Who gets connected? Open government data and access to intercity innovation networks

Who gains access to intercity innovation networks when governments publish data online? We examine this question using the staggered launch of municipal open government data (OGD) platforms across Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2023. Using city-pair patent records reconstructed as unique unordered pair-year observations, a difference-in-differences (DID) design estimates a 0.169-log-point increase in intercity joint patenting after platform adoption. This effect is not uniform. The increase is larger among cities with fewer pre-treatment partners and weaker commercial-credit, financial, digital, and market-support environments, precisely where private information channels are thinnest. Platform adoption is also associated with broader partner networks, stronger bilateral ties, and more cross-province collaboration. The evidence is consistent with standardized public information substituting for missing private search, reputation, and verification channels. However, it does not establish portal use as the causal mediator or demonstrate a decline in overall spatial inequality. The findings identify a network-entry margin through which public data infrastructure can generate unequal local returns.