Bridging the Innovation Gap. AI and Robotics as Drivers of China’s Urban Innovation

Rodríguez-Pose, Andrés and Zhuoying You
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Andrés Rodríguez-Pose

No 19010, CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers

Abstract: Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are revolutionising production, yet their potential to stimulate innovation and change innovation patterns remains underexplored. This paper examines whether AI and robotics can spearhead technological innovation, with a particular focus on their capacity to deliver where other policies have mostly failed: less developed cities and regions. We resort to OLS and IV-2SLS methods to probe the direct and moderating influences of AI and robotics on technological innovation across 270 Chinese cities. We further employ quantile regression analysis to assess their impacts on innovation in more and less innovative cities. The findings reveal that AI and robotics significantly promote technological innovation, with a pronounced impact in cities at or below the technological frontier. Additionally, the use of AI and robotics improves the returns of investment in science and technology (S&T) on technological innovation. AI and robotics moderating effects are often more pronounced in less innovative cities, meaning that AI and robotics are not just powerful instruments for the promotion of innovation but also effective mechanisms to reduce the yawning gap in regional innovation between Chinese innovation hubs and the rest of the country.

Keywords: China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O31 R11 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024-04
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://cepr.org/publications/DP19010 (application/pdf)
CEPR Discussion Papers are free to download for our researchers, subscribers and members. If you fall into one of these categories but have trouble downloading our papers, please contact us at subscribers@cepr.org

Related works:
Working Paper: Bridging the innovation gap. AI and robotics as drivers of China’s urban innovation (2024)
Working Paper: Bridging the innovation gap. AI and robotics as drivers of China’s urban innovation (2024)
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:cpr:ceprdp:19010

Ordering information: This working paper can be ordered from
https://cepr.org/publications/DP19010

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in CEPR Discussion Papers from C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers Centre for Economic Policy Research, 33 Great Sutton Street, London EC1V 0DX.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().