National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone Policy and Corporate AI Innovation Output —Evidence from Chinese A-Share Listed Companies

Using the establishment of National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zones as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the impact of the pilot-zone policy on cor porate AI innovation output based on Chinese A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2024 and a difference-in-differences design. The dependent variable is constructed from the CN RDS listed-firm AI patent application database and measured by the natural logarithm of one plus the number of AI invention patent applications independently filed by a firm in a given year. The results show that the policy significantly increases corporate AI innovation output. The conclusion remains valid after the parallel-trend test, placebo test, PSM-DID test, and a series of robustness checks. Mechanism-clue tests provide evidence consistent with two possi ble channels: alleviation of financing constraints and higher AI textual attention. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the policy effect is more pronounced among firms located in regions with larger R&D personnel pools, firms with higher financing constraints, and state-owned en terprises, and the corresponding between-group differences are statistically significant. From the perspectives of transition economics, factor market reform, and transaction costs, this paper explains the micro-level innovation effect of digital policy and provides empirical evidence for understanding how data-factor marketization affects corporate AI innovation