Can the improvement of living environment stimulate urban Innovation?——Analysis of high-quality innovative talents and foreign direct investment spillover effect mechanism

In the early stages of China’s economic development, the ecological and environmental problems left over from the extensive approach were gradually exposed. Urban environmental problems such as haze attack and water pollution not only related to residents’ happiness, but also challenged urban economic structural transformation and sustainable development. Based on the panel data of 211 cities in China from 2007 to 2016, this paper uses the entropy weight method to construct the evaluation index of urban living environment, and empirically analyzes the impact of improving living environment on urban innovation. The results show that for each 1% improvement in the urban living environment, the urban innovation raises by 34.5835; there is an inverted-U relationship between the two. In the analysis of the transmission mechanism, each 1% increase in the concentration of high-quality innovative talents will raise the urban innovation by 4.6548; and each 1% increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) spillover effect will reduce the urban innovation by 0.6498. The results of the geographic weighted regression (GWR) model show that the urban living environment, high-quality innovative talents gathering, and FDI spillover effect have obvious spatial differences in urban innovation. In short, this paper provides innovative inspiration for governments and enterprises to balance ecological environmental protection and sustainable urban development. [Display omitted] •The improvement of urban living environment can significantly promote urban innovation. There is an inverted “U” relationship between the two.•The high-quality innovative talents gathering promotes urban innovation;FDI spillover effect cannot.•Spatial differences in the impact of the three on urban innovation.