数字经济对区域创新能力的影响机制——基于知识流动与区域创新环境作用的分析

The Impact Mechanism of Digital Economy on Regional Innovation Capability:Analysis Based on the Roles of Knowledge Flow and Regional Innovation Environment

目前中国正处于从投资拉动经济增长到创新驱动经济增长的转型阶段,以技术创新引领区域发展是新常态下推动经济发展的重要着力点,数字经济为推动区域创新发展提供了新动力和新方向。为了深入探讨数字经济对区域创新能力的影响,基于2011—2021年中国276个城市的面板数据,构建多维指标测算城市数字经济发展水平,运用固定效应模型和中介效应模型,实证检验知识流动在数字经济提高区域创新能力过程中的中介作用,探讨区域创新环境对其两者关系的调节效应,并进一步进行有关稳健性、内生性、异质性等方面的检验。结果表明:数字经济的发展能有效提高区域创新能力,且对发明专利的促进作用明显大于对实用新型专利和外观设计专利的促进作用,从而提高区域创新能力;数字经济通过促进知识流动对区域创新能力产生促进作用,且促进知识流动的中介效应在不同专利产出中存在明显的差异;区域创新环境能正向调节数字经济对区域创新能力的促进作用;数字经济对东部城市和中心城市创新能力的促进作用明显较强,而知识流动在发展中城市和非东部地区的中介效应较大。据此认为,为进一步释放数字经济对区域创新能力的创新效应,需加快数字技术创新,且各地区应实施因地制宜的数字技术发展战略。

China is currently in the transition stage from investment-driven economic growth to innovation-driven economic growth,leading regional development with technological innovation is an important focus for promoting economic development under the new normal,and the digital economy provides a new impetus and a new direction for promoting regional innovation and development.In order to explore the impact of digital economy on regional innovation capacity,based on the panel data of 276 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2021,this paper constructs multidimensional indicators to measure the level of development of digital economy in the cities,and utilizs the fixed effect model and the mediation effect model to empirically test the mediation role of knowledge flow in the process of improving regional innovation capacity by digital economy,explore the regulation of the relationship between regional innovation environment and regional innovation capacity,and to explore the relationship between the two.The mediating effect of regional innovation environment on the relationship between the two is explored,and further tests are carried out on robustness,endogeneity,and heterogeneity.The results show that:the development of digital economy can effectively improve the number of regional patent applications,and the promotion effect on invention patents is significantly greater than that on utility patents and design patents,so as to improve the regional innovation capacity.The digital economy promotes regional innovation capability by facilitating knowledge flow,and the mediating effect of promoting knowledge flow varies significantly among different patent outputs.Regional innovation environment can positively regulate the promotion effect of digital economy on regional innovation capacity.The promotion effect of digital economy on the innovation capacity of eastern region cities and central cities is significantly stronger,while the mediating effect of knowledge flow is larger in developing cities and central and western region cities.Accordingly,in order to further unleash the innovation effect of the digital economy on regional innovation capacity,digital technological innovation needs to be accelerated,and regions should implement locally adapted digital technology development strategies.