Evaluation of Common Prosperity Level and Regional Difference Based on the Background of Green Development

Abstract

Green development and common prosperity are two major development goals put forward by the Chinese government. Based on the background of green development, the index system of common prosperity is designed in this paper, and the entropy method and coefficient of variation method are used to calculate the level of common prosperity in China from 2010 to 2020. The research findings are as follows: Firstly, the level of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development has been raised from 2010 to 2020. The level of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development has increased from 0.301 in 2010 to 0.513 in 2020. Secondly, based on the background of China’s green development, the level of common prosperity in the eastern region is higher than that in the northeast region, the northeast region is higher than that in the central region, and the central region is higher than that in the western region. Thirdly, the regional difference in common prosperity level based on the background of green development shows a trend of narrowing, with the coefficient of variation decreasing from 0.25 in 2010 to 0.13 in 2020. Finally, based on the research findings, corresponding suggestions are put forward to promote common prosperity.

1. Introduction

Since the reform and opening up in 1978, compared with other countries, China’s economic development has achieved great success. In 2021, China’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was only lower than the United States, ranked second in the world. China’s per capita GDP increased from CNY 381 in 1978 to CNY 81,000 in 2021, an increase of 212 times [1]. In the process of China’s rapid economic development, many problems occurred, such as the deterioration of the ecological environment, lack of economic development power and aging of the population. Among these problems, the deterioration of the ecological environment and the widening gap between the rich and the poor have attracted particular attention. In 1978, the Gini coefficient measured the gap between the rich and the poor in China was 0.31, but in 2017 it exceeded 0.4, which is beyond the warning line, indicating the gap between the rich and the poor in China was expanded [2]. The widening gap between the rich and the poor not only affects social stability but also leads to the contraction of total social consumption demand, thus leading to weak economic growth. Environmental pollution is also causing widespread concern because China’s economic growth comes at the expense of the environment. According to relevant studies, the economic loss caused by environmental pollution in China accounts for about 2–3% of the GDP every year [3]. Environmental pollution not only damages people’s health but also causes many vulnerable groups to fall into poverty. In response to increasingly severe ecological and environmental problems and the large gap between rich and poor, the Chinese government put forward the concept of green development in 2015 and common prosperity in 2020. Green development is to deal with the deterioration of the ecological environment caused by the backward economic development model; common prosperity is proposed to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. The Chinese government has made it clear that by 2025, China’s green development needs achieve significant results, and the output value of green and environmental protection industries will reach CNY 11 trillion. By 2035, the gap between the rich and the poor should be effectively narrowed, and important progress should be made in achieving common prosperity. By 2050, China should achieve common prosperity for all its people.

Green development and common prosperity are two major goals put forward by the Chinese government. Green development and common prosperity have been great concerns to Chinese people in recent years, and they are not completely isolated and unrelated. The Chinese government put forward the concept of green development earlier than promoting common prosperity. The Chinese government puts forward the concept of green development because, in the process of economic development, the ecological environment in China has deteriorated. In order to reverse the deterioration of the ecological environment, continuous increase of the proportion of the green economy and the understanding that the continuous development of environmentally friendly industries with green technology, green energy, and green capital emphasizing low resource consumption, low pollution emissions moderate economic and social development are needed [4,5]. Common prosperity is a concept with the characteristics of socialism, which first appeared in the theory of scientific socialism. Its fundamental feature is to eliminate polarization and poverty on the basis of general prosperity, which is manifested by the fact that the people can share the fruits of economic development. Through economic development, people generally have a high sense of happiness, gain, and security. Chinese government proposed to promote green development in 2015 and common prosperity in 2020. To some extent, China’s common prosperity is based on the background of green development. In other words, in the process of promoting common prosperity, China needs to pay attention to implementing the concept of green development, and in the process of implementing the concept of green development, China needs to pay attention to common prosperity to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and narrow the development gap in different regions.

