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

摘要： 基于2005—2019年282个地级城市样本，系统考察虚拟集聚对外商直接投资的影响及内在机制。研究表明，虚拟集聚通过创新驱动效应和结构优化效应显著促进外商直接投资，且该促进作用在中、低发展水平城市和数字经济发展水平低的城市效果更强。研究结论揭示，虚拟集聚对外商直接投资存在空间溢出效应，在促进本地外商直接投资的同时，对邻地外商直接投资发挥倒U型作用，且在300公里左右达到峰值。

关键词: 虚拟集聚；外商直接投资；空间溢出；数字经济