Effects of Government Innovation Support on the Innovation Ability of Universities: Evidence from the Quasi-Natural Experiment of China’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Pilot Demonstration Policy

Abstract

Although there have been many studies on the factors influencing university innovation, few studies have focused on the causal relationship between government innovative support and the innovation ability of universities (IAU). To fill this research gap, based on the quasi-natural experiment perspective of the pilot policy of innovation and entrepreneurship demonstration-bases (IEDB), this study uses the difference-in-differences spatial-autocorrelation model and the mediating-effect model to study the influence mechanism of the government innovation support on IAU, based on Project 211’s panel data consisting of 104 universities and provinces and ministries in China, from 2009 to 2018. The results showed that: (1) the pilot policy of IEDB has a significantly positive effect on IAU, and its robustness is verified; (2) the university–industry cooperation (UIC) intensity has a partial mediating effect on the relationship between the pilot policy of IEDB and IAU; and (3) the pilot policy of IEDB shows a more significant positive impact on the IAU of research-oriented than on non-research-oriented universities.