This is a continuation of the appendix in the paper. A total of two subsections are included; Appendix C introduces the results of SCM, and Appendix D documents the placebo test.

Appendix C: SCM Results

The synthetic control method results for all treated cities, provincial capitals, and intermediate cities are shown in Tables 9-11. The average treatment effect for each period, as shown in the table, is calculated by measuring the average percentage change between the treated group and the synthetic control for that period, allowing for a direct comparison with the DID results. Notably, the synthetic control analysis was conducted using “Synth_runner” in Stata, with exclusively post-treatment period p-values provided for reference.

Appendix D – Placebo Test

The original placebo test results are shown in Figures D.1, D.3, and D.5 for all-city treated, provincial capital, and intermediate city groups, respectively. The results of the placebo tests, excluding those with poor fits, are displayed in Figures D.2, D.4, and D.6 for all-city treated, provincial capital, and intermediate city groups, respectively. The equation for RMSE is shown below. y_i represents the observed economic outcomes for city i; y_i hat represents the predicted economic outcomes from the synthetic control for city i. n denotes the number of years in the pre-treatment period.