Government official site visits and urban innovation: an empirical analysis from China

Urban innovation is essential for advancing economic growth, competitiveness and sustainability in cities. Government engagement – especially through official site visits – acts as a key catalyst by driving targeted policy interventions and reallocating resources. Despite its promise, the effect of official site visits on urban innovation remains underexplored, and the roles of mediating and moderating factors are not fully understood. This study evaluates the impact of official site visits on urban innovation in China. Using a comprehensive panel dataset of Chinese enterprises from 2011 to 2017 – which includes official visit records, innovation indicators, technology education expenditure, firm-level innovation inputs and outputs, and marketisation levels – we apply fixed-effects regression models augmented by instrumental variable techniques and propensity score matching to address endogeneity and selection bias. We apply a recursive path analysis to reveal how fiscal allocations to science and education mediate the effect of official site visits on urban innovation. Our moderation analysis reveals that these effects are stronger in regions with higher marketisation and greater government efficiency. Moreover, our heterogeneity analyses indicate that visits directed at innovative enterprises and conducted by higher-level officials produce even stronger innovation outcomes. This research provides novel empirical evidence on government-led innovation initiatives and offers practical policy recommendations to better align government support with enterprise innovation needs.