跨境电商“走出去”与海外产品“引进来”——兼论跨境电商海外并购对消费扩容和消费者福利的影响

Cross-Border E-Commerce “Going Global” and Overseas Products “Coming in”:The Impact of Overseas Mergers and Acquisitions by Cross-Border E-Commerce Firms on Consumption Expansion and Consumer Welfare

中文关键词:  跨境电商  海外并购  进口  标准适配成本  市场交易成本  技术合作  消费升级

英文关键词:cross-border e-commerce  overseas mergers and acquisitions  import  standards compliance cost  market transaction cost  technological cooperation  consumption upgrading

中文摘要:

      跨境电商海外并购作为中国跨境电商国际化发展的核心路径,其对海外产品进口的影响效应与作用逻辑是数字贸易时代亟待厘清的现实议题。基于2012—2022年中国跨境电商海外并购数据与进口数据,运用多期双重差分法考察了跨境电商海外并购的进口效应。研究结果表明,跨境电商海外并购显著扩大了中国自贸易伙伴的进口规模,且通过标准适配成本降低效应、市场交易成本降低效应和技术合作赋能效应三个渠道促进了进口。异质性分析发现,该进口促进效应在与中国签订电子商务合作谅解备忘录的经济体中以及B2B电商模式下更为显著。进一步分析发现,跨境电商海外并购在扩大进口产品品类的同时,还降低了进口产品价格,有助于促进消费扩容、增进消费者福利。因此,中国应加快推动跨境电商全球布局与双边电子商务规则对接,推进国内消费升级与进出口贸易平衡发展。

英文摘要:

      As a core pathway for the internationalization of China's cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) sector, overseas mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by CBEC firms have become a crucial issue in the era of digital trade, particularly regarding their impact on China's product imports and the underlying mechanisms. Based on data from overseas M&As and import trade of China's CBEC firms from 2012 to 2022, this study employs a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to examine the import effects of such overseas M&As. The findings indicate that overseas M&As by CBEC firms significantly increase China's imports from partner economies. This import-enhancing effect is primarily realized through three channels:reducing standards compliance costs, lowering market transaction costs, and empowering technological cooperation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that this effect is more pronounced in economies that have signed memoranda of understanding on e-commerce cooperation with China, as well as under the B2B e-commerce model. Further analysis shows that overseas M&As by CBEC firms not only increase the variety of imported products but also reduce import prices, thereby contributing to consumption expansion and enhancing consumer welfare. Accordingly, China should accelerate the global expansion of CBEC and promote alignment with bilateral e-commerce regulatory frameworks, while advancing domestic consumption upgrading and fostering a more balanced development of import and export trade.