The Impact of Government Role on High-Quality Innovation Development in Mainland China

Xuanzhi Yang, Zhaofang Zhang, Wei Luo, Zhen Tang, Xin Gao, Zhongchi Wan and Xin Zhang
Additional contact information
Xuanzhi Yang: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Zhaofang Zhang: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Wei Luo: Business School, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Zhen Tang: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Xin Gao: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Zhongchi Wan: College of Economics & Management, China Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
Xin Zhang: Business School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 20, 1-19

Abstract: Innovation serves as the first impetus for high-quality development. The role of government in promoting high-quality innovation development has become a chief driving force. Therefore, based on role theory, this paper will discuss the effect of different government roles on high-quality innovation development and regional alienation, providing policy recommendations for China. In this paper, firstly, a super-efficiency DEA model is introduced to measure the high-quality innovation development level among 30 provinces and municipalities in mainland China from 2010 to 2017. Secondly, a Tobit model is used to analyze the impact of different government roles on high-quality innovation development. The following conclusions are drawn through a super-efficiency DEA model: (1) From the holistic perspective, the high-quality innovation development in mainland China shows a fluctuating growth trend, but its level still needs improvement. (2) From the regional perspective, there is a patchwork pattern of ‘the eastern region ranks highest, followed by the western region and the middle region that stays at the lowest’. In addition, the three regions’ average of total factor productivity of high-quality innovation development has shown a smooth upward trend over the years. Then, the results of Tobit regression analysis are as follows: (1) Apart from the role in supporting talent, roles in constructing innovation platforms, cultivating the innovation environment, and coordinating social resources all pass the significance test. (2) Demands of different government roles vary significantly in different regions from the regional perspective. For the betterment of an innovation society, this paper puts forward suggestions according to different regional development statuses, such as shifting our focus from quantity to quality, strengthening cooperation among provinces and municipalities, and formulating appropriate governance role strategies.

Keywords: government role; high-quality innovation development; super-efficiency DEA model; Tobit model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5780/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/20/5780/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:20:p:5780-:d:277866

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().