Research on relationship between regional innovation performance and channels for international technological spillovers in China

Based on the statistical data released by National Bureau of Statistics of China in 2006, this paper empirically investigates the impact of different channels for international technological spillovers on regional innovation performance, using regional innovation performance as dependent variable, and the channels for international technological spillovers as independent variables. The results of regression analysis indicate that learning-by-exporting and learning-by-importing have positive effects on regional innovation performance in China, and that foreign R&D activities by multinational enterprises in China have positive and statistically significant effects on regional innovation performance. In addition, absorptive capability is an important driving factor for increasing the regional innovation performance in China. Research results indicate that both international technological spillover sources and indigenous efforts, including domestic R&D intensity and absorptive capacity jointly determine the regional innovation performance in China.