In order to scientifically carry out the concept of common prosperity, it is necessary to scientifically evaluate the level of common prosperity based on the background of green development. Only by scientifically assessing the level of common prosperity in various regions of China can we adopt targeted policies to further implement the concept of common prosperity. Therefore, based on the background of green development, this paper designs a common prosperity index system based on the background of green development and uses the entropy method and coefficient of variation method to evaluate the common prosperity level of different regions in China so as to provide inspiration for promoting common prosperity more scientifically. The contribution of this paper is to link common prosperity with green development, construct the common prosperity index system based on the background of green development, provide a scientific assessment of the common prosperity level in different regions of China, and promote academic research on common prosperity. In this paper, the structure arrangement is as follows: the second part is the literature review, which is a comprehensive review of the relevant studies on green development and common prosperity in academia. The third part is the research design, which mainly introduces the entropy value method, the variation coefficient method, the design of green development based on the common prosperity index system’s background, and this paper’s data source. The fourth part is results, which mainly analyzes the assessment results of the common prosperity level in different regions of China. The fifth part is the summary of this paper.

2. Literature Review

Since the research topic of this paper is the measurement of common prosperity level based on the background of green development, relevant research can be sorted out mainly from two aspects: green development and common prosperity.

Green development is proposed to cope with the deteriorating relationship between humans and nature, and its connotation includes vigorously developing a green economy, reducing the level of environmental pollution, and realizing the harmony between humans and nature [4,5]. At present, there is a lot of research about green development in academia, which is generally from two main aspects: assessment of green development level and influence factors of green development. For assessment of the level of green development, the mainstream method in academia is to design the indicator system of green development and then adopt a variety of different quantitative research methods to evaluate the level of green development. For example, Sun et al. used the information entropy model to evaluate China’s green development level from 2000 to 2014 and found that China’s green development level increased significantly from 2000; however, there are large regional differences in the green development level among eastern, central and western regions of China [6]. Bilgaev et al. designed a green economy indicator system from five dimensions, namely resource efficiency, environmental efficiency, environmental quality of life, natural assets, and institutional factors, and evaluated the green economy development of the Buryatia Republic of Russia [7]. For the influence factors of green development, Feng et al., from a global perspective, used the data envelopment method to analyze the performance level and influencing factors of green development in 165 countries around the world. They found that the developed countries of the green development level are far higher than that of developing countries, and the relationship between green development performance and level of economic development appears to have an inverted “U” shape; moreover, the study found the global economic crisis in 2007 had a negative impact on global green performance [8]. Zhang et al. used a generalized method of moments and data envelopment analysis to analyze the relationship between public R&D (Research and Development) expenditure and green economic growth and found public R&D expenditure in human resources and green energy can promote the development of a green economy [9]. In addition, some scholars have made a comprehensive introduction to Malaysia’s green policies, green institutions, green development progress, green buildings, green benefits and incentives, and believe that Malaysia has a bright green future; this introduction of green development in Malaysia is helpful for people to understand the connotation of green development [10]. In addition, green development is closely to sustainable development. Sustainable development emphasizes the development of human society is sustainable and intergenerational equity should be realized. In other words, sustainable development requires that development not only meets the needs of current people but also does not harm future people’s development [11,12,13]. The literature on sustainable development mainly focuses on the definition of the connotation of sustainable development and the assessment of the level of sustainable development. For example, according to the research of Popelo et al., the connotation of sustainability includes three dimensions: social, economic, and environmental [14]. Yan et al. used the data envelopment method to evaluate the urban sustainability performance of 287 cities in China and found that the sustainability of 287 cities in China has been on the rise in the past 30 years, but they have obvious spatial differences [15]. In general, the literature about sustainable development can provide inspiration for this paper because the fundamental purpose of green development is to achieve harmony between man and nature, which includes sustainable implications.

