Wei, B.; Guo, X., and Wang, Z., 2020. PPP mode and regional economic development – empirical evidence from coastal areas of China. In: Li, L. and Huang, X. (eds.), Sustainable Development in Coastal Regions: A Perspective of Environment, Economy, and Technology. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 112, pp. 262-268. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Based on China's provincial data from 2000 to 2017, this paper investigates the role of infrastructure investment under PPP mode in promoting coastal and inland economic development. The study finds that the PPP mode can significantly promote China's economic growth by breaking down administrative monopolies, improving resource mismatches and increasing total factor productivity. What's more, we find that the impact of the PPP mode on regional economic growth has a significant inverted U-shaped characteristic by using threshold model. Compared with inland regions, PPP mode can no longer significantly promote economic growth of coastal areas. The discrepancy is due to differences in regional infrastructure capital stock, local leading industries, and the degree of regional marketization. This research offers theoretical reference to the local governments which plan to introduce PPP mode, and also provides enlightenment on how to develop the economy under the “New Normal”.