Abstract: Based on the hand-collected data of the establishment time of prefecture-level municipal administrative approval centers and the urban innovation index data which can reflect the quality of innovation, this paper uses the two-tier stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) model to analyze the impact of administrative approval system reform on China's urban scientific and technological innovation from the two perspectives of innovation incentive effect and survival squeeze effect. The results show that: The innovation incentive effect can make the actual level of urban scientific and technological innovation higher than the benchmark level by about 25.34%, while the survival squeeze effect can make the actual level of urban scientific and technological innovation lower than the benchmark level by about 25.07%. The final reform of the administrative approval system reform has a positive combined effect on the level of China's urban scientific and technological innovation, which makes the actual level of scientific and technological innovation higher than the benchmark level by about 0.26%, and the above effects show significant spatial-temporal heterogeneity. Urban innovation environment plays a very important role of regulation in the process. The net effect of administrative approval system reform on urban scientific and technological innovation in China is greater in areas with better innovation environment. Therefore, local governments should focus on the improvement of the urban innovation environment and stimulate the innovative vitality of the enterprises.

Key words: reform of the administrative examination and approval system, urban scientific and technological innovation, innovation incentive effect, survival squeeze effect, two-tier stochastic frontier