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Endogenous growth theories have underpinned the pivotal role of education in innovation. However, our empirical study uncovers a mixed effect of higher education on firm innovation in China. Using Chinese Patent Census Data, a unique dataset, this paper is able to quantify innovation in China by incorporating a quality dimension for the first time. By merging the patent data with the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Database and province-level data on education, we find that the number of higher education institutions has a negative impact on firm-level innovation. However, the quantity of elite higher education institutions at the provincial level exerts a positive impact on firm innovation. In addition, heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of elite higher education on firm innovation is significantly positive for privately owned enterprises, but insignificant for state- and foreign-owned enterprises. Furthermore, the positive effect of elite higher education on innovation in high-tech industries is larger than in other industries.

Global warming and the rapid growth of carbon emissions have attracted the attention of governments and academia throughout the world. In 2006, China surpassed the United States as the emitter of the greatest volume of carbon, the largest contribution of which is derived from China’s industrial sector. This study investigated the evolution of industrial carbon shadow prices (CSPs) in China at the provincial level to assess the opportunity costs in terms of value added foregone owing to decreasing carbon emissions. A dual formulation of the by-production data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was applied to estimate the industrial carbon abatement costs in China during 2003–2017. This study represents the first attempt to apply the dual by-production DEA model for this purpose. Empirical results showed that industrial CSP increased by 3.83% annually and that the average provincial CSP was approximately $562.43 USD/ton. A significant upturn in the CSP occurred after 2006. Furthermore, disparities of changes in industrial CSP over time were checked using the test of sigma convergence. Regional divergence was observed for the period 2011–2017. Policy implications were derived from the empirical results in terms of improvements regarding carbon abatement.

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