Can officials with mismatched higher administrative rank promote local economic development?——evidence from the prefecture-level cities in China.

Using the data at the prefecture-level city from 1999 to 2019, we study the impact of officials with mismatched higher administrative rank on regional economic development. The study found that the high-level configuration of officials can significantly promote regional economic development. On average, the concurrent appointment of a provincial standing committee member as the municipal party secretary at the prefecture-level city can increase the GDP of the municipality by 9.1%. The mechanism analysis shows that increased transfer payment from up-level government and increased investment in regional fixed asset are the main reasons for the economic growth. Further analysis reveals that the economic growth effect of high-level configuration of officials is heterogeneous in terms of promotion pressure and the development stage of prefecture-level cities, the higher the promotion pressure of officials and the lower the per capita development level of prefecture-level cities, the greater the role of officials with mismatched higher administrative rank in promoting economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]