Spatio-temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of the Coupling and Coordinated Development of China's Digital Economy and Elderly Care Services

hui liu Wei Wang ^* Sha Li

• School of Public Adiministration and Law, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, China

Background: This study aims to examine the level of coupled and coordinated development between China's digital economy and elderly care services, analyzing their spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and key influencing factors, with the goal of providing feasible recommendations and scientific bases for the development of the digital economy and elderly care services in China.Methods: This study uses publicly available panel data from China for the years 2015 to 2022. It employs the entropy method to measure the weights of various indicators in the digital economy and elderly care services. The study analyzes the level of coordinated development between the two using the coupling coordination degree model, and measures the main driving factors using the geographical detector model.Results: (1) The overall level of coupling and coordinated development between China's digital economy and elderly care services shows an upward trend, but the growth rate is uneven, exhibiting an "M-shaped" pattern, with rapid growth followed by gradual slowdown, a bottoming-out rebound, and then a continuous decline. (2) There are significant spatial differences in the coupling and coordinated development of China's digital economy and elderly care services. Coastal areas are developing rapidly, inland areas have great potential, while peripheral areas are relatively lagging behind. Additionally, neighboring regions show regional linkage dynamics. (3) The main factors driving the coupling and coordinated development of China's digital economy and elderly care services include enterprise website ownership, technological contract turnover, the proportion of information technology service income, the building area of elderly care institutions, daily in-house visits, and the number of professional technical personnel.To achieve coordinated development between the digital economy and elderly care services, efforts should focus on policy, market, technology, and talent. The government should support technological innovation and new service models, while tailoring strategies to regional market demands. Additionally, accelerating the industrialization of innovations and promoting intelligent upgrades in elderly care services are crucial. Finally, more investment is needed to cultivate composite talents in both the government and elderly care institutions.