%0 Journal Article %A SUN Dongqi %A ZHANG Jingxiang %A ZHANG Mingdou %A YU Zhengsong %A HU Yi %A ZHOU Liang %T Coupling relationship between urbanization efficiency and economic development level in the Yangtze River Delta %D 2013 %R 10.11820/dlkxjz.2013.07.009 %J PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY %P 1060-1071 %V 32 %N 7 %X This paper used the DEA model, analytic hierarchy process and a model for coupling degree to analyze urbanization efficiency, economic development level, and the coupling relationship between the two for the 16 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 1980 to 2010. As a result, theoretical exploration was conducted and a conceptual model was proposed. The results showed that: (1) During the 30 years of evolution, the economic development level in the Yangtze River Delta has been in a upward trend; regional development reached a balanced stage, and the coupling relationship between urbanization efficiency and economic development level exhibited an overall inverted "U": shaped pattern of "slow rise-sharp rise-slow decline-sharp decline". (2) In different developmental stages, economic development level had different relationship with urbanization efficiency. In a certain period of time, improvement of urbanization efficiency enhanced the regional economic development level, and vice versa. Once both reached a certain level, increase of urbanization efficiency is no longer an important factor to enhancement of the regional economic development level, and, again, vice versa. (3) There is a dynamic coupling relationship between urbanization efficiency and economic development level. Those cities with higher economic development level are the first to be independent of the effect of urbanization efficiency. %U https://www.progressingeography.com/EN/10.11820/dlkxjz.2013.07.009