The impact of basic public service provision on urban economic resilience: Evidence from 281 cities in China

ABSTRACT This paper measures levels of urban basic public service provision and urban economic resilience using panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities and above in China between 2010 and 2023. It empirically analyzes the effect and internal mechanism of basic public service provision on economic resilience using fixed-effects models, the mediating-effects models, and spatial Durbin models. The paper finds that: (1) the basic public service provision improves urban economic resilience, and the results remain significant after dividing the sample into the stable period and the impact period; (2) the basic public service provision improves urban economic resilience by driving talent agglomeration and industrial agglomeration. However, there is heterogeneity in the improvement of urban economic resilience due to city scale, administrative status and regional coordination development level; (3) there is a positive spatial spillover effect of basic public service provision on the economic resilience of adjacent cities. The conclusion provides a policy basis for increasing investment and coordination in basic public services, promoting talent and industrial agglomeration, and enhancing urban economic resilience.