Talent, creativity and regional economic performance: the case of China

This paper investigates the geographic distribution of talent and its associations with innovation, entrepreneurship and regional economic performance in China. Two types of talent are examined: human capital in terms of the educational attainment and the creative class in terms of the occupational skill. Explanatory variables of the talent distribution cover both market factors (jobs and wage levels) and non-market factors (amenities, openness and the university). The results of correlation analysis and multivariate analysis show that the university is the single most important factor that affects the talent distribution in China. Wage levels, service amenities and openness also contribute to talent attraction but to different extents. Furthermore, human capital outweighing the creative class exhibits positive effects on innovation, entrepreneurship and regional economic performance. Openness presents a direct influence not only on talent stock, but on innovation and regional economic performance as well. Explanations of empirical results in the Chinese context are offered.