Difference in regional logistics development level in China based on entropy weight TOPSIS and Dagum models

The high-quality development of the logistics industry, which is an essential and strategic industry supporting the national economic operation and a fundamental component of modern industrial system construction, is not only a key component of the high-quality development of the national economy but also the main driving force for the high-quality growth of the national economy. As the supporting industry of the national economy, the logistics industry will also face spatial disequilibrium during development. Therefore, to achieve the coordinated development of the logistics industry, the high-quality development and the spatial-temporal unbalanced development status of the logistics industry in each province must be figured out first. This research established a comprehensive evaluation system for the logistics industry development, which included 14 basic indexes based on the provincial-level panel data of 30 provinces in China during 2009–2020. Then, the regional logistics development level score in China was measured using the entropy weight TOPSIS method, and the differences in the regional logistics development level in China and the dynamic evolution law of their distribution were deeply explored through the Dagum Gini coefficient model. The research results revealed that the evaluation index system (14 basic indexes) for the regional logistics industry development level in China was relatively scientific and reasonable; the regional logistics industry development level in China was increasing year by year, showing a steady upward trend, and the imbalance in the eastern, central, and western regions regarding the regional logistics development was shrinking year by year; the average intergroup contribution rate was 36.33%, the intragroup contribution rate was 31.49%, and the contribution rate of intensity of trans variation was 32.19%, proving that the regional differences exerted a most extraordinary influence on the spatial differences in the regional logistics industry development level in China. The research results have important reference value for summarizing the meaning of high-quality logistics industry development, constructing the evaluation index system for logistics industry development, and exploring the reasons for the temporal and spatial differences in logistics industry development in China.