This paper investigates the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) on inter-city income disparities in China. Using a difference-in-differences method and treating the BRI as a quasi-natural experiment, the study finds that the BRI contributes to the convergence of regional income disparities, with this effect being continuously dynamic. Trade opening and industrial structure transformation are identified as key mechanisms. However, significant heterogeneity exists, with the BRI's convergence effect being more pronounced in Central and West China than in East China.

Bo Qin, Dongmei Zeng, Angang Gao