Exploring the green development path of the Yangtze River Economic Belt using the entropy weight method and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis

Green development is an effective way to achieve economic growth and social development in a harmonious, sustainable, and efficient manner. Although the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) plays an important strategic role in China, our understanding of its spatiotemporal characteristics, as well as the multiple factors affecting its green development level (GDL), remains limited. This study used the entropy weight method (EWM) to analyze the temporal evolution and spatial differentiation characteristics of the GDL in the YREB from 2011 to 2019. Further, fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) was used to analyze the influence path of GDL. The results showed that the GDL of the YREB increased from 2015 to 2019, but the overall level was still not high, with high GDL mainly concentrated in the lower reaches. The GDL model changed from being environmentally driven and government supported in 2011 to being environmentally and economically driven since 2014. The core conditions for high GDL changed from economic development level (EDL) to scientific technological innovation level (STIL) and environmental regulation (ER). The path for improving GDL is as follows: In regions with high EDL, effective ER, moderate openness level (OL), and high STIL are the basis, supplemented by a reasonable urbanization scale (US). In areas with low EDL, reasonable industrial structure (IS) and STIL are the core conditions for development; further, EDL should be improved and effective ER and OL implemented. Alternatively, without considering changes to EDL, improvement can be achieved through reasonable OL and US or effective ER. This study provides a new method for exploring the path of GDL and a reference for governments to effectively adjust green development policies.