Regional Green Eco-Efficiency in China: Considering Energy Saving, Pollution Treatment, and External Environmental Heterogeneity

Hongwei Liu, Ronglu Yang, Zhixiang Zhou and Dacheng Huang
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Hongwei Liu: School of Business, Anhui University, Hefei 230000, China
Ronglu Yang: School of Business, Anhui University, Hefei 230000, China
Zhixiang Zhou: School of Economics, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei 230000, China
Dacheng Huang: School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230000, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 17, 1-19

Abstract: The economy in China has gradually transformed from a stage of high-speed development into one of high-quality development. The current study considers the economic environment, energy saving, and pollution treatment in an integrated way to measure eco-efficiency and external environmental heterogeneity. A modified three-phase data envelopment analysis (DEA) model is constructed to measure ecological efficiency while eliminating interference from both statistical noise and the external environment. The first phase uses a two-stage production structure DEA model considering nondiscretionary input and undesirable output. The model was applied to data for the year 2015 in 30 administrative regions in China, including municipalities, provinces, and autonomous regions. The results of this study show that many factors influence these regions’ eco-efficiency in China, including the levels of economic development, technological innovation, environmental regulation, and industrial structure. Finally, implications and suggestions are given to provincial governments from the perspectives of different industries and of provincial ecological–economic development.

Keywords: eco-efficiency; two-stage DEA; nondiscretionary input; three-phase DEA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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