Scientific and Technological Innovation, Industrial Structure Upgrading, and High-Quality Economic Development

Abstract

Scientific and technological (S&T) innovation and industrial structure upgrading have become two strategies to achieve high-quality economic development under the new pattern of development in China. Exploring the mechanism through which the former two affect the latter is of great significance to realize high-quality economic development and socialist modernization. Based on panel data of 30 provinces (municipalities, autonomous regions) from 2008 to 2017, this paper adopts the simultaneous equation model to empirically investigate the effect of S&T innovation and industrial structure upgrading on high-quality economic development. The study reveals that S&T innovation can significantly promote industrial structure upgrading and high-quality economic development, while industrial structure upgrading imposes a significantly negative effect on high-quality economic development. However, S&T innovation can offset such a negative effect and promote high-quality development indirectly. S&T innovation influences high-quality development in a dual path. To be specific, the former produces both a direct influence on the latter, but also an indirect influence through industrial structure upgrading.

Keywords

S&T innovation, industrial structure upgrading, high-quality economic development, SBM, simultaneous equation model

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2022 Higher Education Press