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Industrial Policy and Innovation Capability of Strategic Emerging Industries: Empirical Evidence from Chinese New Energy Vehicle Industry

Author

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  • Qiuyun Zhao

    (Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Zeyu Li

    (College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Zuoxiang Zhao

    (Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Jinqiu Ma

    (Institute of New Structural Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Abstract

Industrial policy is an important tool for developing countries to protect their own industries and improve innovation capabilities. This paper takes China’s new energy vehicle industry as an example, and uses the number of invention patents as a measure of independent innovation capability in order to analyze the impact mechanism of industrial policy on innovation. The estimation results of difference-in-differences and propensity score matching estimations show that the “Ten Cities Thousand Vehicles Project” for promoting the new energy vehicle industry has indeed increased the number of invention patents filed in new energy automobile manufacturers, as compared with traditional automakers. This paper also provides empirical evidence and statistical support for the implementation of industrial policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiuyun Zhao & Zeyu Li & Zuoxiang Zhao & Jinqiu Ma, 2019. "Industrial Policy and Innovation Capability of Strategic Emerging Industries: Empirical Evidence from Chinese New Energy Vehicle Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:10:p:2785-:d:231446
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhao, Yuntong & Jian, Zhaoquan & Du, Yushen, 2024. "How can China's subsidy promote the transition to electric vehicles?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).
    3. Susheng Wang & Gang Chen & Dawei Huang, 2021. "Can the New Energy Vehicle Pilot Policy Achieve Green Innovation and Emission Reduction?—A Difference-in-Differences Analysis on the Evaluation of China’s New Energy Fiscal Subsidy Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Tianchi Wang & Ning Yu & Wei Zhou & Qiuling Chen, 2025. "Industry policies and technological innovation in artificial intelligence clusters: are central positions superior?," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    5. Yuhan Zhang, 2023. "China's 5G and supercomputing industrial policies: A critical (comparative) analysis," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 14(5), pages 818-831, November.
    6. Lei Luo & Zhenhua Zheng & Jing Luo & Yuqiu Jia & Qi Zhang & Chun Wu & Yifeng Zhang & Jia Sun, 2020. "Spatial Agglomeration of Manufacturing in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area: An Analysis of Sectoral Patterns and Determinants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(19), pages 1-23, September.
    7. Yanyang Yan & Juan Wang & Sijia Qiao, 2022. "Effects of Industrial Policy on Firms’ Innovation Outputs: Evidence From China," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, September.
    8. Zhu, Ying & Sardana, Deepak & Tang, Ryan, 2022. "Heterogeneity in OFDI by EMNEs: Drivers and trends of Chinese and Indian firms," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    9. Jiang, Zhangsheng & Xu, Chenghao, 2023. "Policy incentives, government subsidies, and technological innovation in new energy vehicle enterprises: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    10. Zhang, Xiaoming & Luo, Weijie & Xiang, Di, 2025. "Strategic emerging industries and innovation: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    11. Maria Markaki & Stelios Papadakis & Anna Putnová, 2021. "A Modern Industrial Policy for the Czech Republic: Optimizing the Structure of Production," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(23), pages 1-20, November.
    12. Xue Wang & Baizhou Li & Shi Yin, 2020. "The Convergence Management of Strategic Emerging Industries: Sustainable Design Analysis for Facilitating the Improvement of Innovation Networks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-21, January.
    13. Barbieri, Elisa & Huang, Manli & Pi, Shenglei & Pollio, Chiara & Rubini, Lauretta, 2021. "Investigating the linkages between industrial policies and M&A dynamics: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. Cailou Jiang & Ying Zhang & Qun Zhao & Chong Wu, 2020. "The Impact of Purchase Subsidy on Enterprises’ R&D Efforts: Evidence from China’s New Energy Vehicle Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-10, February.

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