The Smart City Policy and Urban Public Service Delivery: A Quantitative Study Under the Background of COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

  • Nini Xu Ph.D., Lecturer, Hefei University of Technology, School of Management, No.193 Tunxi Road, Baohe District, 230009, Hefei, Anhui Province, China https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1078-0701
  • Dingxiang Chen Ph.D., Lecturer, Beijing Normal University, Center for Governmence Studies, No.18 JinFeng Road, Xiangzhou District, 519087, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province, China https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4269-7910

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52152/23.1.28-53(2025)

Keywords:

smart city policy, urban public service delivery, mitigation effect, COVID-19, policy evaluation

Abstract

The aim of this study is to empirically investigate the contributions of smart city policy (SCP) in promoting urban public service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of the pandemic on urban public service delivery is evaluated using a continuous difference-in-differences (DID) methodology based on a sample of 200 cities in China. On that basis, a triple-difference (DDD) model is built to evaluate the mitigation effect of SCP. The results indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly hindered urban public service delivery. SCP is capable of significantly mitigating the negative effect of the pandemic on urban public service delivery. Moreover, cities with a larger scale and better location advantage are subjected to a more significant mitigation effect of SCP, as revealed by the heterogeneity analysis results. The findings of this study provide useful empirical evidence for policy-makers and urban planners and significant practical implications for facilitating smart city construction and boosting urban public service delivery in the future.

Author Biographies

  • Nini Xu is currently working at the School of Management, Hefei University of Technology. She holds a Ph.D. in Management. Her research interests lie in public policy. She has published articles in academic journals such as Science and Public Policy, Journal of Asian Public Policy.

  • Dingxiang Chen is currently working at the Center for Government Studies, Beijing Normal University. He holds a Ph.D. in Management. His research interests lie in public sector accountability. He has published articles in academic journals such as Review of Public Personnel Administration, Public Administration and Policy Review in China.

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Published

2025-01-27

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