Are elite university graduates aiding China’s transition to an innovation-based economy? Results from a career choices survey among would-be innovators in China and the USA

Abstract

This paper reports on a survey conducted among more than 800 engineering students at elite universities in China and the USA. Results from the survey reveal that US and Chinese students are roughly equivalent in their desire to form or join start-up ventures. Far more US students, however, plan on actually doing so. In contrast, Chinese students are more likely to join the state/government sector. Our results also reveal a wide gap in perceptions on the availability of financing, mentorship, and other innovation resources. The findings suggest that the innovation ecosystem in China remains underdeveloped in certain important respects.

Keywords:

• innovation
• development
• China

Notes

1. There were some minor differences between the survey due to conditions particular to either the US or China. For example, students in the US were not asked about their household registration status, while students in China were asked.

2. For convenience, “very available” here represents the number of students who reported with either a 1 or a 2 for each resource on a five point scale in which 1 = very available and 5 = not available at all.