Innovation Agglomeration and Chinese Spatial Economic Disparities

Optimizing distribution of innovative capitals and promoting collaborative innovation are important ways to achieve regional coordinated development in China. Using panel data of 30 China’s provinces during the period of 1990~2010，this paper studies effects of innovation agglomeration on the industrial agglomeration and economic growth. The study results show that: Innovative capital accumulation is an important feature in China, but the accumulation degrees of innovative capital between provinces are very different. Meanwhile, knowledge spillovers show strong geographical limitation. Innovation agglomeration and local knowledge spillovers play significant roles on promoting industrial agglomeration and the region's economic growth. But the uneven distribution of innovation plus the diminishing knowledge spillovers effect may lead to a further degree of regional income disparities.