Industrial policy and corporate investment efficiency

Drawing on the quasi-experiment formed by the revitalization plan of ten industries in China, this study empirically examines the impact of selective industrial policy on corporate investment efficiency within a difference-in-differences framework. The results show that the revitalization plan has a significant and negative effect on corporate investment efficiency by boosting over-investment while having little influence on under-investment. Further, we explore two potential channels underlying these findings, and find that the mediating effects of capital allocation efficiency and managerial overconfidence are significant. This study, therefore, demonstrates that the revitalization plan cannot effectively improve corporate investment efficiency, and has important implications for the use of selective industrial policy inside and outside China.