Does micro-geographical proximity matter for knowledge spillovers? Evidence from the quasi-natural experiment of university relocation in China

IF 4 2区地球科学 Q1 GEOGRAPHY

Applied Geography Pub Date : 2024-10-22 DOI:10.1016/j.apgeog.2024.103449

Xiaohan Zhong, Yingcheng Li

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

With the rapid development of knowledge economy, much attention has been paid to establishing university-based innovation zones, which are often believed to facilitate knowledge spillovers from universities to enterprises. However, relatively little is known about the impact of micro-geographical proximity between universities and firms on knowledge spillovers. This paper employs university relocation as a quasi-natural experiment to explore the effective scale and the causal impact of geographical proximity on knowledge spillovers of 98 Chinese universities, as represented by patent citations. Empirical results, based on difference-in-difference strategy and an instrumental variable approach, suggest that university relocation significantly promotes knowledge spillovers to both local and non-local firms. Moreover, universities that have established their new campuses in areas with more local enterprises tend to generate more knowledge spillovers after relocation. The effect of micro-geographical proximity is further verified through a comparative analysis of two specific cases.

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微观地理邻近性对知识溢出有影响吗？来自中国大学搬迁准自然实验的证据

随着知识经济的快速发展，建立以大学为基础的创新区备受关注，人们通常认为创新区能够促进知识从大学溢出到企业。然而，人们对大学与企业之间的微观地理邻近性对知识溢出的影响知之甚少。本文将大学搬迁作为一个准自然实验，探讨了以专利引用为代表的中国 98 所大学的有效规模以及地理邻近性对知识溢出的因果影响。基于差分策略和工具变量方法的实证结果表明，大学迁址显著促进了对本地和非本地企业的知识溢出。此外，在本地企业较多的地区建立新校区的大学在搬迁后往往会产生更多的知识溢出效应。通过对两个具体案例的比较分析，进一步验证了微观地理邻近性的影响。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Applied Geography GEOGRAPHY-

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

2.00%

发文量

134

期刊介绍： Applied Geography is a journal devoted to the publication of research which utilizes geographic approaches (human, physical, nature-society and GIScience) to resolve human problems that have a spatial dimension. These problems may be related to the assessment, management and allocation of the world physical and/or human resources. The underlying rationale of the journal is that only through a clear understanding of the relevant societal, physical, and coupled natural-humans systems can we resolve such problems. Papers are invited on any theme involving the application of geographical theory and methodology in the resolution of human problems.