DETERMINING THE DEGREE OF CONNECTION BETWEEN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SPORTS INDUSTRY AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE REGIONAL CONTEXT: EVIDENCE FROM 31 PROVINCES IN CHINA

One of the components of the rapid development of China’s economy is the development of the sports industry. The exacerbation of the COVID-19 epidemic has led to the introduction of quarantine measures and a significant reduction in the share of the sports industry in the structure of China’s Gross Domestic Product. To form instruments that will lead to economic development, it is important to identify regions in which the promising direction of development is the sports industry. The aim of the article is determining the degree of connection between the development of the sports industry and economic growth in the regional context using coupling coordination model (Evidence from 31 Provinces in China). This paper uses the commercial entropy method and the coupling coordination model to calculate the coupling and coordinated development of the sports industry and high-quality economic development in 31 Provinces in China from 2010 to 2020. The results of research give a base for the distribution of regions for the degree of connection between the development of the sports industry and economic growth. Firstly, the degree of connection between the development of the sports industry and economic growth in the eastern region is in a state of primary coordination, good coordination and high-quality coordination, and Guangdong Province has achieved obvious performance. Secondly, as for the eastern region, it has witnessed rapid economic development, and the sports industry is obvious. Thirdly, the degree of connection between the development of the sports industry and economic growth in central provinces is in a state of barely coordination, on the verge of disorder and mild recession. It's confirmed that the development of the sports industry can provide impetus for China’s economic growth, and the further development of economy can also promote the rapid development of the sports industry. The two are interconnected and promote each other, which is a benign circular industry system. Only by constantly optimizing the development mode of China’s sports industry and creating a high-quality market operation mechanism the development of the sports industry and the Chinese economy can be realized. This research will be useful for the state-managers in a sphere of regional development. Also, the results of this research will be used by the top-managers of the sports industry when choosing a region for business development and expanding the network of sports services.