The Impact of University Research and Development on Local Income Growth

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Research and Development (R&D) is the backbone of innovation. With the increasing R&D investment, Chinese universities are playing an more important role of social innovation. In 2016, 256 universities R&D has exceeded 10 million RMB. Increasing R&D input makes positive impact on local economic development, upgrades employment structures and improves human capital. However, the regional distribution of educational resources is uneven in China, which could exacerbate regional disparities and social inequity. Thus, this study examines the hypothesis that more R&D investment in universities can promote the local wage growth by using the four databases. This paper mainly finds two conclusions: (1) more R&D input of universities and colleges is related with increasing wage of the primary sector, secondary sector and tertiary sector, and (2) compared with other regions, universities R&D input is associated with larger increases in wage of the three sectors in the East China.