How Resource-Exhausted Cities Get Out of the Innovation Bottom? Evidence from China

Zihan Hu, Min Wu, Dan Yang, Tao Luo and Yihao Tian ()
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Zihan Hu: Business School, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
Min Wu: School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Dan Yang: School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Tao Luo: Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China
Yihao Tian: School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-22

Abstract: The transformation and upgrading of resource-exhausted cities are crucial for regional sustainable development, but how to help them overcome innovation challenges remains to be explored. Based on data from 2003 to 2016, this study used a difference-in-differences (DID) method to examine the impact of China’s support policy for resource-exhausted cities on urban innovation and tests for long-term mechanisms. The results indicate that the support policy significantly enhanced regional innovation levels. The mechanism tests showed that these policies promoted urban innovation through long-term mechanisms of increasing marketization and upgrading industrial structures. Further analysis revealed that the innovation-promoting effects of the policies were more significant in resource-exhausted cities located in the eastern region, those not dependent on coal, those with a low reliance on extractive industries, and those with a favorable talent environment. The findings suggest that the government should provide policy support to achieve the transformation, upgrading, and sustainable development of resource-exhausted cities through urban innovation.

Keywords: resource-exhausted cities; sustainable urban development; urban innovation; marketization; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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