Quantitative evaluation of innovation policy based on text analysis – taking Wenzhou as an example

ABSTRACTChina's high-quality development needs to be driven by innovation. As the birthplace of China's private economy, Wenzhou is an important subject of innovation. The Wenzhou government has put forth many innovation policies, but it is unclear whether the current policies are sensible and the textual contents satisfy the needs of reality. Therefore, this study takes Wenzhou as an example to examine the textual content of innovation policy documents using text analysis method and construct a quantitative framework for innovation policy evaluation. Then we use the PMC-AE index model to evaluate representative policies. The results show that the textual content of the policies is reasonable and in line with the real needs. However, there is still room for improvement, including enriching the nature of the policy, strengthening the combination and application of policy tools, extending the policy's target population and boosting the incentive and guarantee measures of the policy. Both theoretical and practical ramifications emerge from our research. We offer an empirical foundation for the revision, creation, and improvement of the municipal innovation policy on the one hand, while our research also improves the process for assessing policy texts.KEYWORDS: Innovation policypolicy evaluationtext analysisPMC-AE index modelWenzhou Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by School-level Scientific Research Project of Wenzhou Polytechnic: [Grant Number WZY2022025]; Wenzhou Science and Technology Project: [Grant Number R20210106].Notes on contributorsLiying ShengLiying Sheng is a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Economics and Management at Beijing Jiaotong University, People's Republic of China.Gaoxiang ChenGaoxiang Chen is a lecturer in the Yongjia College at Wenzhou Polytechnic, People's Republic of China. Yuli Gao is a lecturer in the School of Digital Economy and Trade at Wenzhou Polytechnic, People's Republic of China.Qiangqiang LinQiangqiang Lin is a teaching assistant at Yongjia College in Wenzhou Polytechnic, People's Republic of China.Xin LinXin Lin is a lecturer at the School of Security Management in Zhejiang College of Security Technology, People's Republic of China. Yaoyao Chen is a lecturer in the School of Digital Economy and Trade at Wenzhou Polytechnic, People's Republic of China.