Measurement and Comparison of Digital Economy Development of Cities in China

Abstract

As a new growth pole, the digital economy has become an important force for competition among cities. Based on the existing research results, this paper defines the connotation of the digital economy. Following the principles of scientific, normative, effective, and conciseness, the index system of the digital economy is constructed from four aspects: digital infrastructure, digital industrialization, industrial digitization, and the development environment of the digital economy. Then measure and compare the digital economic development level of 15 sub-provincial cities from 2012–2019. The results show that the overall digital economy shows a steady upward trend, but there are great differences among the 15 sub-provincial cities. The level of industrial digitization and development environment of the digital economy is high, the level of digital infrastructure and digital industrialization needs to be improved. According to the above conclusions, suggestions are put forward to improve the development of the digital economy, and these suggestions guide policy formulation in different cities.