代际流动何以推动城市创新

How Intergenerational Mobility Promotes Innovation

代际流动是影响经济活动的重要社会环境因素,其水平高低代表了一个地区社会公平尤其是机会公平程度。本文基于全国1%人口抽样调查数据构造城市层级的代际流动性指标,探究其对城市-行业创新的影响及其作用机制。研究发现,代际流动性显著促进了创新产出,这一结论在一系列稳健性检验和内生性讨论后仍然存在。基于地区历史上距离印刷品原材料的河流距离这一外生地理特征,本文验证了代际流动对创新的因果影响。在机制检验中,一方面,高代际流动性能够吸引高技能劳动力迁入,继而优化劳动力结构;另一方面,高代际流动性意味着更加开放的机会结构,鼓励个体竞争和冒险,从而释放企业家精神以推动创新。本文结论表明,代际流动性不仅事关阶层固化和社会稳定,更是影响创新的重要因素。围绕创新推动改革,需要将提升代际流动性纳入促进创新的政策体系之中。

Intergenerational mobility is at the core of social mobility in a region,which represents social equity,especially the degree of opportunity equity,and constitutes a socio-environmental factor of great significance that affects economic activities.This paper first constructs a series of urban intergenerational mobility indicators based on population census data,then it uses patent data to construct city-industry innovation indicators,and finally it explores the impact and mechanism of intergenerational mobility on innovation.The study shows that intergenerational mobility significantly promotes innovation output,and this conclusion remains valid after conducting a series of robustness tests and using instrumental variables to deal with endogenous problems.Based on the exogenous geographical characteristic of the historical river distance to printed materials,the paper verifies the causal impact of intergenerational mobility on innovation.The mechanism analysis reveals,on the one hand,that high intergenerational mobility can attract highly skilled labour,thus optimising the labour structure.On the other hand,it indicates that this mobility entails a more open opportunity structure that encourages individual competition and adventure,thus giving free rein to entrepreneurship aimed at promoting innovative activities.The conclusion of this work suggests that intergenerational mobility is not only related to the solidification of class and social stability,but also constitutes an important factor affecting innovation.In order to promote reform through innovation,it is necessary to incorporate improvements in intergenerational mobility into the policy system aimed at promoting innovation.