Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.
PLoS One. 2020 May 20;15(5):e0233093. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233093. eCollection 2020.
There is a huge technology gap between regions in Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, which is the reality that must be faced. However, most of the available researches on innovation efficiency are based on the logic of a given technology level, ignoring the regional technological gap. This paper will stand from the perspective of technology gap and re-examine the innovation efficiency of pharmaceutical manufacturing industry in different regions of China and its impact on regional industrial competitiveness.
We use the DEA-BCC input-oriented model to measure innovation efficiency of 28 provinces from the data of China's pharmaceutical manufacturing industry. The threshold model is constructed, with technology level as the threshold variable, innovation efficiency as the main explanatory variable, and industrial competitiveness as the dependent variable. In the threshold model, 28 regions are divided into three technical groups, and further, the impact of innovation efficiency on industrial competitiveness in different groups is analyzed and compared.
According to the empirical research results, an U-shaped efficiency trap has been found in Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturing industry, and the areas with medium technical level are at the bottom of the trap. The improvement of innovation efficiency does not necessarily promote the improvement of regional industrial competitiveness. Only in high-level and low-level technology groups, innovation efficiency has effectively promoted the improvement of industrial competitiveness. In addition, the intensity of R&D investment has a similar impact on industrial competitiveness.
The findings suggest that, regions in the efficiency trap should strive to seek opportunities for industrial transformation and focus on the industrial transformation of new technology, new industry and new opportunities, instead of blindly pursuing R&D investment intensity and superstitious innovation efficiency. So as to free up innovation resources for high-quality technological innovation in other regions. In addition, the Chinese government should make use of its public hospital system to normalize and expand the centralized drug procurement and eliminate the low-quality innovation.
中国制药行业在地区间存在着巨大的技术差距，这是必须面对的现实。然而，大多数关于创新效率的现有研究都是基于给定技术水平的逻辑，忽略了区域技术差距。本文将从技术差距的角度出发，重新审视中国不同地区制药行业的创新效率及其对区域产业竞争力的影响。
我们利用 DEA-BCC 投入导向模型，从中国制药行业的数据中衡量了 28 个省份的创新效率。构建了门槛模型，以技术水平为门槛变量，创新效率为主要解释变量，产业竞争力为因变量。在门槛模型中，将 28 个地区分为三个技术组，进一步分析和比较不同组中创新效率对产业竞争力的影响。
根据实证研究结果，发现中国制药行业存在 U 型效率陷阱，技术水平中等的地区处于陷阱的底部。创新效率的提高并不一定会促进区域产业竞争力的提高。只有在高水平和低水平技术组中，创新效率才有效地促进了产业竞争力的提高。此外，研发投入强度对产业竞争力也有类似的影响。
研究结果表明，处于效率陷阱中的地区应努力寻求产业转型的机会，注重新技术、新产业和新机遇的产业转型，而不是盲目追求研发投入强度和迷信创新效率。从而为其他地区的高质量技术创新释放创新资源。此外，中国政府应利用其公立医院系统，使集中采购药品常态化和扩大化，并消除低质量的创新。
