Science and Technology Finance Pilot Policy and Corporate Long-term Investment: Evidence from China

Abstract

The science and technology finance pilot policy is a key institutional effort to integrate technological innovation with financial services. Its microeconomic effects have drawn growing academic interest. Using data from Chinese A-share listed firms from 2007 to 2023, this paper treats the policy as a quasi-natural experiment and employs a staggered difference-in-differences model. We examine how the policy affects corporate long-term investment. The results show that the policy significantly increases long-term investment among firms in pilot cities. Mechanism tests indicate that higher R&D investment serves as an important channel. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the positive effect is statistically significant among non-state-owned firms and manufacturing firms. Regional interaction estimates indicate that the policy effect is stronger in the Yangtze River Delta and weaker in the Pearl River Delta relative to their respective comparison regions. This paper enriches the literature on the micro-level outcomes of science and technology finance policies and offers empirical evidence on how policy guidance shapes corporate investment structures.