP  - 454
EP  - 463
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9561
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
AB  - As a reform experimental field for establishing high-level mechanisms facing the external world, fully releasing the spillover effects of the free trade zone is an important task for China to achieve technological leapfrog development at present. This paper takes the establishment of China's free trade zones as a natural experiment, using panel data of 283 Chinese cities from 2012 to 2023, and adopting the multi-period difference-difference method to conduct an empirical study on the technological spillover effects and their influencing mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) under the background of institutional openness. The research finds that the establishment of free trade zones has promoted the improvement of the technological spillover level of cities. After establishing free trade pilot zones, the local technological spillover level increased by approximately 15.8% on average. The mechanism test results show that free trade zones mainly affect the technological spillover of cities by enhancing regional resilience and promoting innovation agglomeration effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the technological spillover effects of free trade zones are more significant in central cities and cities with developed transportation. The research conclusions of this paper have clear policy implications and provide reference for developing countries to achieve higher levels of openness.
VL  - 14
IS  - 6
ER  -

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Author Information

Yujing Lin

School of Customs and Public Management, Shanghai Customs University, Shanghai, China

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0003-5673-1013

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Plain Text BibTeX RIS

APA Style

Lin, Y. (2026). The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences, 14(6), 454-463. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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ACS Style

Lin, Y. The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. Int. J. Econ. Finance Manag. Sci. 2026, 14(6), 454-463. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

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AMA Style

Lin Y. The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones. Int J Econ Finance Manag Sci. 2026;14(6):454-463. doi: 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11

Copy | Download

@article{10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11,
  author = {Yujing Lin},
  title = {The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones},
  journal = {International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences},
  volume = {14},
  number = {6},
  pages = {454-463},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijefm.20261406.11},
  abstract = {As a reform experimental field for establishing high-level mechanisms facing the external world, fully releasing the spillover effects of the free trade zone is an important task for China to achieve technological leapfrog development at present. This paper takes the establishment of China's free trade zones as a natural experiment, using panel data of 283 Chinese cities from 2012 to 2023, and adopting the multi-period difference-difference method to conduct an empirical study on the technological spillover effects and their influencing mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) under the background of institutional openness. The research finds that the establishment of free trade zones has promoted the improvement of the technological spillover level of cities. After establishing free trade pilot zones, the local technological spillover level increased by approximately 15.8% on average. The mechanism test results show that free trade zones mainly affect the technological spillover of cities by enhancing regional resilience and promoting innovation agglomeration effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the technological spillover effects of free trade zones are more significant in central cities and cities with developed transportation. The research conclusions of this paper have clear policy implications and provide reference for developing countries to achieve higher levels of openness.},
 year = {2026}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Spillover Effect of Institutionalized Opening-up: Evidence from China's Free Trade Zones
AU  - Yujing Lin
Y1  - 2026/11/10
PY  - 2026
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
T2  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Economics, Finance and Management Sciences
SP  - 454
EP  - 463
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2326-9561
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijefm.20261406.11
AB  - As a reform experimental field for establishing high-level mechanisms facing the external world, fully releasing the spillover effects of the free trade zone is an important task for China to achieve technological leapfrog development at present. This paper takes the establishment of China's free trade zones as a natural experiment, using panel data of 283 Chinese cities from 2012 to 2023, and adopting the multi-period difference-difference method to conduct an empirical study on the technological spillover effects and their influencing mechanisms of free trade zones (FTZs) under the background of institutional openness. The research finds that the establishment of free trade zones has promoted the improvement of the technological spillover level of cities. After establishing free trade pilot zones, the local technological spillover level increased by approximately 15.8% on average. The mechanism test results show that free trade zones mainly affect the technological spillover of cities by enhancing regional resilience and promoting innovation agglomeration effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the technological spillover effects of free trade zones are more significant in central cities and cities with developed transportation. The research conclusions of this paper have clear policy implications and provide reference for developing countries to achieve higher levels of openness.
VL  - 14
IS  - 6
ER  -

Copy | Download