关键词: 虚拟集聚；外商直接投资；空间溢出；数字经济

Abstract: Based on a sample of 282 prefecturelevel cities from 2005 to 2019， this paper systematically examines the impact and internal mechanism of virtual agglomeration on FDI. The results show that virtual agglomeration significantly promotes FDI through innovationdriven effect and structural optimization effect， and the promotion effect is stronger in the cities with medium and low development levels and those with low level of digital economy development. Further research results show that virtual agglomeration has a spatial spillover effect on FDI， which not only promotes local FDI， but also shows an inverted Ushaped effect on neighboring FDI， and reaches a peak at about 300 km.

Key words: virtual agglomeration; foreign direct investment; space overflow; digital economy