Abstract: In the context of increasing economic policy uncertainty, clarifying the reconfiguration characteristics of firms supply chain geographical distribution and exploring the ways to stabilize the supply chain pattern are of great significance for firms to cope with external shocks and achieve stable development. Based on the data of A-share listed companies from 2012 to 2023, this paper studies the impact of economic policy uncertainty on the geographic distribution of firms supply chains and its internal mechanism. The results indicate that the increasing economic policy uncertainty causes firms to shorten the geographic distance to their suppliers and customers, so that firms supply chain has shown a short-chain development trend. The mechanism analysis indicates that economic policy uncertainty raises the procurement costs for firms from upstream suppliers and the sales costs to downstream customers, which is an important reason for firms to shorten the geographical distance between suppliers and customers. Further analysis shows that the higher degree of digital transformation and the convenience of transportation infrastructure can alleviate the trend of shortening the geographical distance between firms and suppliers/customers under economic policy uncertainty. This paper provides important references for firms to avoid potential risks and enhance economic resilience.

Key words: Economic Policy Uncertainty, Supply Chain, Geographical Distribution, Digital Transformation, Transportation Infrastructure

摘要： 在经济政策不确定性背景下,明确企业供应链地理分布的重构特征并探究稳定供应链格局的手段,对企业应对外部冲击和稳定发展具有重要意义。基于2012—2023年A股上市公司数据,本文研究了经济政策不确定性对企业供应链地理分布的影响及其内在作用机制。研究发现,经济政策不确定性上升会缩短企业与供应商、客户之间的地理距离,使得企业供应链呈现“短链化”发展趋势。机制分析表明,经济政策不确定性上升通过抬高企业向上游供应商的采购成本和对下游客户的销售成本,促使企业缩短与供应商、客户的地理距离。进一步研究表明,企业的数字化转型及所在城市交通基础设施便利性能够缓解经济政策不确定性下供应链的“短链化”趋势,降低企业对邻近上下游企业的依赖。本文为企业规避潜在风险和提升经济韧性提供了重要参考。

关键词: 经济政策不确定性, 供应链, 地理分布, 数字化转型, 交通基础设施