Dynamic Evolution of High-Quality Economic Development Levels: Regional Differences and Distribution in West China

Abstract

A comprehensive and scientific system for measuring the quality of economic development will provide the basis for and guarantee high-quality economic development (HQED) in China. In this paper, we constructed an indicator-evaluating system for the high-quality development of the western region’s economy according to a new development concept and the relevant requirements of western development and measured the composite index and sub-dimension index of its HQED from 2000 to 2020 using the entropy method; revealed the regional differences and sources of western HQED using the Dagum Gini index (GI) decomposition method; and analyzed the evolution of HQED using kernel density estimation and the Markov probability transfer matrix. The study showed that western HQED was on the rise year by year, but there was a large gap between the 11 provinces, characterized by “high in the middle and low on the edge” values in general; inter-regional differences constituted the main source of overall differences; and western HQED showed “club convergence” in a steady state, with upward shifts more likely than downward shifts.