Does industrial upgrading improve eco-efficiency? Evidence from China's industrial sector

Feng Wang, Min Wu and Xuyang Du

Energy Economics, 2023, vol. 124, issue C

Abstract: Promoting industrial upgrading is the fundamental path for China to realize the coordination of industrial development and ecological protection. This paper firstly measures the industrial upgrading index (IUI) and eco-efficiency of 37 sub-industries in China's industrial sector based on the comprehensive weighting method and super-efficiency slacks-based measure model, and then for the first time, examines the impact of industrial upgrading on China's industrial eco-efficiency and its differences among industries and influential mechanisms using the panel data models. The following main conclusions are obtained. First, both the IUI and eco-efficiency of China's whole industrial sector showed an upward trend from 2005 to 2019. Second, there are significant gaps in the IUI and eco-efficiency among industries, and these gaps gradually increase in 2005–2019. Third, industrial upgrading significantly improves China's industrial eco-efficiency, and the results of robustness test also support this conclusion. Fourth, industrial upgrading positively affects the eco-efficiency of both high-pollution and low-pollution industries, and the positive effect on low-pollution industries is slightly greater than that on high-pollution industries. Fifth, industrial upgrading improves industrial eco-efficiency by enhancing production efficiency and energy utilization efficiency and optimizing energy consumption structure.

Keywords: Industrial upgrading; Eco-efficiency; Industrial sector; Sub-industries; Index system (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:124:y:2023:i:c:s0140988323002724

DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2023.106774

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