Analysis of Collaborative Measurement and Spatial Differentiation Characteristics of Provincial-Level Green Economy and New Quality Productivity in China

Abstract

This study aims to construct a comprehensive evaluation framework for green economy and new quality productivity, systematically assessing their development levels and spatial differentiation characteristics. Based on multi-attribute comprehensive evaluation theory, indicator systems were developed for green economy (comprising three primary indicators: low-carbon development, ecological benefits, and economic level) and new quality productive forces (comprising three primary indicators: laborers, objects of labor, and means of labor). The Entropy Weight-TOPSIS method was applied to dynamically measure China's provincial administrative units, aiming to overcome limitations of traditional subjective weighting approaches. Empirical results indicate that the national green economy index steadily increased from 0.281 to 0.302 between 2015 and 2022, reflecting positive synergies between economic growth and environmental sustainability. However, both green economic development and new-quality productive forces exhibit pronounced regional gradients. Eastern coastal regions maintain a leading position through synergistic advantages in industrial structure, technological innovation, and institutional efficiency. Central regions face the dual squeeze of industrial relocation and traditional resource dependency, becoming transition troughs in green development. Western regions exhibit a unique pattern of simultaneous potential release and overall lag, possessing strategic buffer space based on ecological carrying capacity. New-type productive forces also exhibit spatial differentiation characterized by higher levels in the east and lower levels in the west. The long-term gap between the national average and the median reveals uneven regional development, reflecting a coexistence of leading heads and long-tail catch-up.