IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/jregsc/v65y2025i2p446-470.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Bridging Innovation Distances: High‐Speed Rail and Patent Agency Utilization in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaokang Wu
  • Jinping Yu

Abstract

Innovation intermediaries are instrumental in enhancing the efficacy of the innovation process, yet their accessibility tends to be geographically restricted, particularly in underdeveloped regions. This study examines whether the development of transportation infrastructure can alleviate these spatial frictions, promoting cross‐regional utilization of intermediary services and subsequently improving innovation outcomes. Leveraging a unique database on patent agency utilization for all invention patents in China from 2003 to 2019, and employing high‐speed rail (HSR) as a natural experiment, we estimate a staggered difference‐in‐difference model at the city‐pair level. Our findings suggest that reductions in transportation costs lead to a substantial increase in cross‐city PAU after HSR connection, especially in sectors with higher technology sophistication requiring more face‐to‐face interactions between inventors and agents. This research uncovers a novel mechanism through which HSR influences innovation and provides policy implications for optimizing innovation intermediaries through infrastructure development.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaokang Wu & Jinping Yu, 2025. "Bridging Innovation Distances: High‐Speed Rail and Patent Agency Utilization in China," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 65(2), pages 446-470, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:65:y:2025:i:2:p:446-470
    DOI: 10.1111/jors.12750
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/jors.12750
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/jors.12750?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:jregsc:v:65:y:2025:i:2:p:446-470. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0022-4146 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.