Polycentric urban structure and innovation: evidence from a panel of Chinese cities

This study investigates how a city’s innovation capacity could be influenced by its polycentric urban structure. Drawing upon a panel data set containing 267 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above from 2006 to 2016, and using an instrumental variables approach, we reveal a significant and negative causal relationship between polycentricity and a city’s innovation capacity. We further discuss the mechanisms of agglomeration economies, socioeconomic diversity and firm location choice that drive the innovation impact of polycentricity. The paper highlights the need to rethink and re-evaluate the current movement of ‘planned polycentrism’ in the Chinese context.