Comparative Study on the Digital Economy Development Based on TOPSIS Comprehensive Evaluation: A Case Study of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

Abstract

Promoting the digital economy in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River can not only boost the development of e-commerce, energy science and technology and other industries, but also pave the theoretical way for the digital economy development in various regions, so as to further provide an important practical basis for achieving high-quality economic growth. In this paper, seven provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are taken as the research objects. Meanwhile, the development and different trends of the digital economy in each region are quantitatively analyzed and compared to propose suggestions for better development of the digital economy in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. On this basis, this paper first constructs the evaluation and measurement model of the digital economy development, and then gives the weights to the relevant indices through the analytic hierarchy process. After that, the regions in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River are scored and compared via the TOPSIS comprehensive evaluation, which identifies that the mobile phone penetration, the number of Internet broadband access ports and the telecom business income are vital indices to accelerate the digital economy development. Finally, this paper argues that governments should increase investment in digital infrastructure construction and promote the deep integration of digital technology and industry.