Evolution of the Coupling Coordination between the Marine Economy and Digital Economy

Accelerating the high-quality integrated development of digital economy and marine economy is vital for the development of the marine economy in coastal countries and regions. However, few scholars examined such coordination. Here, based on panel data from 2012 to 2019 and the spatial scale of China’s coastal provinces and cities, the entropy method, coupling harmonious degree model (CCDM), Theil index, and Tobit model were adopted to measure and calculate the interval index differences in the marine economic quality and digital economy level. Exploring the coordination between the marine economy and digital economy, the interval difference index, and the coordination impact factors were also important. First, we found that the quality level of the marine economy and digital economy moved forward in waves and spiraled up, but that the quality of development was relatively low. Second, the coordination between the marine economy and digital economy gradually increased. Third, the coordination gap between the regional marine economy and digital economy was obvious. Fourth, the main factors that affected the coordination between the marine economy and digital economy were the level of digital infrastructure construction, the scale of the marine economy, the level of the marine industry, and industrial digitalization. The results have value for the sustainable development of the marine economy of coastal countries and regions.