IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v92y2026ics1544612325027060.html

Concentration of higher education resources, regional innovation potential, and development finance support strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Bin
  • Gao, Lu

Abstract

Based on panel data from 30 provincial-level regions in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet) from 2001 to 2023, this study conducts an empirical analysis to explore the relationships among the concentration of higher education resources, regional innovation potential, and development finance support strategies. The findings indicate that: (1) the concentration of higher education resources has a significant positive effect on development finance support strategies; (2) regional innovation potential serves as a mediating factor between the concentration of higher education resources and development finance support strategies; (3) the impact of higher education resource concentration on development finance support strategies differs across provinces with varying urban–rural income disparities; and (4) this impact also exhibits heterogeneity across provinces with different levels of financial development. This research provides a theoretical foundation for governments to formulate strategies that promote regional innovation and optimize development finance support, particularly regarding how the concentration of higher education resources can drive innovation and economic development.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Bin & Gao, Lu, 2026. "Concentration of higher education resources, regional innovation potential, and development finance support strategies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:92:y:2026:i:c:s1544612325027060
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.109457
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325027060
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.109457?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Thomas Brekke, 2021. "What Do We Know about the University Contribution to Regional Economic Development? A Conceptual Framework," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 44(2), pages 229-261, March.
    2. Vu, Quang & Tran, Tuyen Quang, 2021. "Government financial support and firm productivity in vietnam," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 40(C).
    3. Andrés Rodríguez-Pose & Federico Bartalucci, 2024. "The green transition and its potential territorial discontents," Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 17(2), pages 339-358.
    4. Jing-Xiao Zhang & Jia-Wei Cheng & Simon Patrick Philbin & Pablo Ballesteros-Perez & Martin Skitmore & Ge Wang, 2023. "Influencing factors of urban innovation and development: a grounded theory analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 2079-2104, March.
    5. Qiang Wang & Tingting Sun & Rongrong Li, 2025. "Does artificial intelligence promote green innovation? An assessment based on direct, indirect, spillover, and heterogeneity effects," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(2), pages 1005-1037, March.
    6. Wang, Jianning & Weng, Xiyan & Zhang, Cheng, 2025. "The effect of digital infrastructure on human capital development: Evidence from employment quality in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 108(PB).
    7. Yang, Heng & Ma, Guimin & Tan, Bo, 2025. "The impact of higher education revitalisation on regional innovation capability," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    8. James A. Cunningham & Matthias Menter, 2021. "Transformative change in higher education: entrepreneurial universities and high-technology entrepreneurship," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(3), pages 343-364, March.
    9. Gloria Aparicio & Txomin Iturralde & Ana Vilma Rodríguez, 2023. "Developments in the knowledge-based economy research field: a bibliometric literature review," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 73(1), pages 317-352, February.
    10. Wang, Jinxiu & Deng, Kun, 2022. "Impact and mechanism analysis of smart city policy on urban innovation: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 574-587.
    11. Bin Liao & Lin Li, 2023. "Urban green innovation efficiency and its influential factors: the Chinese evidence," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6551-6573, July.
    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. Dan Li & Yan Chen & Yue Liu, 2025. "Efficiency of Innovation Ecosystem in Resource-dependent Cities: Empirical Evidence from Northeast China," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, October.
    2. Bogdzinski, Heidi & Sergio, Ivan & Wedemeier, Jan, 2025. "Unveiling the impact of green energy on green productivity: A focus on hydrogen and the green transition in European regions," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1064-1082.
    3. Deepa Subhadrammal & Martin Bliemel & Alessandro Bressan & Helene Burgh-Woodman, 2023. "Extra-curricular support for entrepreneurship among engineering students: development of entrepreneurial self-efficacy and intentions," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Diego Dessi & Simona Iammarino & Stefano Usai, 2026. "Critical Raw Materials and Open Strategic Autonomy in Europe: Targets, Resources and Geography," Papers in Evolutionary Economic Geography (PEEG) 2606, Utrecht University, Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Group Economic Geography, revised May 2026.
    5. Cheng, Dongshu & Wei, Ying & Zhang, Mengchen & Wang, Chang, 2025. "The smart city pilot policy and corporate supply chain resilience," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    6. Ke, Deng-Yao & Hsueh, Cheng (Eugune), 2025. "Data monopoly, financial support, and the diffusion of green technology: The dual effects of platform enterprises' technological openness strategies," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 85(PC).
    7. Cai, Yuzhuo, 2023. "Towards a new model of EU-China innovation cooperation: Bridging missing links between international university collaboration and international industry collaboration," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    8. Sun, Yemeng & Zhang, Xiaoxia & Dong, Zhuoqi, 2025. "The impact of top management team heterogeneity and financial misallocation on corporate resource allocation efficiency," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    9. Shahidur Rahman & Md. Masud-All-Kamal & Priyong Sabastini, 2025. "Drivers and Challenges in Green Transition: A Case of Bangladesh's Textile Industry," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 2751-2773, August.
    10. Eryu Zhang & Xiaoyu He & Peng Xiao, 2022. "Does Smart City Construction Decrease Urban Carbon Emission Intensity? Evidence from a Difference-in-Difference Estimation in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-16, December.
    11. Roberta Capello & Andrés Rodríguez-Pose, 2025. "Europe’s Quest for Global Economic Relevance: On the Productivity Paradox and the Draghi Report," Scienze Regionali, Società editrice il Mulino, issue 1, pages 7-15.
    12. Evita Milana & Frank Ulrich, 2022. "Do open innovation practices in firms promote sustainability?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1718-1732, December.
    13. Chaobo Zhou & Xinting Li, 2025. "Impact of Smart Cities on Urban Resilience: The Roles of Land Green Utilization Efficiency and Industrial Structure Transformation," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-19, June.
    14. Hanyu Zhang & Kaiyue Zhang & Taihua Yan & Xiaonan Cao, 2025. "The impact of digital infrastructure on regional green innovation efficiency through industrial agglomeration and diversification," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-15, December.
    15. Natalya Radko & Maksim Belitski & Yelena Kalyuzhnova, 2023. "Conceptualising the entrepreneurial university: the stakeholder approach," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 48(3), pages 955-1044, June.
    16. Mingbo Ji & Mengyun Jin & Lingyun Chen & Yuwei Liu & Yihao Tian, 2024. "Promoting Urban Innovation through Smart Cities: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, March.
    17. Lu Wang & Ziying Zhao & Xiaojun Xu & Xiaoli Wang & Yuting Wang, 2025. "How Does the Construction of New Generation of National AI Innovative Development Pilot Zones Affect Carbon Emissions Intensity? Empirical Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(15), pages 1-26, July.
    18. Radeef Chundakkadan & Rajesh Raj Natarajan & Subash Sasidharan, 2022. "Small firms amidst COVID‐19: Financial constraints and role of government support," Economic Notes, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, vol. 51(3), November.
    19. Guan, Tong & Zheng, Rui & Chen, Aoyun, 2026. "Artificial intelligence and corporate energy consumption: The policy effects of the new-generation artificial intelligence innovation and development pilot zones," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 148-164.
    20. Teixeira, João Filipe & Silva, Cecília & Seisenberger, Sebastian & Büttner, Benjamin & McCormick, Bartosz & Papa, Enrica & Cao, Mengqiu, 2024. "Classifying 15-minute Cities: A review of worldwide practices," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:eee:finlet:v:92:y:2026:i:c:s1544612325027060. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    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.