For common prosperity the concept of common prosperity first appeared in the theory of scientific socialism. Marx believed that the development of production in the future socialist society is for the prosperity of all the people [16]. At present, most studies on common prosperity are focused on China, which is mainly because, after more than 40 years of development, China has begun to face a serious gap between the rich and the poor. The Chinese government is paying more and more attention to how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and how to achieve common prosperity. Many scholars have analyzed how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor and achieve common prosperity. Some scholars point out market economy is the key to achieving common prosperity, which is conducive to the development of the Chinese economy. Excessive government intervention in order to promote common prosperity will only lead to poverty [17,18]. Kakwani et al. analyzed the impact of China’s labor market and social policies on common prosperity in the 30 years from 1988 to 2018 by using the decomposition method, their study found that the improvement of China’s labor market and related social policies in the past 30 years helped Chinese people move toward common prosperity, and this research is conducive to achieve equality of opportunity among members of society [19]. Dunford analyzed how China can achieve common prosperity and proposed that in order to achieve common prosperity, China needs to take measures such as fighting corruption, poverty alleviation, and opposing monopoly [20]. Wang et al. pointed out that it is necessary to establish a sound multi-level social security system to achieve common prosperity in ethnic minority areas of China [21]. In addition, some scholars used the TOPSIS method to evaluate the level of common prosperity in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China and analyzed regional differences. The study found that the level of common prosperity in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was significantly higher than that in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt [22].

In general, the studies about green development and common prosperity are helpful to the scientific assessment of the level of common prosperity in China. However, this research about green development and common prosperity is completely separate. Scholars do not link them together. The green development concept put forward by China in response to the deterioration of the ecological environment is bound to have an impact on the common prosperity of China. On the one hand, common prosperity means further developing the economy and increasing the material wealth of the whole society; on the other hand, it means taking various measures to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. To implement the concept of green development, China needs to develop a green economy and change its extensive economic development mode. The transition from extensive economic development to green economic development has a direct impact on the speed of China’s economic development and on different income groups in China. Therefore, this study decided to link green development and common prosperity together to evaluate the level of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development and analyze its regional differences to understand the current situation of common prosperity in China scientifically.

3. Methodology

3.1. Assessment of Common Prosperity Level Based on the Background of Green Development

There are two different types of assessment methods for the level of common prosperity: qualitative assessment and quantitative assessment. In order to ensure objectivity and scientific research results, this paper adopts quantitative assessment. The theme of this paper is to evaluate the common prosperity level based on the background of green development. Therefore, it is necessary to design the index system of the common prosperity level evaluation based on the background of green development and then adopt a quantitative evaluation method for evaluation. The current mainstream quantitative evaluation methods include principal component analysis, hierarchical analysis, and entropy method. Referring to the research of Duan et al. and Liao et al., this paper uses the entropy method to evaluate the level of common prosperity based on the background of green development [23,24]. This is because the entropy weight method is a commonly used weighting method to measure the value dispersion in the decision-making process, and it is an objective weighting method, which can effectively avoid the bias of index weight setting caused by subjective human factors [19]. The specific calculation process is as follows:

First of all, the entropy method requires all index data need be standardized so as to eliminate the influence caused by the differences in the properties and units of measurement of indicators. For the specific data standardization process, see Equations (1) and (2).

Positive indicators:

$${\mathrm{y}}_{ij}=\frac{\max (x_{ij})-x_{ij}}{\max (x_{ij})-\min (x_{ij})}$$

(1)

Negative indicators:

$${\mathrm{y}}_{ij}=\frac{x_{ij}-\min (x_{ij})}{\max (x_{ij})-\min (x_{ij})}$$

(2)

In Equations (1) and (2), x_ij represents the index data, max(x_ij) and min(x_ij) are the maximum and minimum values of the index data, respectively. y_ij is the standard value of the original data after processing.

