6. Innovation and Well-Functioning Government

This chapter delves into the innovation funding policies of Shenzhen Science and Technology Innovation Commission, focusing on five types: innovation voucher, startup funding, free grants for technological development, free grants for technological breakthrough, and fintech support. The analysis covers the period from 2013 to 2015, with a total of 16,857 project applications received and 7,381 approved. The innovation voucher project stands out with the highest approval rate of 88.6%. The chapter also examines the differences between funded and non-funded companies, providing a statistical effectiveness test. The innovation voucher policy, in particular, is found to significantly improve the innovation capacity of micro and small enterprises, although its impact on operational performance metrics is not yet evident. The text offers a detailed overview of the application and approval statistics, the characteristics of the funded enterprises, and the potential inter-industrial complementarities generated by these policies.