Prediction Analysis of the Coordinated Development of the Sports and Pension Industries: Taking 11 Provinces and Cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China as an Example

In order to promote the coordinated development of the sports and pension industries, it is of great significance to apply the theory of industrial integration to the study of the interaction mechanism of the sports and pension industries, but there is a lack of research in this area at present. This paper firstly constructs the evaluation system of the coupling and coordination development of the sports and pension industries. Secondly, based on the panel data of 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in 2013–2017, this paper analyzes the coupling and coordination relationship between the sports and pension industries by using the entropy method and the coupling coordination model. Finally, the coupling coordination relationship between the two industries in the region in the next five years is predicted using the grey model (1.1), i.e. GM (1.1) model. The results show the following: (1) The development level of the two major industries in 11 provinces and cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is generally on the rise, and they have a high correlation. (2) The sports industry is more volatile than the pension industry, and the sports industry has become an effective path dependence to narrow the regional development differences. The sports industry has a weak driving role in the pension industry, while the pension industry has a greater role in promoting the sports industry. (3) There is a large spatial difference in the coupling coordination degree of the sports and pension industries in 11 provinces and cities of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which will remain in the next five years, though the evolution and upgrading speed of the coupling coordination level will be significantly accelerated.