Abstract:

Clarifying the synergistic evolution between digital economy development and the ecological environment holds significant theoretical and practical importance for promoting green transformation and sustainable development in the basin. Taking 81 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin as research units and based on panel data from 2011 to 2021， this study systematically reveals the spatiotemporal patterns and interactive response mechanisms of their synergistic evolution by employing methods such as the entropy weight method， an improved coupling coordination degree model， and a panel VAR model. The main conclusions are as follows： （1） From 2011 to 2021， the development level of the digital economy in the Yellow River Basin steadily increased， while the ecological environment exhibited a fluctuating trend of growth-decline-growth. Both systems showed a consistent spatial differentiation pattern： upstream < midstream < downstream. （2） The synergistic level between digital economy development and the ecological environment followed a “U-shaped” trajectory， initially declining before gradually rising， with continuously strengthening spatial positive autocorrelation. （3） High-high agglomeration areas （HH） were mainly concentrated in the core zone of the Central Plains Urban Agglomeration and the Shandong Peninsula， with their spatial scope gradually expanding. Low-low agglomeration areas （LL） were clustered in upstream regions such as Qinghai and Gansu， showing limited spatial change and a low-value locking effect. Both low-high （LH） and high-low （HL） heterogeneous areas were sporadically distributed， reflecting insufficient regional linkage.（4） Both systems exhibited path dependence in their development trends， which gradually weakened over time. They demonstrated mutually reinforcing positive effects， with the digital economy exerting a more pronounced driving effect on the ecological environment. This study expands the research on the interaction between technological empowerment and ecological constraints at the prefectural scale and proposes corresponding policy recommendations， including implementing differentiated spatial governance， enhancing the radiating capacity of high-value areas， and breaking the low-value locking effect.

Key words: development of digital economy, ecological environment, synergistic evolution, interactive response, Yellow River Basin