Amenities and the geography of innovation: evidence from Chinese cities

Abstract

Studies in the regional innovation literature have largely focused on the role of economic, structural, demographic, and institutional factors, but very few studies shed light on the role of amenities. This paper investigates this question by examining how amenities shape the geography of innovation in China. The empirical results based on city-level data suggest that both natural and consumer amenities are positively associated with regional innovation. Specifically, amenities related to air quality, sunshine, public transportation, educational resources, and healthcare services matter most. Further, the analysis suggests the influence of amenities on innovation is closely linked to city characteristics such as income, density, and human capital. Therefore, to formulate innovation-driven growth, these results suggest that more attention should be paid to the role of amenities and amenity-related strategies should be tailored to city characteristics.

Sustainable land urbanization, urban amenities, and population urbanization: Evidence from city‐level data in China

“…Urban amenities (ua). Based on the existing literature (Glaeser, Kolko, and Saiz, 2001;Liao and Wang, 2019;Zhang, Partridge, and Song, 2020) and data available, we have classified urban amenities according to the following five primary factors: employment, medical, education, leisure, and transportation. Furthermore, we have collected data on 15 variables, as shown in the Supporting Information Appendix, which are related to these 5 primary factors.…”

“…Yet, the role of urban amenities in analyzing why land urbanization in China is faster than population urbanization has been largely overlooked. Consistent with previous studies (Glaeser, Kolko, and Saiz, 2001;He, Huang, and Xi, 2018;Zhang, Partridge, and Song, 2020), we defined urban amenities as location-specific nonmarketed attributes, such as public services, urban facilities, job opportunities, traffic conditions, and other regional specificities, which make people's life and work more convenient to a particular city. Specifically, urban amenities vary from regions to regions and have become increasingly critical in determining the attractiveness of particular areas for migrants (Zhang et al, 2020).…”

“…Consistent with previous studies (Glaeser, Kolko, and Saiz, 2001;He, Huang, and Xi, 2018;Zhang, Partridge, and Song, 2020), we defined urban amenities as location-specific nonmarketed attributes, such as public services, urban facilities, job opportunities, traffic conditions, and other regional specificities, which make people's life and work more convenient to a particular city. Specifically, urban amenities vary from regions to regions and have become increasingly critical in determining the attractiveness of particular areas for migrants (Zhang et al, 2020). With the emergence of rapid urbanization and the rise in per capita income, migration in China is changing from economy-driven to amenity-driven.…”

How Does the Age Structure Affect Local Economies in the US?

“…For example, younger people are more likely to be attracted by places where there is a vital labor market with many opportunities, while places full of energetic younger people are more likely to have better economic performance. To account for these and other factors driving both the degree of population aging and the economic performance in MSAs, I use an "IV-matching" strategy to identify instrumental variables (Zhang et al, 2020). Specifically, the Mahalanobis distance will be calculated for each MSA pair to determine their best matches based on economic and demographic statistics in 2005:…”

Is air pollution detrimental to regional innovation? Evidence from Chinese cities

“…In the literature, the generation and capacity of a region’s innovation are affected by a set of factors, such as Research and Development (R&D) investment (Bruche, 2009; Crescenzi & Rodríguez‐Pose, 2017; Crescenzi et al., 2012; Fan, 2014; Sun & Du, 2010), human capital (Yang & Lin, 2012; Zhang et al., 2012), density and agglomerations 3 (Crescenzi et al., 2012; Dahlman, 2010; Shang et al., 2012; Song & Zhang, 2017), foreign direct investment (FDI) (Cheung & Ping, 2004; Fan, 2014; Fan et al., 2012), networks and institutions (Chen & Kenney, 2007; Kafouros et al., 2015; Rong et al., 2017; Yueh, 2009), and the social filter (structural characteristics that would make a region more “innovation prone” 4 ) (Crescenzi et al., 2012; Crescenzi & Rodríguez‐Pose, 2017; Zhang et al., 2020). Though the innovativeness of a city is attributed to a combination of several inputs, the consensus is that the endowments of high‐skilled and creative workers form the basis of sustainable innovation development; therefore, how to attract those workers may also matter for the result of innovation.…”