Secondly, calculate the weight of each index. See Equations (3) and (4) for details.

$${\mathrm{p}}_{ij}=\frac{y_{ij}}{{\displaystyle {\sum }_{i=1}^m{y}_{ij}}},e_j=\left[-\frac{1}{\ln \left(m\right)}\right]{\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^m{\mathrm{p}}_{ij}}\ln \left({\mathrm{p}}_{ij}\right)$$

(3)

In Equation (3), p_ij represents the characteristic proportion of each province or city in the index, and e_j represents the information entropy of the index.

$${\mathrm{s}}_j=\left(1-e_j\right)/{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^m\left(1-e_j\right)}$$

(4)

In Equation (4), s_j represents the entropy value of each index, which also is the weight of each index.

Finally, the common prosperity level based on the background of green development is calculated according to the weight of each indicator and the index value after standardization, as shown in Equation (5).

$$C={\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^m{s}_j•y_{ij}}{\displaystyle \sum _{j=1}^m{s}_{ij}=1}$$

(5)

In Equation (5), C represents the common prosperity level based on the background of green development, s_j represents the weight of each indicator, and y_ij is the standard value of the original data after processing.

3.2. Regional Differences of Common Prosperity Based on the Background of Green Development

CV (Coefficient of variation) index, also known as standardized rate, is usually used to reflect the dispersion degree of a sample [25]. In this paper, the coefficient of variation is used to calculate the regional difference of common prosperity levels based on the background of green development in different regions. In this paper, the larger the coefficient of variation is, the greater the regional difference is and the more unbalanced the regional development is; conversely, the difference is smaller in common regional prosperity, the more balanced the regional development. The specific calculation formula is as follows:

$$CV=\sqrt{\frac{1}{m}{\displaystyle \sum _{k=1}^m(C-\stackrel{-}{C})}}/(\stackrel{-}{C})$$

(6)

In Equation (6), m represents the number of samples, C is the level of common prosperity, and $\stackrel{-}{C}$ is the average value of indicators, namely, the average value of common prosperity level based on the background of green development.

3.3. Design of Common Prosperity Index System

Designing the common prosperity index system is needed to measure the level of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development. Based on the principles of data integrity, data scientificity, and data availability, this paper designs an indicator system for common prosperity from three dimensions of sustainability, development, and sharing by referring to the research of Wang et al. (2022) [22]. First of all, the premise of common prosperity based on the background of green development is to develop the economy. Referring to Wang et al. and Gonzalez-Perez’s research, this paper selects residents’ per capita disposable income, residents’ per capita consumption expenditure, and Engel’s coefficient to measure economic development [22,26]. In the process of economic development, it is necessary to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor because a large gap between the rich and the poor is not good for economic development. Referring to the research of Su et al. and Alvaredo, the Gini coefficient, the income multiplier difference between urban and rural residents, and the Theil index between urban and rural areas are selected to measure the common degree of economic development [27,28]. Second, based on the background of green development requirements, economic development is sustainable and does not damage the ecological environment. Therefore, the process of promoting common prosperity, on the one hand, is to strengthen the protection of the ecological environment and reduce energy consumption. On the other hand, through increased investment in science and technology innovation, the process enhances the driving force for the development of the economy. Referring to the research of Duan et al. and Zhang et al., patent authorization amount, forest coverage rate, and energy consumption per unit GDP are selected [23,29,30]. Finally, common prosperity based on the background of green development needs to improve the basic social public service system. A perfect basic public service system is conducive to improving the social welfare level of low-income people and enhancing the sharing of social development. Referring to the research of Hempelmann et al. and Pastor et al., the average years of education of residents are selected, the number of beds in medical institutions per 1000 people, and the ownership of public transport vehicles per 10,000 people are selected [25,31]. After the above analysis, the index system of common prosperity level based on the background of green development is designed as shown in

Table 1. Index system of common prosperity based on the background of green development.

