Abstract
In the knowledge economy era, science and technology (S&T) resources are getting more and more important in shaping regional competiveness and building regional innovation capacity. As such, the spatial distribution of S&T resources is a key to understanding regional development and disparities. By designing an input-output indicator system, this paper develops an evaluation model to examine the spatial distribution of S&T resources in China and assess their spatial efficiency. Moreover, the paper tries to explain spatial differences in the efficiency of S&T resources in China. Major findings are: 1) the input and output of S&T resources in China shows a clear T-shaped spatial structure, i.e., concentrated mainly in the coastal region and along the Changjiang (Yangtze) River; 2) the efficiency of S&T resources in China displays strong spatial disparities, with the level of efficiency descending from the east to the west while high efficiency appearing in only several clusters; 3) the utilization rates of S&T resources in most provinces are quite low, resulting in low efficiency of S&T resources allocation. The paper suggests that the utilization rate of S&T resources should be raised and the commercialization of S&T outputs should be enhanced to improve the efficiency of S&T resources in China.
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Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars (No. 41125005)
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Wang, B., Liu, W., Lu, D. et al. Spatial disparity and efficiency of science and technology resources in China. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 22, 730–741 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0558-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-012-0558-5