How Does Land Development Promote China’s Urban Economic Growth? The Mediating Effect of Public Infrastructure

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Although substantial studies emphasized the close relationship among land development, public infrastructure, and urban economic growth, the mediating effect of public infrastructure remains unexplored. Using panel data of 253 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 1999 to 2012, we empirically conduct a mediating effect analysis to examine how land development promotes urban economic growth. It is found that land development has a positive impact on public infrastructure, whereas the construction of public infrastructure is positively related with urban economic growth. Therefore, land development exerts a positive influence on urban economic growth through one important mediator: public infrastructure. It is also found that the mediating effect of public infrastructure is partial. The estimation results are robust to various specifications and sensitivity analysis.