The Spatial Correlation and Explanation of the Evolution of China’s Regional Human Capital Structure—Based on Network Analysis Method

Abstract

Human capital is an important catalyst for technology to play its role and the key to ensuring regional sustainable development. The current research on human capital mainly considers the imbalance of its stock and regional distribution without of the overall description of human capital structure and an analysis of its spatial correlation. Therefore, this article first builds a model of human capital structure evolution (HCSE) based on primary human capital, advanced human capital combined with economic geographic weight matrix, then uses the network analysis method to make a new deconstruction of the spatial correlation characteristics and the factors of China’s regional HCSE from 2009 to 2018. The results show that: (1) China’s HCSE has experienced regional accumulation in 2012, 2015, and 2018, having more prominent path dependence characteristics, which moreover vary significantly with China’s provinces, that is, the eastern region is dominated by the path of outward overflow, and the central and western regions alternate inward input and outward output; (2) The spatial network of HCSE in China is stable and multi-superimposed. During the sample investigation period, the overall network density first increased and then decreased, the largest regional clustering coefficient and transmission efficiency appeared in 2014; (3) The eastern region (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong as the core) is at the center of network spillover, playing a pivotal role as well as an intermediary and bridge role; conversely, the western region plays a central role in promoting the spatial network of HCSE to the direction of external dependence, while most of the central region has a diminished role in the evolution of spatial association networks; (4) The spatial correlation of HCSE in China is mainly affected by three types of factors: the urbanization level, the investment scale, and the degree of regional development. The greater the difference in urbanization levels is, the closer the spatial correlation of HCSE and the higher its network efficiency is; while the difference in investment scale and regional development has the opposite effect.