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Research on Science & Technology Talents

Sci-tech Talents Agglomeration Facilitating High-quality Indus⁃ trial Development: Theoretical Mechanism and Impact Effects 

Huang Qinghua, Wang Ruojin

(College of Economics and Management, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China)

Abstract: Optimizing the allocation of scientific and technological talents (sci-tech talents) is  the key to promoting the upgrading of industrial structure. It is of great practical significance to  give full play to the talent agglomeration effect to promote scientific and technological innovation  and high-quality industrial development. At the theoretical level, this paper analyzes the rela⁃ tionship between the agglomeration of sci-tech talents and the high-quality development of the  industry in detail, and reveals the influence mechanism of the agglomeration of sci-tech talents  on the high-quality development of the industry from the perspective of human capital theory and new economic geography. At the empirical level, using the panel data of 30 provinces and  cities in China from 2012 to 2022, this paper employs a two-way fixed effects model to empiri⁃ cally analyze the impact of sci-tech talent agglomeration on the high-quality development of the  industry, and deeply explores the adjustment effect of regional technological innovation on the  high-quality development of the industry enabled by sci-tech talent agglomeration. Further⁃ more, the study examines the heterogeneity in the high-quality development of sci-tech talent  agglomeration-enabled industries in different regions, as well as the varying levels of highquality development among these industries. Lastly, it discusses the spatial effects between scitech talent agglomeration and high-quality industrial development using the spatial Durbin  model. The conclusions of the study are as follows: First, the agglomeration of sci-tech talents  can significantly enable the high-quality development of the industry. After a series of endog⁃ enous and robustness tests, this conclusion is still valid. Second, the adjustment mechanism test  shows that regional technological innovation has a significant positive adjustment effect on the  high-quality development of sci-tech talent agglomeration-enabled industries. Specifically, the  higher the level of regional technological innovation, the greater the positive impact coefficient of  sci-tech talent agglomeration on the high-quality development of industries. Third, the results of  heterogeneity analysis show that in the eastern region, the agglomeration of sci-tech talents can  significantly promote the high-quality development of the industry; in the central region, al⁃ though the agglomeration of sci-tech talents can positively promote the high-quality develop⁃ ment of the industry, the regression coefficient is not statistically significant; in the western re⁃ gion, the regression coefficient of the agglomeration of sci-tech talents to the high-quality devel⁃ opment of the industry is negative and not significant. When the level of high-quality develop⁃ ment in an industry is high, the empowerment effect of the agglomeration of sci-tech talents is  stronger and more obvious. The results of the spatial effect show that the agglomeration of scitech talents has an obvious positive spatial spillover effect on the high-quality development of in⁃ dustries in the surrounding areas, with the indirect effect being greater than the direct effect. Based on the above empirical results, three policy recommendations are proposed. First, it is es⁃ sential to attach importance to the strategy of attracting sci-tech talents to promote the continu⁃ ous upgrading of industrial structure. Second, creating a mechanism for the integration of produc⁃ tion and talent will help promote the free flow of human resources. Third, it is important to  strengthen the linkage of regional sci-tech talents, optimizing the layout of talents according to  local conditions. 

Key words: agglomeration of sci-tech talents; high-quality industrial development; regional  technological innovation; adjustment effect; spatial effect