How can Policy Guidance Promote the Ecological Evolution of the Symbiotic Relationship between Multiple Industries in Macao? Based on the Ecological Niche Width Method

Confronted with the challenge of diminishing tax revenue from Macao’s gambling sector, the synergistic growth of diverse industries has emerged as a crucial avenue for the region’s development. Given the intricacy of evaluating the symbiosis among multiple industries in Macao, this study adopts the biological ecological niche model and introduces a novel framework for assessing industrial symbiosis. This framework incorporates the time-varying weights of symbiosis and competition among various industries in Macao from 2012 to 2024. By calculating the ecological niche width, overlap, and suitability of each industry, it more precisely captures the multi-industry symbiosis dynamics in Macao. The empirical findings highlight the industrial symbiosis between Macao’s burgeoning key industries, the gambling sector, and major non-gambling industries. Macao’s multi-industry symbiosis presents extensive development potential, and the efficacy of policies promoting moderately diversified economic growth is gradually becoming apparent. Notably, the banking sector has taken the lead in showcasing industrial agglomeration capabilities. A horizontal comparison with Hong Kong’s industrial symbiosis reveals that Macao’s policy guidance has positively influenced the development of industrial agglomeration capabilities in emerging sectors. This study offers valuable insights for Macao to devise moderately diversified economic development policies, mitigate irrational resource competition between industries, and foster a symbiotic industrial environment. It also holds significant theoretical importance and practical application value for the interdisciplinary application of ecological theory to enhance the measurement methodologies for industrial symbiosis development.