Breaking Boundaries: How China's Science and Technology Innovation Corridors Are Shaping Urban Industry

Innovative cluster policies within specific regions have been pivotal in driving regional industrial development by focusing on enhancing economic activities through innovation-driven growth (Falck et al., 2010). The regional Science and Technology Innovation Corridors (STICs), a form of regional innovative cluster, leverages its geographical concentration to facilitate resource exchange across industries or clusters, thereby fostering high-quality industrial development.As industrial development is the primary purpose for regional innovative clusters, it is highly necessary to clarify the trade-off between specialization and diversification in industrial landscapes (Duranton & Puga, 2000). We define industrial specialization as a city’s high concentration of economic activity in a few industries. Conversely, industrial diversification refers to the expansion of economic activity across a broader range of industries within a city (i.e., a more balanced distribution of employment across multiple sectors).The primary research questions are: How do regional innovative cluster policy influence urban industrial development, particularly in terms of specialization and diversification? And do these policies exhibit spatial effects on surrounding regions and heterogeneity effects on specific industries? This study seeks to empirically examine these questions within the context of China's burgeoning Science and Technology Innovation Corridors (STICs) by analyzing data from 75 cities in China from 2006 to 2022.