First Level Index	Second Level Index	Third Level Index (Unit)	Impact
Developmental	Degree of affluence	Per capita disposable income (Yuan/person)	Positive
		Household per capita consumption expenditure (Yuan/person)	Positive
		Engel coefficient (%)	Negative
	Degree of commonality	The Gini coefficient	Negative
		The income gap between urban and rural residents	Negative
		Urban and rural Theil index	Negative
Sustainability	Science and technology innovation	Number of authorized patent applications (pieces)	Positive
	Ecological environment	Forest coverage (%)	Positive
	Energy consumption	Energy consumption per unit of GD (Standard coal/CNY ten thousand)	Positive
Participatory	Education development	Average years of education of residents (years)	Positive
	Medical treatment and health	Beds in medical institutions per thousand people (piece)	Positive
	Infrastructure	Public transport vehicles per 10,000 people	Negative

.

3.4. Data Sources

All data in this paper are from the official information published by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, mainly including the China Statistical Yearbook, China Statistical Yearbook of Science and Technology, China Statistical Yearbook of Energy, and China Environmental Statistics Yearbook from 2011 to 2021 [32,33,34,35]. In addition, due to some missing data for Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, and Tibet, only 30 provinces and cities in China were assessed to evaluate common prosperity.

4. Empirical Analysis

4.1. Research Results

Based on the index system of common prosperity based on the background of green development and Equations (1)–(5), the level of common prosperity based on the background of green development in China from 2010 to 2020 is calculated (see

Table 2. Common prosperity level in the context of China’s green development from 2010 to 2010.

Region	Province/Year	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Eastern Region	Beijing	0.642	0.665	0.653	0.670	0.718	0.751	0.741	0.817	0.817	0.820	0.851
	Tianjin	0.436	0.496	0.519	0.519	0.564	0.528	0.558	0.583	0.604	0.620	0.590
	Hebei	0.230	0.280	0.339	0.361	0.376	0.387	0.395	0.449	0.447	0.460	0.511
	Shandong	0.329	0.339	0.329	0.409	0.426	0.457	0.492	0.501	0.481	0.533	0.480
	Jiangsu	0.337	0.418	0.396	0.456	0.461	0.494	0.495	0.580	0.583	0.603	0.569
	Shanghai	0.518	0.592	0.568	0.584	0.560	0.626	0.680	0.723	0.694	0.685	0.744
	Zhejiang	0.421	0.497	0.468	0.541	0.585	0.573	0.568	0.582	0.632	0.649	0.623
	Fujian	0.382	0.384	0.383	0.423	0.460	0.520	0.478	0.545	0.535	0.575	0.610
	Guangdong	0.354	0.410	0.432	0.413	0.458	0.525	0.543	0.521	0.537	0.537	0.541
	Hainan	0.267	0.326	0.309	0.358	0.408	0.387	0.401	0.445	0.485	0.498	0.512
	Mean	0.392	0.441	0.440	0.473	0.502	0.525	0.535	0.575	0.582	0.598	0.603
Northeast Region	Liaoning	0.349	0.374	0.379	0.396	0.432	0.497	0.493	0.532	0.523	0.542	0.512
	Jilin	0.358	0.383	0.342	0.374	0.428	0.439	0.451	0.442	0.439	0.497	0.522
	Heilongjiang	0.346	0.388	0.396	0.411	0.472	0.477	0.476	0.479	0.488	0.542	0.502
	Mean	0.351	0.381	0.373	0.394	0.444	0.471	0.474	0.484	0.483	0.527	0.512
Central Region	Shaanxi	0.272	0.259	0.268	0.334	0.309	0.321	0.349	0.408	0.417	0.455	0.435
	Henan	0.241	0.271	0.299	0.289	0.339	0.402	0.362	0.428	0.411	0.428	0.514
	Hubei	0.296	0.294	0.374	0.416	0.401	0.417	0.441	0.494	0.518	0.553	0.540
	Hunan	0.275	0.360	0.376	0.347	0.441	0.476	0.479	0.469	0.503	0.517	0.536
	Anhui	0.266	0.240	0.313	0.293	0.392	0.361	0.385	0.387	0.419	0.426	0.465
	Jiangxi	0.315	0.308	0.363	0.388	0.413	0.420	0.428	0.487	0.459	0.451	0.484
	Mean	0.278	0.289	0.332	0.345	0.382	0.400	0.407	0.445	0.454	0.471	0.496
Western Region	Guangxi	0.223	0.251	0.310	0.294	0.358	0.395	0.366	0.407	0.426	0.443	0.444
	Chongqing	0.265	0.358	0.335	0.380	0.396	0.413	0.428	0.488	0.512	0.522	0.546
	Sichuan	0.233	0.317	0.291	0.384	0.355	0.409	0.403	0.468	0.462	0.458	0.505
	Guizhou	0.105	0.156	0.180	0.228	0.314	0.314	0.363	0.360	0.424	0.395	0.369
	Yunnan	0.231	0.211	0.247	0.287	0.314	0.325	0.343	0.406	0.445	0.433	0.458
	Shaanxi	0.309	0.341	0.360	0.401	0.409	0.470	0.477	0.460	0.493	0.494	0.518
	Gansu	0.176	0.172	0.244	0.222	0.251	0.244	0.292	0.326	0.326	0.386	0.349
	Qinghai	0.211	0.179	0.222	0.295	0.314	0.272	0.327	0.335	0.357	0.350	0.417
	NeiMonggol	0.239	0.320	0.303	0.332	0.351	0.353	0.393	0.400	0.439	0.442	0.485
	Ningxia	0.191	0.213	0.261	0.291	0.341	0.364	0.346	0.368	0.384	0.395	0.384
	Xinjiang	0.214	0.258	0.313	0.279	0.303	0.359	0.388	0.333	0.353	0.363	0.366
	Mean	0.218	0.252	0.279	0.308	0.337	0.356	0.375	0.396	0.420	0.425	0.440

