Technological Innovation and Industrial Development in China

Abstract This paper analyzes the impact of technological innovation on industrial development through a study of patent‐intensive industry (PII) in the Yangtze River Delta, China, with the following findings: (1) Technological innovation in PII has greatly improved and has evolved from agglomeration to dispersion. Moreover, the spatial inequality of technological innovation in PII is significant, with Suzhou replacing Shanghai as the core. (2) The development of PII is the synergetic result of local technology agglomeration and diversification, and their relationship exhibits a nonlinear inverted U‐shaped pattern. The effect of technology specialization on PII development is negative. The enhancement of marketability in the local and neighbouring areas has a significant positive impact on the development of PII. (3) Administrative boundaries have little effect on technology spillover, but a negative neighbourhood effect on KIBS spillover. Technology accumulation in adjacent areas has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on local PII development.