Recently, a paper titled Intellectual Property Protection Empowers Sci-Tech Finance Development: Evidence from Small and Medium-Sized Sci-Tech Enterprises, co-authored by Professor Zhang Bo from the School of Economics, PhD student Cui Shihao, and Associate Professor Fan Chenchen from the School of Finance and Taxation at Shandong University of Finance and Economics, was officially published in the May 2026 issue of the authoritative journal Journal of Financial Research. From the perspective of financing costs for small and medium-sized sci-tech enterprises (SMSEs), this study provides empirical evidence that intellectual property (IP) protection empowers the development of sci-tech finance. The research finds that strengthening IP protection can significantly reduce the loan spreads of SMSEs. The core mechanism is that IP protection helps mitigate relevant risks and alleviate information asymmetry between banks and enterprises, thereby lowering financing costs. This paper is one of the phased achievements of the team’s series of research on the "five major articles" of finance.

SMSEs are a vital driving force for strengthening enterprises’ dominant role in innovation and achieving high-level sci-tech self-reliance and self-improvement. Based on transaction-level corporate loan data from a commercial bank in Shandong Province, this paper uses the quasi-natural experiment provided by the implementation of the Shandong Provincial Regulations on the Protection and Promotion of Intellectual Property Rights to construct a Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. It examines the impact of IP protection on the financing costs of SMSEs and its mechanisms, aiming to verify the role of IP protection in empowering sci-tech finance development. The results show that strengthening IP protection significantly reduces corporate financing costs, and this effect is more pronounced for enterprises with unsecured loans, those in highly competitive and technologically complex industries, and high-innovation enterprises. The core mechanism lies in IP protection’s ability to mitigate risks and ease bank-enterprise information asymmetry, thereby cutting financing costs. Additionally, the cost-reduction effect of IP protection is stronger for enterprises with low access to bank credit and digital finance.

Zhang Bo is a professor at the School of Economics, Shandong University. His research focuses on inclusive finance, culture and finance, and China’s financial history. He has presided over 2 National Natural Science Foundation projects, 1 Ministry of Education Humanities and Social Science Youth Project, 6 provincial and ministerial-level projects including key projects under Shandong Province’s Key R&D Program (Soft Science Projects) and Shandong Natural Science Foundation projects. He has published over 20 papers in renowned academic journals such as Economic Quarterly, Journal of Financial Research, China Industrial Economics, World Economy, Economica, Financial Management, and Journal of Banking & Finance. He has received awards including the Shandong Provincial Outstanding Young Scholar Award in Social Sciences and the Shandong Provincial Outstanding Achievement Award in Social Sciences. His research reports have been adopted by central ministries and departments, and have received positive comments from senior leaders of the Shandong Provincial Party Committee.