Innovation‐Driven Productivity and Marine Industrial Development: Evidence From China's Coastal Provinces

ABSTRACT To foster sustainable growth in the marine economy, it is important to understand the relationship between productivity transformation and industrial development. This paper examines the interaction between innovation‐driven productivity (new‐quality productivity) and the modern marine industrial system across China's coastal provinces. A multidimensional evaluation index system is constructed using panel data from 11 coastal provinces covering the period 2014–2024 to measure the development levels of the two systems. Their coordinated development is evaluated using a coupling coordination model, and the disparities across regions and their causes are studied using the Dagum–Gini coefficient decomposition. The results show that both innovation‐driven productivity and the modern marine industrial system improved steadily during the study period, although there are major regional disparities. The degree of coordination between the two systems has increased over time, but remains at a medium level overall. Provinces such as Shandong, Jiangsu, and Guangdong exhibit relatively higher levels of coordination, whereas Guangxi and Hainan lag. More decomposition findings indicate that the main cause of general disparities is inter‐regional differences. These findings highlight the importance of strengthening innovation‐driven productivity, promoting technological upgrading in marine industries, and reducing regional disparities to support balanced development of the marine economy.