Does State-level Upgrade of High-tech Zones Promote Urban Innovation Efficiency: Evidence from China

Abstract

Among China’s existing state-level High-tech Industry Development Zones (HIDZ), the number of upgraded ones account for more than 65%, which are supposed to fulfill the important mission of leading innovation. However, while the upgraded state-level HIDZ enjoy more opportunities than before, they also face major challenges such as the significant inter-generational differences between them and the born state-level HIDZ. Based on the panel data of Chinese (prefecture-level) cities from 2007 to 2015, the paper empirically examines the impact of the state-level upgrade of HIDZ on urban innovation efficiency by using a difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach (PSM-DID). The results show that the upgraded state-level HIDZ has significantly improved urban innovation efficiency, and this positive effect has gradually increased with the implementation of the upgrade policy. The further heterogeneity analysis shows that the higher the scientific research level of higher education institutions in the cities, the greater the promotion effect of the state-level upgrade. The paper evaluates the policy effect of the upgraded state-level HIDZ from their stated mission, which is a powerful complement to the existing research and provides more effective guidance for policy-makers.

Can Higher Education, Economic Growth and Innovation Ability Improve Each Other?

“…Every year, the Chinese government invests a large amount of R&D funds in SHIDZ. From actual observations, continuous government investment in R&D funds can enhance the innovation ability of enterprises in science parks and have a positive impact on regional industrial upgrading [27,28]. Coad et al, have constructed a large number of models to demonstrate the important role of innovation investment in regional sustainable economic growth, corporate competitiveness, and industrial upgrading [29].…”

“…Through such interactions, an education plan concerning entrepreneurship and the cultivation of creative and innovative professionals supported by research institutes such as universities provide the opportunity to generate knowledge and an economic network [17]. In addition, knowledge transfer between academia and industry is a major driver of innovation and economic growth because it encourages the commercialization of new scientific knowledge within an enterprise [10,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]27,28,36]. Bloedon and Stokes defined the concept of knowledge transfer as a procedure through which the production or knowledge of a useful item within an organizational environment becomes applicable in another organizational environment [19].…”

The Possibility of China’s Industrial Park Management Committee to Promote Interenterprise Cooperative Innovation in the Park: A Trilateral Evolutionary Game Perspective

“…Figure 9 simulates the effect of changes in the default penalty K, paid by core enterprises to small-and medium-sized enterprises, on the choice of core enterprises and small-and medium-sized enterprises in cooperative innovation strategies with other parameters unchanged. As seen from Complexity Figure 9, the increase in the penalty K increases the speed in convergence of y, z towards 1, and the equilibrium point tends to (1,1,1). With the change in K, the change in core enterprises' willingness to participate in cooperation is highly significant, which indicates that core enterprises are sensitive to the change in K.…”

“…As a local economic carrier, China's industrial parks have played an essential role in promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy and the optimisation of the industrial structure [1]. e statistics of China Development Zone Yearbook and China Torch Statistical Yearbook shows that by the end of 2018, only two types of industrial parks, namely, national high-tech and economic development zones, have created a GDP of 17,081.63 billion yuan, which accounted for a quarter of China's total GDP.…”

Research on Innovation Non-Equilibrium of Chinese Urban Agglomeration Based on SOM Neural Network

“…Due to the in-depth implementation of innovation-driven development strategies and the continuous progress of urbanization, researchers have paid increasing attention to regional innovation. Most literature has paid greater attention to the efficiency of regional innovation, including the measurement of innovation efficiency (Wang Chunzhi, Zhao Guojie, 2015 [1]; Zhang et al 2003 [2]; Agbali, Trillo et al (2017) [3]; Ben and Wang (2011) [4]; Cooke (2001) [5]; Villani and Lechner (2021) [6]); and regional differences in innovation efficiency and its contributing factors (Mao Qi Lin, Xu Jiayun, 2015 [7]; Cheng Qiang, et al, 2015 [8]; Zhang Changzheng, 2012 [9]; Bai Junhong, Jiang Fuxin, 2011 [10]; Zhou Xiaoyan, 2009 [11]; Jefferson et al, 2006 [12]; Nasierowski and Arcelus, 2003 [13]; Narula, 2000 [14]; Hong, Feng et al (2016) [15]; Wang, Yang et al (2019) [16]). Cooke (2001) [5] believes that European regional innovation is overly dependent on the government for public intervention, leading to market failure.…”