Assessment of Capacity for Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Yangtze River Basin: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Obstacles

Evaluating and categorizing an economy’s capacity for regional innovation is important. Within China, regional innovation capacity is imbalanced. With this in mind, we construct a data system to assess regions within the Yangtze River Basin. Using this data system, we deploy a series of four models to analyze change in the distribution of the Basin’s scientific and technological innovation capacity and obstacles to enhancing that capacity. The variables we select and our research approach are the prime features of the research reported here. Our research findings are that an area’s count of high-tech enterprises, their shares of export revenues, and their relative level of activity in technology markets most influence a region’s capacity for science and technology innovation. Our index expects continued growth in the Basin’s innovative capacity through 2033, particularly in Shanghai and Jiangsu. To improve innovative equity, we recommend that the government try better at balancing investment at the regional level, enhance access to the interior, and nudge enterprises to improve their engagement in global trade.