Research on the coordination characteristics and interaction between the innovation-driven development and green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

Both innovation-driven development and green development are important ways to achieve regional sustainable development. This study considers the innovation-driven development and green development evaluation systems of 130 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The entropy TOPSIS method is used to measure the innovation-driven development index and the green development index of 130 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Then, a coupling coordination evaluation model and a spatiotemporal heterogeneity analysis model are constructed to discuss the coupling coordination index of regional innovation-driven development and green development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and to determine its temporal and spatial distribution characteristics. Finally, we choose a spatial panel regression model to explore the relationship between the innovation-driven development index and the green development index of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The research results show that there is a significant difference between the innovation-driven development index and the green development index of the 130 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in terms of the temporal and spatial distribution. The level of innovation-driven development lags behind the level of green development on the whole, and the two fail to form a good spatial matching degree. The coordination index of the two has an imbalanced distribution feature, and there is a significant direct or indirect relationship between the two structural indicators in a mathematical sense. This study improves the academic community's understanding of the interaction between innovation-driven development and green development, provides scientifically based support for green development, and offers guidance for the implementation of innovation capabilities.