Evaluation Model for Coordinated Development of Digital Economy in Urban Agglomerations Based on Entropy Weight Method and TOPSIS

Abstract

Disparities in digital economy development among urban agglomerations, together with uneven digital infrastructure, industrial digitalization, and governance capacity, hinder high-quality regional coordination. To quantitatively assess the coordinated development level of the digital economy in urban agglomerations, this paper constructs an evaluation framework integrating the Entropy Weight Method and the TOPSIS model. An indicator system covering five dimensions is developed, including digital infrastructure, digital industrialization, industrial digitalization, digital governance, and digital potential. Panel data from the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration from 2018 to 2023 are collected for empirical analysis. The Entropy Weight Method is first used to objectively determine indicator weights and reduce subjective interference. The TOPSIS model is then applied to calculate the closeness of each city to the ideal solution, thereby measuring coordinated development levels and intercity differences. The results show that from 2018 to 2023, the regional average coordinated development index of the digital economy in the Yangtze River Delta increased by 3.82%, with leading cities growing slightly faster than middle-ranking cities while showing an overall convergence trend.