Spatial spillover effects of conversion of new and old driving forces on high-quality development: Evidence from 283 cities in China

Abstract

Converting the forces driving is essential for breaking away from the traditional unsustainable development model and achieving High-Quality Development (HQD). Understanding how the conversion from old to new forces influences HQD is crucial for achieving sustainable development. Therefore, the assessment framework for Conversion of New and Old Driving Forces (CNODF) and HQD are established. From an efficiency perspective, the Super-Efficiency slacks-based model (SBM) model, considering undesirable outputs, is used to measure HQD levels in Chinese cities. The entropy weight method is applied to measure CNODF levels. By integrating coupling coordination degree and relative development degree, the matching and synchronization between HQD and CNODF are categorized. Further, the study introduces the Spatial Durbin Model to quantitatively identify the spatial relationships between HQD and CNODF at both national and urban agglomerations scales. The research findings indicate that from 2006 to 2019, the national average HQD level increased by 50.5 %, and the average CNODF level increased by 11.5 %. The association between the two has strong spatial heterogeneity. At the national scale, CNODF has significant nonlinear spatial spillover effects on HQD. These findings provide theoretical insights for advancing the conversion of driving forces, and can help inform regional high-quality development strategies.