Urban innovation structures and economic productivity of Chinese cities

This study investigates how the spatial structure of urban innovation affects economic productivity, using over 9.5 million geocoded patents across 233 Chinese cities from 2009 to 2020. We identify innovation centres through 1 km-grid analysis and construct structure indices of polycentricity and dispersion. Results show that a moderately polycentric yet concentrated innovation structure enhances economic productivity. Instrumental variable estimation using historical Confucian temples confirms causality. Mechanism analyses reveal that such spatial configurations support agglomeration economies and strengthen external knowledge linkages. These findings underscore the importance of strategically allocating innovation resources across multiple centres in enhancing economic productivity.