China\u27s innovation boom : miracle or mirage?

Is China’s innovation boom a miracle or mirage? As a comprehensive national innovation development strategy, China’s National Technology Zone (NTZ) pilot provides an excellent natural experiment for the analysis of this phenomenon multidimensionally. Using unique Chinese Patent Census Database and matching it with Chinese Industrial Firm Census Database, this paper shows that the establishment of NTZs has promoted firm innovation, as well as innovation in high-tech industries and indigenous innovation, measured by both the quantity and the quality of invention patents. In this sense, China is creating an innovation miracle in general. More evidence from our results shows that both firm–academia collaboration and FDI inflows play significantly positive roles in China’s achievement of this miracle. However, there are also two types of innovation mirages: 1) there is no significant impact of NTZs on the quality of patents after the financial crisis of 2008, which might be attributed to the relatively radical macro planning; 2) the establishment of NTZs has brought enhancement of patent quality for state-owned enterprises (SOEs) but not for non-SOEs, which might be ascribed to the imperfect market institution. Finally, we provide some policy suggestions on the basis of our analysis

‘Made in the World’: Measuring the Productivity of Global Value Chains

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Does Higher Education Promote Firm Innovation in China?

Endogenous growth theories have underpinned the pivotal role of education in innovation. However, our empirical study uncovers a mixed effect of higher education on firm innovation in China. Using Chinese Patent Census Data, a unique dataset, this paper is able to quantify innovation in China by incorporating a quality dimension for the first time. By merging the patent data with the Chinese Industrial Enterprise Database and province-level data on education, we find that the number of higher education institutions has a negative impact on firm-level innovation. However, the quantity of elite higher education institutions at the provincial level exerts a positive impact on firm innovation. In addition, heterogeneity analyses show that the effect of elite higher education on firm innovation is significantly positive for privately owned enterprises, but insignificant for state- and foreign-owned enterprises. Furthermore, the positive effect of elite higher education on innovation in high-tech industries is larger than in other industries

Visualizing Global Value Chains: Smile Curve, Network and Revealed Comparative Advantage

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Visualizing Global Value Chains: Smile Curve, Network and Revealed Comparative Advantage

see Global Value Chains: Unveiling the Nexus of Productivity and Welfare. IDE Discussion Paper. No. 924. https://www.ide.go.jp/English/Publish/Reports/Dp/933.htm

Dosimetric Impact of a Tumor Treating Fields Device for Glioblastoma Patients Undergoing Simultaneous Radiation Therapy

PurposeA recent randomized phase III clinical trial in patients with glioblastoma demonstrated the efficacy of tumor treating fields (TTFields), in which alternating electric fields are applied via transducer arrays to a patient’s scalp. This treatment, when added to standard of care therapy, was shown to increase overall survival from 16 to 20.9 months. These results have generated significant interest in incorporating the use of TTFields during postoperative concurrent chemoradiation. However, the dosimetric impact of high-density electrodes on the scalp, within the radiation field, is unknown.MethodsThe dosimetric impact of TTFields electrodes in the radiation field was quantified in two ways: (1) dose calculated in a treatment planning system and (2) physical measurements of surface and deep doses. In the dose calculation comparison, a volumetric-modulated-arc-therapy (VMAT) radiation plan was developed on a CT scan without electrodes and then recalculated with electrodes. For physical measurements, the surface dose underneath TTFields electrodes were measured using a parallel plate ionization chamber and compared to measurements without electrodes for various incident beam angles and for 12 VMAT arc deliveries. Deep dose measurements were conducted for five VMAT plans using Scandidos Delta4 diode array: measured doses on two orthogonal diode arrays were compared.ResultsIn the treatment planning system, the presence of the TTFields device caused mean reduction of PTV dose of 0.5–1%, and a mean increase in scalp dose of 0.5–1 Gy. Physical measurement showed increases of surface dose directly underneath by 30–110% for open fields with varying beam angles and by 70–160% for VMAT deliveries. Deep dose measurement by diode array showed dose decrease of 1–2% in most areas shadowed by the electrodes (max decrease 2.54%).ConclusionThe skin dose in patients being treating with cranial irradiation for glioblastoma may increase substantially (130–260%) with the addition of concurrent TTFields electrodes on the scalp. However, the impact of dose attenuation by the electrodes on deep dose during VMAT treatment is of much smaller, but measureable, magnitude (1–2%). Clinical trials exploring concurrent TTFields with cranial irradiation for glioblastoma may utilize scalp-sparing techniques to mitigate any potential increase in skin toxicity