How Does the Agglomeration of High-End Talent Affect Regional Innovation Efficiency?

This paper uses panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) for the period 2007–2024. It examines the impact of the agglomeration of high-end talent on regional innovation efficiency and its underlying mechanisms, based on the theory of external economies of talent agglomeration. Additionally, it analyzes regional heterogeneity and heterogeneity across innovation actors. The study finds that the agglomeration of high-end talent exerts a significant positive effect on regional innovation efficiency, exhibiting a nonlinear inverted U-shaped relationship. These findings hold even after addressing endogeneity issues and conducting various robustness tests. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the agglomeration of high-end talent has a more pronounced positive effect on regional innovation efficiency, particularly in the eastern and western regions and in universities and research institutions; however, the optimal agglomeration level in the western region is lower than that in the eastern region. The agglomeration of high-end talent in central regions and in enterprises above a certain scale fails to significantly enhance regional innovation efficiency. The agglomeration of high-end talent positively affects regional innovation efficiency in highly marketized regions, but such an effect is not observed in regions with low marketization. The results of mediation analysis suggest that high-end talent agglomeration fosters regional innovation efficiency by facilitating knowledge spillovers and collaborative industry–university–research activities. The above research not only confirms the positive impact of the agglomeration of high-end talent on regional innovation efficiency but also provides policy recommendations for local governments regarding talent development and regional mobility. It holds practical significance for achieving major strategic goals such as building a science and technology powerhouse, a talent powerhouse, and sustainable development.