Urban Ecological Efficiency and Its Influencing Factors—A Case Study in Henan Province, China

Spatial-Temporal Pattern and Influencing Factors of Ecological Efficiency in Zhejiang-Based on Super-SBM Method

The traditional meaning of ecological efficiency generally considers only the ratio of economic output to environmental input. This paper expands the meaning and the evaluation system of ecological efficiency from the perspective of improving people's livelihoods. Not only are the discharge of wastewater, waste gas, and solid waste included in the undesired output, but the output index also takes full account of the overall development of the economy, innovation, society and the environment from the perspective of high-quality development. Under the assumption of variable returns to scale, a super-efficiency slack-based measure model based on the undesirable output and Malmquist index is introduced to measure the spatial and temporal variation of ecological efficiency of Zhejiang Province in China, and the panel Tobit method is used to study the key factors affecting ecological efficiency. The results include the four following findings: (1) In the past 12 years, the ecological efficiency of Zhejiang Province has steadily increased, except in 2019 and 2020, when seven cities in Zhejiang Province experienced a decline or near stagnation due to the impact of the economic slowdown and the COVID-19 epidemic. (2) The ecological efficiency of Zhejiang demonstrates a severe regional imbalance, showing a high level in the northeast and a low level in the southwest. (3) Malmquist index analysis shows that the improvement of ecological efficiency in Zhejiang Province has shifted from mainly relying on the dual drivers of pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency in the early stage to relying on technological progress in the later stage. (4) Tobit regression analysis shows that industrialization structure, Theil index, and traffic activity have a significant positive effect on ecological efficiency.

Research on Spatial Unbalance and Influencing Factors of Ecological Well-Being Performance in China

Ecological well-being performance (EWP) is central to achieving coordinated and sustainable economic and social development and environmental protection. This study constructed an evaluation index system of EWP, measured the EWP of 30 Chinese provinces or cities from 1997 to 2018 using the super-efficiency slack-based model (Super-SBM), and analyzed the spatial and temporal evolutionary characteristics of EWP. Under the division of four regions and eight regions, the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition is applied to analyze the regional differences and sources of differences in EWP in China. Then, the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model analyzes the factors influencing EWP. Results show that the inter-provincial differences in EWP in China are significant, with the eastern region having significantly higher EWP than the western, central, and northeastern regions. From 1997 to 2018, the overall spatial differences in EWP in China decreased. The four regions and eight regions show that reducing inter-regional differences is the key to mitigating regional unbalance in China. Urbanization significantly enhances EWP in China and the degree of openness and industrial structure has a significant heterogeneous effect on EWP. Therefore, future policy formulation should focus on transforming the economic development model, promoting coordinated regional development, and exploring the optimal ways to improve EWP according to local conditions. This study aims to provide a scientific basis and reference for promoting sustainable regional economic and social development and improving the imbalance.

Evaluation of Cultivated Land Use Efficiency with Environmental Constraints in the Dongting Lake Eco-Economic Zone of Hunan Province, China

The rapid urban and industrial development in China has put pressure on the limited cultivated land resources. In ecologically fragile areas, such as the Dongting Lake Eco-economic Zone, land pollution and waste emissions from agricultural production cause irreversible damage to cultivated land. Thus, a method to assess the sustainability of cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE) is explored. Using the panel data of 25 districts in the province from 2007 to 2017, this study incorporates agricultural non-point source pollution and carbon emissions into undesirable outputs of cultivated land. The SBM(Slack-based Measure)-undesirable model was applied to measure the spatiotemporal characteristics of CLUE under environmental constraints. This study finds that CLUE with environmental constraints is significantly lower than CLUE without environmental constraints, and the degree of the impacts of the constraints differs among regions. Second, from 2007 to 2017, the average CLUE of the province showed a downward trend in each year; this is due to the side effects of redundant inputs and undesired outputs. Third, in 2017, the CLUE of the Dongting Lake Eco-economic Zone was high in the west and low in the east, and the redundant inputs of CLUE were livestock, fertilizer, and pesticide. The study concludes by recommending some policies.

An Empirical Study on the Ecological Economy of the Huai River in China

The Huai River is an important flood control and discharge river in the middle and east of China, and the development of ecological economy with regional advantages is significant for the protection and improvement of the resources and environment of the basin. On the basis of defining the connotation of an ecological economic system, this study constructed an index system, and it applied the methods of data envelopment analysis (DEA) and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) to study the ecological economy of the Huai River. This study concluded that (1) the efficiency in most areas was efficient, but inefficient in a few areas; (2) the causes of inefficiency were unreasonable production scale and unqualified production technology, which led to redundant input of resources, insufficient output of days with good air quality, and excessive output of particulate matter with less than or equal to 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5); and (3) the efficiency was different in different regions, so it was necessary to respectively formulate and implement strategies for protection and development of resources and environment. The research results can be used as an important reference for formulating ecological economic policies around the world.

