The impact of policy mix characteristics of multi-level governance on innovation output of the new energy vehicle industry in China

In policy practice, policy mixes have become the main means by which governments promote economic transformation and development. It has been verified that different policy mixes have different and distinct impacts on innovation activities. We studied the impact of the policy mix characteristics of a multilevel government on innovation activities. We theoretically explored the impact of the consistency, balance, and comprehensiveness of policy mixes of the three policy tools promulgated by the multi-level government of China on the innovation output of the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry. Our results suggest that: (1) Improving the consistency, balance, and comprehensiveness of a policy mix can promote the innovation output the NEV industry. (2) As the complexity of policy mixes increases, balanced characteristics are the most stable in terms of promoting the innovation output of the NEV industry. Therefore, when the government implements new policies, the consistency and comprehensiveness of the policy mix must be emphasised.