Factors Affecting The Innovation Efficiency Of The Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration

With China’ s economy having entered a period of new normal,which means economic development speed is in structural deceleration,Yangtze River Delta is accelerating the integration of regional economic development factors to cope with the increasingly severe global competition.Improving allocative efficiency and utilization efficiency of innovation resources,as well as promote the effective transformation of investment in scientific and technological innovation into productive forces has been the priority of regional construction.Therefore,we should study the differences in the level of innovation efficiency among cities in the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,analyze the key factors that cause those differences and explore ways to improve overall innovation efficiency of cities and even of the Yangtze River Delta.All these researches are of great significance to enhancing the innovation efficiency and innovation capability of the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,leading the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the nation’s innovative development.Based on summarizing domestic and foreign scholars’ innovation efficiency theory and research results,this paper uses the stochastic frontier analysis method to measure the innovation efficiency of 25 cities in the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,and researches innovation efficiency changes and differences between cities during 2007 and 2014.The study finds that the innovation efficiencies of all cities in the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster have been improving during the study period,and the innovation efficiency of some cities in Zhejiang Province and Anhui Province have increased rapidly.The efficiency of innovation in most cities in Jiangsu Province and Shanghai has been at a relatively high level.Besides,this paper established a spatial econometric model to further explore the influencing factors of regional innovation efficiency.The results show that the elements of the innovation environment,the main factors of the bondage of the institutes and universities,and the space spillover effects of innovation have a significant impact on the regional innovation efficiency.Specifically,there is indeed an innovation spillover effect among cities within the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster,that is,the growth of local innovation efficiency will promote the innovation efficiency of other neighboring cities.The quality of the local workforce,the degree of economic opening to the outside world,and government support for corporate innovation activities all have a positive impact on local innovation efficiency.At the same time,The level of economic development of the city and the share of the tertiary industry in the regional GDP have a positive effect on the innovation efficiency of both local and other neighboring cities.Based on the above conclusions,this paper proposes that the government of cities in Yangtze River Delta City Cluster should take following policies to promote the improvement of regional innovation efficiency,including improving the human capital level in the region,optimizing the industrial structure,strengthening the combination of production,learning and research,increasing government support of innovation activities,encouraging innovative cooperation and exchanges between cities,and expanding foreign trade.