Assessment of Ecological Efficiency and Environmental Sustainability of the Minjiang-Source in China

Ecological sustainability is treated as a main reflection of the synergy among social development, economic growth and environmental protection, while ecological efficiency is an index used to reflect the sustainable development of the ecological environment. The super efficiency model with undesirable outputs (SE-SBM) model was applied to measure the eco-efficiency of the 12 counties in the Minjiang-Source, China, in 2005–2017. The spatial and temporal evolution and spatial differentiation of the eco-efficiency were analyzed. The results showed that the eco-efficiency of 67.7% of the 12 counties remains at a low level but with an increasing trend. A typical spatial aggregation effect was found with the characteristics of “high in the east and low in the west”. The Malmquist-Luenberger index shows a trend of fluctuation with the same trend between scale efficiency and technical efficiency changes. The results proved the positive effect of technological progress on local eco-efficiency. Environmental regulation has a positive impact on eco-efficiency in the short term and an inhibition effect in the long run. Hence, technological innovation and industrial adjustment will be an effective way to improve the eco-efficiency of the Minjiang-Source and promote its sustainability.

Research on the Structural Features and Influential Factors of the Spatial Network of China’s Regional Ecological Efficiency Spillover

A regional coordinated development strategy is an important measure that is often used to implement sustainable development in China. However, many obstacles greatly limit the realization of regional ecological coordinated sustainable development. In this paper, ecological efficiency is utilized as an important indicator of sustainable development, and the network analysis method is used to explore the spatial correlation relationship of regional ecological coordinated sustainable development. This paper calculates the ecological efficiency of each region using the Window slacks-based measure (Window-SBM) model, formulates the spatial network of regional ecological efficiency spillover through the vector auto-regressive (VAR) Granger causality model, and analyzes the spatial spillover relationship and influencing factors of regional ecological efficiency by using the social network analysis method. It is found that the spillover network of ecological efficiency in each region presents a typical core-edge structure. In addition, there is an obvious hierarchical structure among blocks with different directions and functions. Industrial structure, economic development, and geographical proximity have a positive impact on the spatial spillover of regional ecological efficiency, while environmental regulation has a negative impact. Finally, relevant policy suggestions are put forward.

Government R&D Subsidies, Environmental Regulations, and Their Effect on Green Innovation Efficiency of Manufacturing Industry: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China

The Yangtze River Economic Belt is the most important manufacturing economic belt in China. The level of manufacturing green innovation efficiency of the Yangtze River Economic Belt directly affects the overall competitiveness of China's manufacturing industry. With panel data from 11 provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China for the period of 2008 to 2017, this paper applies the slacks-based measure (SBM)-data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and panel Tobit model to conduct an empirical study of the effects of government research and development subsidies and environmental regulations on the green innovation efficiency of the manufacturing industry of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The results show that, firstly, government R&D subsidies and environmental regulations are both conducive to improving the green innovation efficiency of the manufacturing industry of the Yangtze River Economic Belt; secondly, because of the fact that the interaction terms between government R&D subsidies and environmental regulations failed to pass the significance test, the positive moderating effects of R&D subsidies on environmental regulations and green innovation efficiency of the manufacturing industry are not obvious; thirdly, in terms of control variables, strengthening agglomeration is the only factor that is positively correlated with green innovation efficiency improvement of the manufacturing industry. Enterprise scale and industrial structure have negative effects on green innovation efficiency improvement, and the openness of economy has no correlation with green innovation efficiency.

Does the Energy Efficiency of Power Companies Affect Their Industry Status? A DEA Analysis of Listed Companies in Thermal Power Sector

Under the concept of green development, coal and oil control policies were frequently introduced, but the “cold” thinking under the “hot” environment is more conducive to the smooth promotion of the “transitional period” of China’s power-structure transformation. How to better consider production efficiency and environmental benefits is the theme that thermal power enterprises need to constantly break through. The most feasible “transitional period” path for thermal power enterprises is improving the efficiency of energy saving, reducing emissions, and simultaneously ensuring benefits and social awareness. This paper selected 17 listed companies in China’s thermal power sector, combined with their input resources, output, and other indicators, using a slacks-based measure–data envelopment analysis (SBM–DEA) model with undesirable outputs, and comprehensively analyzed the relationship among the technical efficiency improvement and the industry status, including price earnings ratio (P/E ratio) in the recent two years. The results show that the improvement of energy efficiency can indeed optimize enterprises’ operations and improve P/E ratio. Although clean-energy power generation has better environmental benefits, it is still lacking in efficiency; therefore, the balance between efficiency and environment sustainability should concern us.