Abstract: The construction of a unified national market is a key component of the new development paradigm in the new era. Using the panel data from 280 cities between 2010 and 2021, this study created a quasi-natural experiment scenario by establishing data trading platforms. A multi-period difference-in-differences model was employed to systematically examine the impact of market-based allocation of data elements on the development of a unified national market. The findings revealed that the market-based allocation of data elements contributes to the advancement of a unified national market, and the result is robust. The mechanism analysis showed that the marketbased allocation of data elements affects the construction of the unified national market by improving circulation efficiency, resource allocation efficiency and the level of external openness. The heterogeneity analysis indicated that the policy effects of data marketization are more pronounced in cities with higher levels of intellectual property protection, talent concentration and technological support. The conclusions of this study will offer valuable policy implications for further promoting the market-based allocation of data elements, fully unleashing the potential of data resources, and accelerating the construction of a unified national market.

Key words:  market-based allocation of data elements, unified national market, data trading platform, difference-in-differences (DID)