A study on dynamic evolution, regional differences and convergence of high-quality economic development in urban agglomerations: A case study of three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze river economic belt

Based on the data of 85 cities in the three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2020, this paper measures the level of high-quality economic development of each city through the improved entropy-weighted TOPSIS method and uses the kernel density estimation method, Dagum Gini coefficient, and convergence model to further study the dynamic evolution, regional differences, and convergence state of the high-quality economic development level of the three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The study finds that: 1) the high-quality economic development level of each city within the three major urban agglomerations of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has been continuously improved over time, but the development level of each urban agglomeration is not the same; 2) the high-quality economic development level of the three urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has spatial differences, that is, the high-quality economic development level of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is better than the two urban agglomerations; 3) the sigma convergence and beta convergence characteristics exist in the three major urban agglomerations as a whole as well as in each urban agglomeration, and the beta convergence rates of the urban agglomerations are not consistent. On the whole, the convergence rate of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration is the fastest, followed by the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is the slowest. Finally, based on the findings of the study, targeted policy recommendations to promote the high-quality economic development of the three major urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Economic Belt are proposed.