IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jregsc/v63y2023i3p674-702.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research collaboration beyond the boundary: Evidence from university patents in China

Author

Listed:
  • Jingbo Cui
  • Tianqi Li
  • Zhenxuan Wang

Abstract

Geographical distance constitutes friction in searching for research collaborators. Taking advantage of a quasinatural experiment featured by High‐Speed Railway (HSR) lines in China, this paper employs the difference‐in‐differences model to identify the causal impact of a substantial improvement in the intercity transportation infrastructure on collaborative innovation across cities. The data pertain to a universe of patent applications filed by Chinese universities and their citations. We find that HSR contributes to a substantial increase in the innovation quantity and quality of collaborative patenting innovation between universities and corporates. It contributes to industry collaboration by utilizing university academic disciplines in the related technology fields. Lastly, HSR facilitates universities to search for new research partners with better quality beyond the geographical boundary.

Suggested Citation

  • Jingbo Cui & Tianqi Li & Zhenxuan Wang, 2023. "Research collaboration beyond the boundary: Evidence from university patents in China," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(3), pages 674-702, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:63:y:2023:i:3:p:674-702
    DOI: 10.1111/jors.12635
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12635
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jors.12635?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. William R. Kerr & Scott Duke Kominers, 2015. "Agglomerative Forces and Cluster Shapes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(4), pages 877-899, October.
    2. Dong, Xiaofang & Zheng, Siqi & Kahn, Matthew E., 2020. "The role of transportation speed in facilitating high skilled teamwork across cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    3. Dave Donaldson, 2018. "Railroads of the Raj: Estimating the Impact of Transportation Infrastructure," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(4-5), pages 899-934, April.
    4. Chia-Lin Chen & Roger Vickerman, 2017. "Can transport infrastructure change regions’ economic fortunes? Some evidence from Europe and China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(1), pages 144-160, January.
    5. Yu Qin, 2017. "‘No county left behind?’ The distributional impact of high-speed rail upgrades in China," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(3), pages 489-520.
    6. Jaffe, Adam B, 1986. "Technological Opportunity and Spillovers of R&D: Evidence from Firms' Patents, Profits, and Market Value," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(5), pages 984-1001, December.
    7. Yasusada Murata & Ryo Nakajima & Ryosuke Okamoto & Ryuichi Tamura, 2014. "Localized Knowledge Spillovers and Patent Citations: A Distance-Based Approach," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(5), pages 967-985, December.
    8. Rosenberg, Nathan & Nelson, Richard R., 1994. "American universities and technical advance in industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 23(3), pages 323-348, May.
    9. Anna Bottasso & Maurizio Conti & Simone Robbiano & Marta Santagata, 2022. "Roads to innovation: Evidence from Italy," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(4), pages 981-1005, September.
    10. Gaspar, Jess & Glaeser, Edward L., 1998. "Information Technology and the Future of Cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 136-156, January.
    11. Mansfield, Edwin, 1991. "Academic research and industrial innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 20(1), pages 1-12, February.
    12. Andrew B. Bernard & Andreas Moxnes & Yukiko U. Saito, 2019. "Production Networks, Geography, and Firm Performance," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 127(2), pages 639-688.
    13. Buzard, Kristy & Carlino, Gerald A. & Hunt, Robert M. & Carr, Jake K. & Smith, Tony E., 2020. "Localized knowledge spillovers: Evidence from the spatial clustering of R&D labs and patent citations," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    14. Nathaniel Baum-Snow & Loren Brandt & J. Vernon Henderson & Matthew A. Turner & Qinghua Zhang, 2017. "Roads, Railroads, and Decentralization of Chinese Cities," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(3), pages 435-448, July.
    15. Shimeng Liu, 2015. "Spillovers from Universities: Evidence from the Land-Grant Program," Working Paper 9410, USC Lusk Center for Real Estate.
    16. Adam B. Jaffe & Manuel Trajtenberg & Rebecca Henderson, 1993. "Geographic Localization of Knowledge Spillovers as Evidenced by Patent Citations," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 108(3), pages 577-598.
