Innovations in attracting regional talent

PurposeThe paper aims to explore the correlation between the agglomeration of regional innovation elements and the attraction of talent.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses the factor analysis method to measure the innovation elements index (IEI). The proportion of the regional resident population and registered population is used to measure the attractiveness of talents. The PVAR model is used to analyze the interaction between innovation element agglomeration and talent attraction.Findings(1) According to the annual increase rate of IEI, the order is eastern region > central region > western region. (2) Panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) research shows that the agglomeration of innovation factors has a short-term thrust on the attraction of regional talents. (3) The agglomeration of innovative elements is the Granger cause of talent attraction; talent attraction is not the Granger reason for the agglomeration of innovative elements. (4) Pulse analysis and variance decomposition show that the agglomeration of innovative elements has a one-way positive effect on talent attraction.Research limitations/implicationsThis study takes China’s provincial panel data as a sample without considering the differences between cities. There may be significant differences in innovation factor agglomeration and talent attraction in different cities.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide valuable insights into innovation ecosystem practices. Policymakers should pay close attention to promoting the agglomeration of innovation factors by optimizing the innovation ecosystem in order to increase the attractiveness of talents.Originality/value(1) This study uses the proportion of regional resident population and household registration population to measure the attractiveness of talents, which is more realistic. (2) This paper is one of the few that examines the relationship between innovation factor agglomeration and talent attraction.