Research on coupling coordination degree of digital finance and economic resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

As one of the economic centers of China, improving the economic resilience of the Yangtze river economic belt (YREB) is vital to China’s steady economic advancement. This study analyzes the provinces and cities’ digital financial and economic resilient status in the YREB for 2011–2021. A coupled coordination degree model is used to verify the interaction and strength between digital finance and economic resilience advancement in the YREB from both temporal and spatial perspectives. Utilizing canonical correlation analysis, the influencing factors and degree of the interaction between digital finance and economic resilience are investigated. The findings indicate that the level of digital finance and economic resilience coupled coordinated in the YREB is generally on the rise, from basic coordination to moderate coordination, and that there are spatial differences in coupled coordination, with the backward part of the YREB having the highest levels, followed by the middle and upward part. The first canonical correlation coefficient (0.948) obtained by canonical correlation analysis is significantly higher than the other coefficients, and digital finance and economic resilience are significantly correlated. Moreover, the digital financial coverage breadth and use depth, economic level, social consumption level and industrial upgrading level are the key factors affecting the coordinated development and economic resilience in the YREB. Therefore, this study proposes the following policy recommendations based on the results: actively facilitate digital financial growth, optimize the industrial structure, enhance countries’ economic resilience, and boost the construction of countries’ coordinated growth to foster the synergy of the YREB.