数字经济驱动创新发展——知识流动的中介作用

The digital economy drives innovation——The intermediary role of knowledge flow

基于中国2013-2018年271个地级及以上城市数据,构造了中国城市层面的数字经济发展指数,实证检验了数字经济驱动创新发展的事实与作用机理。研究发现:数字经济能显著促进地区创新发展,这一结论在进行一系列稳健性检验后仍然成立;数字经济对实用型和外观型创新的驱动作用显著强于对发明型的驱动作用,数字经济创新效应具有显著结构性特征;知识流动在数字经济驱动地区创新发展中具有显著中介作用,且对不同创新类型的中介效果具有一定的差异;数字经济创新效应具有显著地区差异,发达城市的数字经济创新效应显著高于经济水平落后城市;知识流动在同级别城市中的中介作用显著高于跨级城市,知识流动在经济落后城市中的中介作用显著高于经济发达城市。数字经济能通过知识流动的中介作用助力城市创新发展的“强强合作”与均衡发展,为中国有效实施创新驱动发展战略和数字化建设提供重要政策依据。

Based on the data of 271 cities at prefecture level and above in China from 2013 to 2018,this paper constructs the city-level digital economy development index of China,and empirically tests the fact and mechanism of digital economy driving innovation development.It is found that digital economy can significantly promote regional innovation development,and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests.The driving effect of digital economy on practical and exterior innovation is significantly stronger than that on invention innovation,and the innovation effect of digital economy has significant structural characteristics.Knowledge flow plays a significant mediating role in regional innovation development driven by digital economy,and the mediating effect of different types of innovation is different to some extent.The innovation effect of digital economy has significant regional differences.The innovation effect of digital economy in developed cities is significantly higher than that in backward cities.The mediating effect of knowledge flow in same-level cities is significantly higher than that in cross-level cities,and the mediating effect of knowledge flow in economically backward cities is significantly higher than that in economically developed cities.Digital economy can help"strong cooperation"and balanced development of urban innovation and development through the intermediary role of knowledge flow,and provide important policy basis for China to effectively implement innovation-driven development strategy and digital construction.