Does Silk Road E-commerce Cooperation Promote Regional Export? Evidence From the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

This study aims to evaluate the impact of Silk Road e-commerce cooperation on the export trade of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Since 2016, China has entered into memorandums of understanding (MOUs) for e-commerce cooperation with various countries, establishing bilateral partnerships, which provides us with a quasi-natural experiment. This study employs the multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) method, drawing on export data from 166 countries and regions spanning 2010 to 2022. The findings reveal that Silk Road e-commerce cooperation has significantly enhanced exports from the Greater Bay Area, primarily by reducing cross-border logistics costs and trade-related search costs. Furthermore, the cooperation has notably boosted exports to African and Asian countries, with much more significant effect on exports to developing economies. This study lies in its pioneering focus on the Greater Bay Area’s active engagement in the international trade through the Silk Road E-commerce cooperation, providing valuable theoretical support for understanding the connection between institutional openness and trade.