Agglomeration spillover, accessibility by high-speed rail, and urban innovation in China: A focus on the electronic information industry

This study examines the impacts of different sources and types of agglomeration economies on urban innovation in the context high-speed rail (HSR), using the Electronic Information (EI) industry in China as an example. The impacts of inter-city access to different innovation factors such as knowledge sources (e.g., universities/research institutions), human capital (e.g., scientific/technical workers), input suppliers (e.g., producer services) and final markets through HSR networks are explored while local agglomeration effects and local proximity to HSR stations are controlled. Historical courier routes and stations and landform characteristics are used to construct instruments for endogenous HSR accessibility measures. Results indicate that local agglomeration benefits such as overall urban size, level of industrialization specialization and local access to top science/engineering universities/research institutions and producer service suppliers are positively associated with innovation performance in the EI sector. When longer travel time thresholds (e.g., >2 h) are applied, inter-city access to knowledge sources, human capital, producer services and final customers through HSR network yields significant impacts on innovation outputs of Type-II large cities (population in 1–3 million). •Overall economic size and industrial specialization of a city matter for innovation.•Science or engineering universities/research institutions are key to urban innovation.•Local producer service sectors positively affect urban innovation outputs.•Inter-city accessibility measured at more than 2-h HSR time matters for innovation.•Cities of 1–3 million people benefit most from inter-city accessibility in innovation.