Impact of industry-university-research collaboration and convergence on economic development: Evidence from chengdu-chongqing economic circle in China

Collaboration among industry, universities, and research is crucial for building an innovative nation. Although industry-university-research collaborative innovation (IURCI) and time-space convergence can drive innovation, increase productivity, and spur economic development, their effects on the regional economy have not been thoroughly examined in existing literature. Therefore, this study investigates the impact of industry-university-research collaborative innovation (IURCI) and time-space convergence on economic development in China. Specifically, we focus on local-level cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle (CCEC) and construct an evaluation index system and time-space convergence model to measure the effects of IURCI and time-space convergence on economic development from 2007 to 2021. Our findings indicate that the efficacy of IURCI on economic development in China follows an inverted U-shaped curve, meaning that the marginal impact of IURC may decrease as more creative funds are deployed. Furthermore, the positive marginal effect of inventive talent input may decrease when it surpasses a certain value in an open innovation environment. The spatiotemporal convergence of collaborative innovation and development levels of IURCI in the CCEC shows significant differences. Regionally, the development level of IURCI in different regions exhibits significant differences in state and speed of convergence. In the southern Sichuan urban agglomeration, the collaborative innovation level of industry, education, and research follows an evolutionary process from convergence to divergence and then to convergence. Policymakers should pay close attention to the spatial effect of high-level development of regional IURCI and promote regions with higher development to drive regions with relatively weak development levels.