How does energy supply affect regional entrepreneurship? Evidence from the west-to-east natural gas transmission project in china

A steady flow of energy is a must for enterprises to keep their production lines humming along efficiently. This paper employs a quasi-natural experiment based on the phased construction of the West-to-East Natural Gas Transmission Project (WENGT), and utilizes a staggered differences-in-differences (DID) method with panel data from Chinese cities between 2000 and 2022 to assess the influence of energy supply on regional entrepreneurship. The results indicate that energy supply significantly enhances regional entrepreneurship along the WENGT route, with strengthening energy security and promoting labour aggregation as important mechanisms driving this effect. However, strict regional environmental regulations and high labour costs may weaken the positive impact of energy supply on regional entrepreneurship. Finally, the energy supply generates a 'siphon effect' on entrepreneurship in neighbouring cities. This paper provides empirical evidence and theoretical support for local governments to attract new startups through energy infrastructure, offering important policy implications for promoting sustainable economic development and regional resource equity.