Coordinated Development Relationship between Port Cluster and Its Hinterland Economic System Based on Improved Coupling Coordination Degree Model: Empirical Study from China’s Port Integration

Abstract

In recent years, the port integration in China has been carried out vigorously, and has basically covered all coastal provinces from south to north and some areas along the Yangtze River. In order to quantify the practical effects of the port integration, this paper conducts research investigating whether or not the port integration would be able to realize the coordinated development between the port cluster and its hinterland economic system more smoothly. This paper carries out the research by building the improved coupling coordination degree model for evaluating the coupling coordination degree between the port cluster and its hinterland economic system, and further by applying the improved model to the empirical analysis of three port clusters with different integration patterns. The empirical results reveal that: (1) the port integration may lead to a “Painful Period” for the coordinated development relationship between the port cluster and its hinterland economic system in the short term, especially at the beginning of the integration, and the coupling coordination degree of the whole system would fall into a drop temporally; (2) among different port clusters with different port integration purposes and patterns, there are evident differences in the change of the coupling coordination degree of the whole system at the beginning of the integration; and (3) in the long run, the port integration would be able to effectively improve the coupling coordination degree of the port cluster and its hinterland economic system, and thus the whole system can obtain a better relationship of coordinated development.