A digital economy development index based on an improved hierarchical data envelopment analysis approach

The digital economy is playing an increasingly important role in the global economy. National and international organizations commonly utilize a composite index composed of multi-dimensional indicators to monitor performance, analyse policies, and communicate in the digital economy. This study introduces a hierarchical framework for constructing a Digital Economy Development Index (DEDI). One of the key challenges is determining the attribute weights to be assigned by aggregating the sub-indicators with hierarchical dimensions for DEDI. The current study shows that an H-DEA model can be transformed into a parametric linear programming problem and develops an improved golden section algorithm to search for approximate optimal solutions. The newly developed method is highly robust and provides an alternative procedure to determine the optimal weights for building a DEDI. We established a hierarchical evaluation framework and utilized a new approach to measure the DEDI of 30 provinces in China from 2015 to 2020. The results show that inter-provincial digital economy development in China shows a sequential weakening from the east, centre, and northeast to the west. The East leads the country's digital economy overall, while there is a clear gradient gap between provinces. The central region needs to create a cluster for the development of digital industries. The Northeast should enhance the competitiveness of the industry across the board. The West must strengthen the construction of innovative talent and new infrastructure for the digital economy. These findings can serve as guidelines for designing China's ongoing digital economy development.