Article
Research on the Allocation Efficiency and Influencing Factors
of Scientific and Technological Resources in the Yangtze River
Delta City Group
Yuhong H. Cao
1
, Jianxin X. You
2
, Yongjiang J. Shi
3
and Wei Hu
4,
*
Citation: Cao, Y.H.; You, J.X.; Shi,
Y.J.; Hu, W. Research on the
Allocation Efficiency and Influencing
Factors of Scientific and Technological
Resources in the Yangtze River Delta
City Group. Sustainability 2021, 13,
7951. https://doi.org/10.3390/
su13147951
Academic Editor: João Carlos de
Oliveira Matias
Received: 18 May 2021
Accepted: 12 July 2021
Published: 16 July 2021
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4.0/).
1
School of Management, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, China; caoyuhong@shu.edu.cn
2
School of Economics &Management, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China; yjx2256@tongji.edu.cn
3
Institute for Manufacturing, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0FS, UK; ys@eng.cam.ac.uk
4
School of Economics and Trade, Shanghai Urban Construction Vocational College, Shanghai 201999, China
* Correspondence: huwei@succ.edu.cn
Abstract:
Through the establishment of a comprehensive evaluation index system, this paper analyzes
the allocation of science and technology resources in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration
from 2014 to 2020, evaluates the allocation efficiency of science and technology resources from the
perspective of multi input and output, and understands the advantages and disadvantages of regional
resource allocation. The research results show that: (1) under the guidance of the national strategic
policy of actively promoting the development of world-class urban agglomerations, the allocation
efficiency of science and technology resources in various provinces and cities of the Yangtze River
Delta continues to optimize, and the allocation level of some regions shows a rapid development
trend; (2) R&D personnel and R&D funds are the core factors that affect the efficiency of science and
technology resource allocation; (3) the marketization of resource allocation is helpful to improve
its allocation efficiency; and (4) improving the transformation rate of scientific and technological
achievements, opening up the channel for innovative products, technologies, and services to enter
the market, and enabling innovative enterprises to make profits can provide strong and lasting
incentives for the improvement of scientific and technological resource allocation efficiency. Based
on the research conclusions, this paper puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to improve
the allocation efficiency of scientific and technological resources in the Yangtze River Delta urban
agglomeration from the aspects of human resources and material resources, and provides a theo-
retical reference for the coordinated and sustainable development of the Yangtze River Delta City
Group under the background of the implementation of the urban agglomeration strategy and the
construction of a scientific and technological infrastructure platform.
Keywords:
Yangtze River Delta city group; allocation of science and technology resources; efficiency
evaluation and optimization
1. Introduction
Urban agglomeration is a new model for promoting the interactive development of
regional sectors. Its establishment has become an important strategic way for countries to
develop productivity and optimize production factors. According to the development law
of the world’s urban agglomerations, when the urbanization level exceeds 30%, the urban
agglomerations will enter a period of rapid development, and the rapid development
needs a lot of resources, especially scientific and technological resources as support [
1
]. The
contribution of science and technology resources to urban agglomerations has a multiplier
effect, which is the source of internal power and strength for urban agglomerations. To
a certain extent, its allocation efficiency determines the advantages and disadvantages
of regional science and technology innovation ability [
2
,
3
]. At present, there are great
differences in resource elements among different regions in China [
4
], and there is also a big
Sustainability 2021, 13, 7951. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147951 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability
