Understanding regional talent attraction and its influencing factors in China: From the perspective of spatiotemporal pattern evolution

Talents are not only an important strategic resource for promoting regional development but also a core element for maintaining competitiveness. We organize the evaluation index system of regional talent attraction into the following four aspects: regional development, industry development, income and regional environment. Combined with the talent possession of 31 provinces (cities) from 2010 to 2018, we establish a regression equation of the relationship between the evaluation index and talent possession by using a stepwise regression and the Bayesian prior function. Simultaneously, we apply the spatial autocorrelation analysis method to measure the correlation and agglomeration degree of the talent attraction level of provinces and municipalities in China. The results reveal the following. (1) From 2010 to 2018, the talent attractiveness level of China's provinces shows a steady upward trend with an average annual growth rate of 5.804%. The regional environment has the highest score, and the income level has the lowest score. (2) The level of talent attraction in China shows a decreasing trend from east to west, and the ranking in 2018 was East Coast > North Coast > Southern Coast > Middle Yangtze River > Middle Yellow River > Southwest > Northeast > Greater Northwest. The trend of spatial agglomeration is apparent and gradually increases over the years. The numbers of hot and cold spots are relatively large and concentrated in the eastern coast and western region, respectively. (3) The level of economic development, quality of people's life, and level of the development of the tertiary industry have a great impact on the attractiveness of talents. Talents also pay more attention to regional medical, education and transportation indicators. These research results can provide some guidance and references for the formulation of talent introduction policies in various provinces and municipalities.