Rethinking the determinants of urban economic resilience: the role of intercity investment network in Chinese cities

Faced with rising urban uncertainties, understanding the drivers of urban economic resilience (UER) has become a critical issue. Rather than focusing solely on internal urban attributes, this study adopts an external perspective and investigates how intercity investment networks (IIN) shape UER across 284 Chinese cities. Using panel data from 2008 to 2022 and a Spatial Durbin Model, we identify that deeper integration into IIN significantly enhances the economic resilience of cities directly integrated in the network as well as their neighbors through spillover effects. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that the effects of IIN are particularly pronounced during periods of stable development, in central regions, in lower-tier cities, and within urban agglomerations. Mechanism analyses highlight that IIN directly enhance UER by fostering innovation vitality and strengthening local fiscal self-sufficiency. However, while they exhibit positive spillover effects on innovation vitality and fiscal self-sufficiency, due to competitive pressures, IIN may undermine technological diversity in neighboring cities, thereby partially offsetting resilience gains. Policy implications include promoting efficient domestic intercity investment through neighboring city collaboration and regionally differentiated strategies, while enhancing local capacities in innovation, industrial coordination, and fiscal autonomy to foster more balanced and resilient regional economic development.