Preferential tax policy and R&D personnel flow for technological innovation efficiency of China's high-tech industry in an emerging economy

As an emerging economy, the two-phase innovation inefficiency of China's hi-tech industry caused by a preferential tax policy should be addressed. Using the SAR Tobit econometric model and the panel data from China's 30 regional hi-tech industries covering 2004–2016, this paper investigates the main effect, masking effect and moderating effect of preferential tax policy on the two-phase innovation efficiency of China's hi-tech industries. We find that the R&D technical efficiency and business transformation efficiency of China's hi-tech industries have remarkably spatial autocorrelation and spatial spillover effects. The preferential tax policy has an obvious crowding-in effect on R&D technical efficiency and an obvious crowding-out effect on business transformation efficiency. Economic policy uncertainty negatively regulates the relationship between preferential tax policies and R&D technical efficiency. Regional heterogeneity is apparent in regional regression. Preferential tax policy can facilitate the R&D technical efficiency in coastal areas and in inland areas, while only preferential tax policy positively contributes to business transformation efficiency in coastal areas. In the R&D technology stage, the negative indirect effect of R&D personnel flow weakens the positive direct effect of the preferential tax policy, which is manifested as an obvious masking effect; in the business transformation stage, the positive indirect effect of R&D personnel flow weakens the negative direct effect of the preferential tax policy, which is manifested as an obvious masking effect. The research results provide a reference for the scientific formulation of national tax preferential policies, the design of innovative talent flow policies and the promotion strategies of innovation efficiency of hi-tech industries.