Research on the driving effect of marine economy on the high-quality development of regional economy – Evidence from China’s coastal areas

Exploring the driving effect of the marine economy on high-quality economic development can help improve the quality of national economic development and optimize the direction of marine economic development. Based on the data of China’s coastal areas from 2006 to 2019, this study adopts the entropy weight-TOPSIS method to comprehensively evaluate the level of marine economy and the high-quality economic development in coastal areas. Further, we use random forest regression and partial dependence plots to reveal the driving effect of the marine economy on the advancement of high-quality economic growth in China’s coastal areas. The results show that the driving effect of the marine economy on the high-quality development of coastal areas is affected by the moderating effect of the economic elements, and regions should choose their development paths according to the location of their elements in the optimal interval. Our research results can provide a scientific foundation for the formulation of differentiated economic high-quality development policies in China’s coastal areas. •Reveal the driving effect of marine economy on the high-quality economic development.•Use random forest algorithm to overcome problems such as multicollinearity.•Consider the impact of economic element changes on the driving effect.