Analyzing the high-quality development of the construction industry from the perspective of the economic-environmental-social coupling: evidence from China
摘要
With the urgent need to harmonize China’s economic transformation and its dual-carbon targets, achieving high-quality development in the construction industry requires addressing the inherent contradictions among economic, environmental, and social subsystems. Guided by the new development paradigm, we establish a multidimensional indicator system that encompasses these three domains. We then employ an entropy-weighted TOPSIS approach to assess overall development performance, utilize a coupling coordination model to quantify subsystem synergies, and apply spatial autocorrelation analysis to identify clustering patterns. Dagum’s Gini coefficient decomposition further clarifies the sources of regional disparity. Theoretically, our study is the first to elucidate the nonlinear interactions within the construction sector through a coupling framework and to construct an integrated analytical model that synthesizes dynamic equilibrium with spatial spillover effects. Methodologically, we design a unified “evaluation-diagnosis-tracing” workflow by integrating objective weighting with coordination measurement and disparity attribution techniques. Empirical results indicate a consistently improving national coupling coordination degree alongside a pronounced east–west gradient, the coexistence of high-high and low-low clusters with intensifying positive spatial autocorrelation, and interregional differences contributing over 71% of the total variance, primarily driven by diminishing technological spillovers and uneven policy implementation. These findings provide robust theoretical insights and practical guidance for overcoming coordination bottlenecks and addressing regional imbalances in the construction industry.