Integrated development and regional differentiation of economy, society, and ecology in the yellow river basin based on entropy TOPSIS method

As an important ecological barrier and economic development zone in China, the Yellow River Basin has long been constrained by problems such as fragile ecological environment, regional economic imbalance, and inefficient resource utilization, which have seriously hindered the basin’s sustainable development process. To this end, based on the time series data from 2013 to 2023, this study comprehensively uses the entropy value superior and inferior solution distance method to construct a three-dimensional evaluation system of economy, society, and ecology, conducts a dynamic quantitative assessment of the development level of the eight provinces and regions in the basin, and combines the Thiel index to conduct regional difference decomposition analysis. The research showed that the coupling and coordination degree of economic, social, and environmental integration in Shandong was as high as 0.880, followed by Henan and Shaanxi. Gansu, Qinghai, and Ningxia lag behind relatively, with the lowest values of 0.371, 0.407, and 0.327, respectively. The decomposition of the Thiel Index showed that Shandong, Henan, and Shaanxi made significant contributions to the regional differences, with cumulative contribution values all exceeding 0.4 from 2013 to 2023. The study confirmed that there were significant gradient differences in development levels within the basin: economically developed provinces excelled in the coordinated development of ecology and economy, while less developed regions faced greater coordination pressure. The research confirmed that there were significant differences in development gradient in the Yellow River Basin. Economically developed regions had obvious advantages in the synergy between environmental protection and economic development, while less developed regions face greater challenges in achieving the goal of high-quality development. The research quantifies the regional development gap and reveals the characteristics of regional differentiation, providing an important scientific basis for formulating differentiated and coordinated development policies in the Yellow River Basin.