).

From Table 2, it can be found that the common prosperity level of 30 provinces and cities in China based on the background of green development has been rose from 2010 to 2020. Take Beijing as an example. In 2010, the level of common prosperity in Beijing was 0.642, and in 2020, the level of common service in Beijing reached 0.851. This shows that the Chinese government tried to address the huge gap between the rich and the poor. It can be found from Table 2 that the common prosperity level of Beijing, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong were higher than that of other regions in China, and these regions are also relatively developed regions in China. Taking 2020 as an example, the level of common prosperity in Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang, and Fujian were 0.569, 0.744, 0.623, and 0.610, respectively. Correspondingly, the level of common prosperity based on the background of green development in Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia, and Xinjiang were 0.349, 0.417, 0.384, and 0.366. These areas are relatively backward in China’s economic development. The reason why the level of common prosperity in underdeveloped areas was lower is that the most important goal of the underdeveloped areas is to develop the economy, so narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor may be neglected in the process of economic development. The regions with relatively developed economies begin to pay more attention and solve the equity problem in economic development after reaching a certain level of economic development; therefore, the gap between the rich and the poor in these regions is relatively small, and the level of common prosperity is higher.

4.2. Analysis of Regional Differences of Common Prosperity

The common prosperity level of 30 provinces and cities in China based on the background of green development has been measured above (see Table 2). The essence of common prosperity is to benefit the development for more people. Since the development gap between different regions in China is very large, the realization of common prosperity not only needs to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor of different social groups but also the development gap between different regions in China [23]. Therefore, in this study, 30 provinces and cities in China are divided into the eastern region, the northeastern region, central region, and the western region, analyzing the level of common prosperity in these regions (see Figure 1). The coefficient of variation method is used to measure the regional differences in common prosperity level between the eastern region, northeast region, central region, and western region based on the background of green development (see Figure 2). In order to clearly contrast the space-time pattern of common prosperity based on the background of green development, this article uses ArcGIS software. The spatial distribution picture of the level of common prosperity of 30 provinces in China in 2010, 2015, and 2020 was plotted by using equidistant values. The darker the color, the higher the level of common prosperity (see Figure 3).

