Theory and Policy Seminar, Series 221

National Academy of Development and Strategy (NADS), RUC

Theory and Policy Seminar, Series 221

Connection and Innovation

Reported by: GAO Ming （Peking University School of Economics)

Moderator: QIN Cong (National Academy of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China)

Time: Sep 29, 2025  16:20-17:30

Venue: Room 1133, 11th Floor, Lide Building

Abstract:

China’s Third Front Construction (TFC) in the 1960s and 1970s led to the relocation and establishment of hundreds of large and medium-sized factories in the western inland provinces, which generated exogenous linkages between cities in the western (Third Front) and eastern (First Front) regions. Using patent data from the National Intellectual Property Administration and historical records of TFC factories, we find that, although the TFC ended in 1978, Third Front cities continued to exhibit a higher propensity for and a greater number of both cited patents and collaborative patents with their connected First Front cities during the period 1985–2019. Moreover, these collaborations are associated with higher-quality patent outputs. The effect is more pronounced for city pairs with greater cultural differences or larger GDP disparities but diminishes as the geographic distance between the cities increases. Our analysis suggests that the social ties forged during the TFC period have persisted and play a critical role in sustaining interregional innovation collaboration, as evidenced by ongoing migration, intermarriage, and entrepreneurial activity between the Third Front and First Front regions, as well as information-seeking behavior and food preferences that remain evident decades later among residents of Third Front cities.