    17. Perkmann, Markus & King, Zella & Pavelin, Stephen, 2011. "Engaging excellence? Effects of faculty quality on university engagement with industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 539-552, May.
    18. Alessandro Muscio, 2013. "University-industry linkages: What are the determinants of distance in collaborations?," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 92(4), pages 715-739, November.
    19. Buzard, Kristy & Carlino, Gerald A. & Hunt, Robert M. & Carr, Jake K. & Smith, Tony E., 2017. "The agglomeration of American R&D labs," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 14-26.
    20. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_027 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Rosenthal, Stuart S. & Strange, William C., 2001. "The Determinants of Agglomeration," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 191-229, September.
    22. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    23. Pablo D'Este & Frederick Guy & Simona Iammarino, 2013. "Shaping the formation of university--industry research collaborations: what type of proximity does really matter?," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 13(4), pages 537-558, July.
    24. Liu, Shimeng, 2015. "Spillovers from universities: Evidence from the land-grant program," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 25-41.
    25. Benjamin Faber, 2014. "Trade Integration, Market Size, and Industrialization: Evidence from China's National Trunk Highway System," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 81(3), pages 1046-1070.
    26. Banerjee, Abhijit & Duflo, Esther & Qian, Nancy, 2020. "On the road: Access to transportation infrastructure and economic growth in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    27. Audretsch, David B & Feldman, Maryann P, 1996. "R&D Spillovers and the Geography of Innovation and Production," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(3), pages 630-640, June.
    28. Luc Anselin & Attila Varga & Zoltan Acs, 2008. "Local Geographic Spillovers Between University Research and High Technology Innovations," Chapters, in: Entrepreneurship, Growth and Public Policy, chapter 9, pages 95-121, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    29. Christian Catalini & Christian Fons-Rosen & Patrick Gaulé, 2020. "How Do Travel Costs Shape Collaboration?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(8), pages 3340-3360, August.
    30. repec:zbw:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    31. Jaffe, Adam B, 1989. "Real Effects of Academic Research," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 957-970, December.
    32. Shawn Kantor & Alexander Whalley, 2014. "Knowledge Spillovers from Research Universities: Evidence from Endowment Value Shocks," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(1), pages 171-188, March.
    33. Keld Laursen & Toke Reichstein & Ammon Salter, 2011. "Exploring the Effect of Geographical Proximity and University Quality on University-Industry Collaboration in the United Kingdom," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(4), pages 507-523.
    34. Ron Boschma, 2005. "Proximity and Innovation: A Critical Assessment," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 39(1), pages 61-74.
    35. Lee, Hsing-fen & Miozzo, Marcela, 2019. "Which types of knowledge-intensive business services firms collaborate with universities for innovation?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(7), pages 1633-1646.
    36. Alexandra L Cermeño, 2019. "Do universities generate spatial spillovers? Evidence from US counties between 1930 and 2010," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 19(6), pages 1173-1210.
    37. Feng Yu & Faqin Lin & Yihong Tang & Changbiao Zhong, 2019. "High‐speed railway to success? The effects of high‐speed rail connection on regional economic development in China," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 723-742, September.
    38. Broström, Anders, 2010. "Working with distant researchers--Distance and content in university-industry interaction," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1311-1320, December.
    39. Hu, Albert G.Z. & Zhang, Peng & Zhao, Lijing, 2017. "China as number one? Evidence from China's most recent patenting surge," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 107-119.
    40. Dongxiao Niu & Weizeng Sun & Siqi Zheng, 2020. "Travel costs, trade, and market segmentation: Evidence from China's high‐speed railway," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(6), pages 1799-1825, December.
    41. Lin, Yatang, 2017. "Travel costs and urban specialization patterns: Evidence from China’s high speed railway system," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 98-123.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tobias Schlegel & Curdin Pfister & Dietmar Harhoff & Uschi Backes-Gellner, 2022. "Innovation effects of universities of applied sciences: an assessment of regional heterogeneity," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 63-118, February.
    2. Maietta, Ornella Wanda, 2015. "Determinants of university–firm R&D collaboration and its impact on innovation: A perspective from a low-tech industry," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(7), pages 1341-1359.
    3. Liaoliao Duan & Dongxiao Niu & Weizeng Sun & Siqi Zheng, 2021. "Transportation infrastructure and capital mobility: evidence from China’s high-speed railways," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 67(3), pages 617-648, December.
    4. Kang, Meiling & Li, Yucheng & Zhao, Zhongkuang & Song, Min & Yi, Jun, 2023. "Travel costs and inter-city collaborative innovation: Evidence of high-speed railway in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 286-302.
    5. Ma, Liya & Niu, Dongxiao & Sun, Weizeng, 2021. "Transportation infrastructure and entrepreneurship: Evidence from high-speed railway in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    6. Wang, Jiating & Cai, Siyuan, 2020. "The construction of high-speed railway and urban innovation capacity: Based on the perspective of knowledge Spillover," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    7. Dongxiao Niu & Weizeng Sun & Siqi Zheng, 2020. "Travel costs, trade, and market segmentation: Evidence from China's high‐speed railway," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 99(6), pages 1799-1825, December.
    8. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    9. Baek, Jisun & Park, WooRam, 2022. "The impact of improved passenger transport system on manufacturing plant productivity," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Andrea Bonaccorsi & Daniele Biancardi & Mabel Sanchez Barrioluengo & Federico Biagi, 2019. "Study on Higher Education Institutions and Local Development," JRC Research Reports JRC117272, Joint Research Centre.
    11. Benjamin Montmartin & Ludovic Dibiaggio & Lionel Nesta, 2018. "Regional Alignment and Productivity Growth," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01948337, HAL.
    12. Hong, Wei & Su, Yu-Sung, 2013. "The effect of institutional proximity in non-local university–industry collaborations: An analysis based on Chinese patent data," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 454-464.
    13. Dong, Xiaofang & Zheng, Siqi & Kahn, Matthew E., 2020. "The role of transportation speed in facilitating high skilled teamwork across cities," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    14. Carlino, Gerald & Kerr, William R., 2015. "Agglomeration and Innovation," Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, in: Gilles Duranton & J. V. Henderson & William C. Strange (ed.), Handbook of Regional and Urban Economics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 0, pages 349-404, Elsevier.
    15. Eunhee Sohn, 2021. "How Local Industry R&D Shapes Academic Research: Evidence from the Agricultural Biotechnology Revolution," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 32(3), pages 675-707, May.
    16. repec:zbw:bofrdp:2015_027 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Diekhoff, Josefine & Krieger, Bastian & Licht, Georg & Rammer, Christian, 2019. "Stand der Messung von Interaktionen zwischen Wissenschaft und Wirtschaft im internationalen Vergleich," ZEW Expertises, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research, number 248650.
    18. repec:hal:spmain:info:hdl:2441/32ctbi8fbq8j5aom2j69qam6tf is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Pfister, Curdin & Koomen, Miriam & Harhoff, Dietmar & Backes-Gellner, Uschi, 2021. "Regional innovation effects of applied research institutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(4).
    20. repec:bof:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Buzard, Kristy & Carlino, Gerald A. & Hunt, Robert M. & Carr, Jake K. & Smith, Tony E., 2020. "Localized knowledge spillovers: Evidence from the spatial clustering of R&D labs and patent citations," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    22. Hanley, Douglas & Li, Jiancheng & Wu, Mingqin, 2022. "High-speed railways and collaborative innovation," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    23. repec:zbw:bofrdp:urn:nbn:fi:bof-201512111472 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Yongli Tang & Kazuyuki Motohashi & Xinyue Hu & Angeles Montoro-Sanchez, 2020. "University-industry interaction and product innovation performance of Guangdong manufacturing firms: the roles of regional proximity and research quality of universities," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 45(2), pages 578-618, April.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:63:y:2023:i:3:p:674-702. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-4146 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.