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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (7): 1481-1492.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.543

• Regional Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Coupling coordination relationship and spatiotemporal evolution trend between digital economy and common prosperity in China

LI Wenjun1(), ZHANG Weimei2()   

  1. 1 Business School, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan 411104, Hunan, China
    2 Academic Affairs Office, Hunan Institute of Engineering, Xiangtan 411104, Hunan, China
  • Received:2025-09-09 Revised:2025-09-29 Online:2026-07-25 Published:2026-07-07
  • Contact: ZHANG Weimei E-mail:liwenjun016w@163.com;zwmlygl@126.com

Abstract:

Enhancing the coupling coordination between digital economy development and common prosperity is an important pathway for promoting high-quality economic development and social equity. This study examines the coupling coordination between the digital economy and common prosperity based on provincial panel data from China spanning 2013 to 2023. Composite indices for the digital economy and common prosperity were constructed using the comprehensive evaluation method, and a coupling coordination model was applied to assess the interaction level between the two systems. Kernel density estimation and the Dagum Gini coefficient were further employed to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution and sources of regional disparities. The research results indicate: (1) The composite index of the digital economy increased by 2.067 times between 2013 and 2023, forming a “multi-center networked” spatial pattern driven by the core regions of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta. Over the same period, the composite index of common prosperity increased by 0.975 times, showing a spatial gradient characterized by stronger development in eastern China and weaker development in western China. (2) From 2013 to 2023, the coupling coordination degree between the digital economy and common prosperity steadily improved. Spatially, the eastern region maintained the highest level of coordination, followed by the central region, while the western and northeastern regions remained relatively lagging. (3) During the study period, overall regional disparities in coupling coordination showed a gradual convergence trend. Inter-regional differences were the main source of these disparities, with an average contribution rate of 66.20%. In particular, the gap between the eastern region and the central, western, and northeastern regions was substantially larger than that among the latter three regions, indicating persistent regional imbalances.

Key words: digital economy, common prosperity, coupling coordination degree, spatiotemporal evolution trends, region differences