Research on the path and mechanism of new quality productivity empowering high-quality development in northern Anhui

Developing new-quality productivity is an inherent requirement and core driving force for high-quality development. As an underdeveloped region within the Yangtze River Delta, achieving high-quality leapfrog development in northern Anhui is crucial for promoting Yangtze River Delta integration and coordinated regional development. Based on the theory of new-quality productivity, this study aims to systematically explore the enabling pathways and mechanisms of new-quality productivity for high-quality development in northern Anhui. First, based on a review of relevant literature, this study clarifies the scientific connotations of new-quality productivity and its theoretical connection to high-quality development. Second, a new-quality productivity evaluation index system is constructed based on the dimensions of new-quality workers, new-quality labor materials, and new-quality labor objects. Furthermore, a high-quality development evaluation index system is constructed from the perspective of the new development concepts of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing. The entropy method is used to measure and compare the development levels of six cities in northern Anhui from 2015 to 2024. Third, by constructing a two-way fixed-effect panel model, a spatial Durbin model, and a mediation effect model, the direct impact of new-quality productivity on high-quality development in northern Anhui, its spatial spillover effects, and the mediating transmission mechanism of innovation capacity are empirically tested. The research results show that new quality productivity has a significant positive impact on the high-quality development of northern Anhui, with a clear spatial spillover effect; regional innovation capacity plays a key mediating role in this process. Finally, based on the empirical research conclusions, this study proposes policy recommendations for developing new quality productivity in northern Anhui in accordance with local conditions and accelerating its progress towards high-quality development, from the aspects of strengthening the source capacity of scientific and technological innovation, promoting the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, improving the mechanism of regional coordinated development, and optimizing the talent attraction and cultivation system. This study not only provides new theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence for understanding the relationship between new quality productivity and high-quality development in underdeveloped regions, but also provides a scientific basis for regional policy formulation.