Since the reform and opening up,China has achieved rapid economic growth by relying on investment and factor input,but the quality of economic growth is not high,and it has also exerted tremendous pressure on resources and the environment.At present,China’s economic development has entered a new normal,the economy has changed from high-speed growth to medium-high-speed growth,and the industrial structure has also undergone tremendous changes.In this process,the model of economic growth relying on large-scale input of factors is no longer sustainable.Therefore,strengthening technological innovation and improving total factor productivity have become the main driving force for promoting economic development.Industrial agglomeration is an important factor affecting total factor productivity,and manufacturing is the pillar industry of China’s national economy.Therefore,the impact of manufacturing industry agglomeration on China’s total factor productivity is crucial.New Economic Geography holds that industrial agglomeration can improve total factor productivity by promoting technological progress and improving resource allocation efficiency.However,when applying these theoretical analyses to empirical test,there are a lot of conclusions supporting or not supporting the manufacturing industry agglomeration can promote productivity.Industrial agglomeration affects total factor productivity through technology spillover effects,while human capital plays an important role in the digestion and absorption of technological spillovers brought about by agglomeration.At the same time,the improvement of human capital level can further promote the development of agglomeration,and there is an endogenous interaction between the two.Therefore,if we ignore the factor of human capital and explore the influence of manufacturing industry agglomeration on total factor productivity separately,the conclusions obtained may be inaccurate.In this context,this paper integrates manufacturing industry agglomeration,human capital and total factor productivity into the same analytical framework,and attempts to explore the influence of the interaction of the two on total factor productivity.Based on the clarification of the impact mechanism of industrial agglomeration,human capital and the interaction of the two items on total factor productivity,this paper uses the spatial econometric model to explore the influence of manufacturing industry agglomeration,human capital and the interaction of the two on total factor productivity,hoping to enrich research in this area furtherly.The main contents of this paper are as follows:(1)Relevant theoretical analysis.On the basis of clarifying the concepts of industrial agglomeration,human capital and total factor productivity,and drawing on the viewpoints of relevant theories and scholars,this paper analyses the mechanism of industrial agglomeration,human capital and the interaction of the two affecting total factor productivity,and puts forward relevant research hypotheses;(2)Analysis of the status quo.Firstly,based on the comparison of different measurement methods,the spatial Gini coefficient and location entropy are selected to measure the industrial agglomeration level of China’s manufacturing industry;the average years of education is selected to measure the human capital level in various regions of China;and the Solow residual method is selected to measure the total factor productivity of each region;(3)Empirical analysis.This paper measures the influence of manufacturing industrial agglomeration,human capital and the interaction of the two on total factor productivity by spatial econometric model,and carries out subregional regression analysis.The main conclusions of this paper are as follows:(1)The manufacturing industry agglomeration in the country and the central and western regions has significantly hindered the promotion of total factor productivity,while the manufacturing industry agglomeration in the eastern region can significantly promote the enhancement of total factor productivity.The main reason is that China’s manufacturing industry is still dominated by traditional low value-added labor-intensive industries,lacking innovation ability and core technology,which leads to manufacturing industry agglomeration does not show significant technology spillover effect,and is not conducive to the promotion of regional total factor productivity.In recent years,the industrial structure in the eastern region has been continuously optimized and upgraded,forming an advanced manufacturing agglomeration,improving the overall technological level and innovation ability of the agglomeration area,so that the manufacturing industrial agglomeration in the eastern region can promote the local TFP.(2)Human capital in the country and the eastern region has significantly promoted the regional total factor productivity,while human capital in the central and western regions has significantly hindered the regional total factor productivity.It shows that high level of human capital is conducive to promoting technological innovation,improving enterprise management level and independent innovation ability,and then driving regional TFP growth.However,the education level in the central and western regions is backward,and the loss of high-quality talents is serious leading to human capital hinders the improvement of regional technological level and production efficiency.(3)Manufacturing industry agglomeration and human capital in the country,eastern and central and western regions can promote each other,form a benign interaction,and promote the improvement of total factor productivity.The coefficient of interaction between manufacturing industry agglomeration and human capital is significantly positive,which indicates that the driving force of promoting total factor productivity includes the combined effect of manufacturing industry agglomeration and human capital.At the same time,the interaction between manufacturing industry agglomeration and human capital in the central and western regions has a greater contribution to TFP than in the eastern region.Finally,according to the conclusion of this study,the paper puts forward some policy suggestions,such as optimizing industrial structure,improving the level of industrial agglomeration,increasing the investment of human capital,improving the level of human capital,promoting the development of integration and achieving benign interaction,and points out the future research prospects of this study. |