A Research on the Yeast Effect of Innovation Network Diffusion in China’s Manufacturing Sector

Yang Zhenbing; Wang Leqi

doi:doi:10.16538/j.cnki.jsufe.2018.06.003

Summary

Innovation diffusion is conducive to the transfer of innovative achievements, but existing research still pays little attention to whether it will form the " yeast effect”, which is conducive to the improvement of the overall efficiency of innovation. In this paper, we use the stochastic frontier analysis（SFA）including the translog production function to measure the total factor production efficiency of innovation, describe the diffusion index of innovation network based on the input-output table, and further establish a dynamic panel model that can control endogenous problems to a certain extent to investigate the effect of innovation network diffusion on the total factor innovation efficiency. We find that both the innovation diffusion index and the total factor production efficiency of innovation overall show an upward trend after shock adjustment in 2005; the total factor innovation productivity varies greatly among differentsub-sectors. Of the 28 manufacturing sub-sectors, only one sub-sector has negative total factor innovation productivity. After controlling the relevant influencing factors such as the proportion of foreign enterprises and the structure of innovation inputs, the innovation diffusion effect has a positive effect on the total factor production efficiency of innovation. Our results verify the existence of the yeast effect of innovation in Chinese manufacturing industry. 　　By dividing manufacturing industry into two samples of light industry and heavy industry, we can find that this conclusion is still robust. However, the impact effect shows the great heterogeneity in different industries, and the diffusion effect of innovation network in heavy industry is more obvious than that in light industry. This is because the products of heavy industry usually have high technology content and strong capital deepening degree. Inevitably, the demand of heavy industry for innovative products in intermediate inputs from other industries is relatively high. This will certainly accelerate the diffusion of innovative technology in heavy industry. Therefore, the yeast effect of innovation network diffusion in heavy industry is more obvious. Therefore, to encourage enterprises to increase the use of innovative intermediate inputs through fiscal policies will be conducive to the improvement of the overall innovation efficiency of Chinese manufacturing industry. In addition, measures such as optimizing and adjusting the mode of financing enterprises’ innovation activities, promoting the quality of introduced foreign investment, and increasing the pays of researchers are also helpful to improve the total factor productivity of innovation in China’s manufacturing sector.