Does marine financial policy affect total factor productivity of marine enterprises? An empirical evidence based on Chinese first guidance on strengthening finance for marine economy.

In order to accelerate the marine economic transformation, and promote the development of marine finance, the Chinese government has promulgated the first "Guidance on Improving and Strengthening Financial Services for the Development of the Marine Economy" in 2018. This paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment and explores the impact of this policy on the total factor productivity (TFP) of marine enterprises using the difference-in-differences method. The results show that the policy has consolidated the micro foundation of marine finance to accurately serve the high-quality development of the marine economy, and is mainly achieved by reducing financing constraints and optimizing resource allocation efficiency. The promotion effect of TFP is more evident in marine enterprises with secondary industry, tertiary industry, and low government subsidies. In addition, the policy can affect the financing structure of marine enterprises, which can reduce the financing cost of enterprises and increase the number of equity financing of enterprises.