Technological innovation, industrial upgrading and regional economic development: evidence from China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract The development strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important strategy for China to cope with the new normal of economic development. This paper uses provincial panel data from the Information Network of the National Bureau of Statistics of China and the Development Research Centre of the State Council and conduct a panel data fixed effect regression model to empirically study the impact of technological innovation and industrial upgrading on economic development of 11 provinces in the Yangtze River economic belt. The results of full sample estimation show that technological innovation and industrial upgrading can promote economic growth at a significant level of 1%, but the impact of industrial upgrading is not obvious when they are considered separately. According to the results of sub-regional estimation, there is regional heterogeneity in the degree of effect of technological innovation and industrial upgrading on economy. Therefore, the Yangtze River Economic Belt should increase investment in science and technology, adjust industries according to the development orientation of provinces, pay more attention to the rationalization of industrial structure, rationally allocate resources among industries, and pay attention to the complementary development among regions.