Localisation economies, intellectual property rights protection and entrepreneurship in China: A Bayesian analysis of multi-level spatial correlation

Entrepreneurship is an important determinant of innovation and growth with an uneven spatial distribution. In addition, the mechanism of entrepreneurship is affected by administrative hierarchies. However, the driving forces behind the spatial differences are not clear. Therefore, this study aims to examine the key determinants of entrepreneurship by clarifying the roles of localisation economies and intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection from 2008 to 2017 using a Bayesian analysis of multi-level spatial correlation. The empirical results indicate that localisation economies and IPRs protection have a major influence on entrepreneurship. In particular, although it is insignificant, the role of localisation economies at prefecture level is important, because the impact of supplier linkages at provincial level is negative. The effects of IPRs protection at both prefecture and provincial levels are significant in all the models, and its effect increases with the improvement in model performance. Moreover, these determinants vary across different spatial scales.