Can enhanced intra-regional transport accessibility alleviate corporate financing constraints? Evidence from China

Abstract

This study systematically investigates a crucial yet relatively underexplored mechanism in corporate finance: the role of intra-regional transport accessibility in alleviating financing constraints. Based on the detailed vector data of highway networks in the OpenStreetMap (OSM), we develop a novel measure of transport accessibility across 1914 district/county pairs in 256 Chinese cities (2013−2022), employing GIS-based spatial analysis. Our findings reveal that an enhancement in intra-regional transport accessibility significantly mitigates the degree of corporate financing constraints, with a marginal effect of approximately 1.2 %. This result remains robust after subjecting it to a series of robustness checks and effectively handling the endogeneity problem through the use of an instrumental variable (IV). This improvement effect occurs by reducing the time cost of corporate financing, alleviating information asymmetry, and strengthening the supply chain finance. Moreover, this positive effect is relatively more pronounced among debt-financing enterprises, capital-intensive enterprises, higher supplier concentration enterprises, and those located in cities equipped with subway. We also find a significant substitution effect between digital infrastructure and regional transportation in facilitating corporate financing. Furthermore, the financial services market benefits from this process, highlighting a mutually advantageous outcome for both enterprises and the broader financial ecosystem.