Figure 2 and Figure 3 show the regional differences and changes in common prosperity levels. It can be seen from Figure 2 that the regional differences of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development were narrowed. In particular, since 2015, China has invested huge human, financial and material resources to solve the poverty problem in rural areas. After long-term efforts, the Chinese government announced in 2020 that China had eliminated extreme poverty. In addition, it can also be found from Figure 1 that the common prosperity level based on the background of green development has obvious regional characteristics; that is, the common prosperity level of eastern China is higher than that of northeast China, the common prosperity level of northeast China is higher than that of central China, and the common prosperity level of central China is higher than that of western China. This regional characteristic is consistent with the regional characteristics of China’s economic development level. The economic development level of eastern China is higher than that of northeast China and central China, and the economic development level of northeast China and central China is higher than that of western China. In addition, it can be found from Figure 2 that the coefficient of variation of the four major regions in China shows a downward trend of fluctuation. This shows that the regional gap of common prosperity based on the background of green development in eastern China, northeast China, central China, and western China is narrowing. Figure 3 is directly showing the common prosperity level of each province and city in 2010, 2015, and 2020 based on the background of green development. For example, in Figure 3a, it can be found that Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have the deepest color, which indicates Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, and Shanghai have the highest level of common prosperity based on the background of green development in 2010. Meanwhile, Gansu, Ningxia, and Guizhou have the lightest color, which indicates that in 2010 the provinces with the lowest level of common prosperity were Gansu, Ningxia, and Guizhou. It can be found from Figure 3 that the color of Figure 3c is significantly darker than that of Figure 3b, and the color of Figure 3b is also darker than that of Figure 3a, which indicates that the common wealth level of all regions in China showed an upward trend from 2010 to 2020. In general, it can be found from Figure 3 that there are obvious regional differences in the level of common prosperity in China. The higher the level of economic development, the higher the level of common prosperity based on the background of green development. Because the larger regional differences are not conducive to the realization of common prosperity in China, therefore, in the future, the Chinese government needs to take measures to narrow the development gap between central and western and eastern regions.

5. Conclusions

Green development and common prosperity have attracted more and more attention from people. This paper takes China as an example to design an index system of common prosperity based on the background of green development and uses the entropy method and coefficient of variation method to evaluate the common prosperity level. The findings are as follows: First, the level of common prosperity in China based on the background of green development has been on the rise from 2010 to 2020. The level of common prosperity based on the background of China’s green development has increased from 0.301 in 2010 to 0.513 in 2020. Second, based on the background of China’s green development, the level of common prosperity in the eastern region is higher than that in the northeast region, the northeast region is higher than that in the central region, and the central region is higher than that in the western region. Third, the regional difference in common prosperity level based on the background of China’s green development shows a trend of narrowing, with the coefficient of variation decreasing from 0.25 in 2010 to 0.13 in 2020. The results show that the level of common prosperity in China is on the rise, and the differences between different regions are narrowing, but China’s common prosperity level is still low. China’s common prosperity level was 0.513 in 2020. In addition, although the differences in common prosperity in different regions are narrowing, the Chinese government still needs to take measures to further narrow it in the future. Based on the research findings, suggestions are put forward to promote the level of common prosperity. First, it is needed to further strengthen ecological and environmental protection, develop a green economy and avoid poverty caused by environmental pollution. Second, central and western regions need to speed up economic development and narrow the development gap with eastern China because economic development is an important prerequisite for common prosperity.

People are increasingly concerned about green development and common prosperity. This study takes China as an example to evaluate the common prosperity level based on the background of green development in China. The limitation of this study is that it only uses the entropy method and coefficient of variation method to evaluate the common prosperity level based on the background of green development in China. In the future, it is necessary to use other research methods to analyze the common prosperity level. In addition, research objects and data sources need to be further expanded to expand the research about green development and common prosperity.