Multifactor Configurational Pathways Driving the Eco-Efficiency of Cultivated Land Utilization in China: A Dynamic Panel QCA

Zihao Xu, Jialong Duan, Lei Zhan, Chuanmin Yan and Zhigang Huang ()
Additional contact information
Zihao Xu: College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Jialong Duan: Research Institute of Forestry Policy and Information, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China
Lei Zhan: College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Chuanmin Yan: College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China
Zhigang Huang: College of Agriculture, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 8, 1-27

Abstract: Cultivated land is fundamental to agricultural production, and the eco-efficiency of cultivated land utilization is widely acknowledged as a crucial indicator for assessing rational land use. Accordingly, this study applies a Super-SBM model with undesirable outputs to evaluate the eco-efficiency of cultivated land utilization (ECLU) across 31 provinces in China utilizing provincial panel data from 2005 to 2023 and further employs dynamic fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to investigate, across spatial and temporal dimensions, how government policy, agricultural technology, socioeconomic conditions, and natural conditions interact to achieve a high ECLU and to elucidate the diverse configurational pathways through which these factors converge to deliver a high ECLU. Our findings demonstrate that the ECLU originates from the joint influence of several factors, and no single factor alone can provide a high level of eco-efficiency. In particular, a high GDP per capita and strong government agricultural expenditure intensity are pivotal for achieving a high ECLU, whereas a low GDP per capita and weak government agricultural expenditure intensity are the core conditions associated with poor eco-efficiency outcomes. We identify three distinct driving pathways that foster a high ECLU: the Economy–Technology–Government Synergistic Pathway, Nature–Economy Dual-Driver Pathway, and Government-Supported Land–Economy Pathway. Between-configuration consistency (BECONS) exhibits no significant temporal effect; however, a constellation of external factors triggered a pronounced, collective reduction in configurational consistency from 2008 to 2014. Regional analysis reveals pronounced heterogeneity: Spatially, the Economy–Technology–Government Synergistic Pathway is concentrated in China’s central and eastern provinces, the Nature–Economy Dual-Driver Pathway clusters mainly in the central belt, and the Government-Supported Land–Economy Pathway predominates in the west.

Keywords: eco-efficiency of cultivated land utilization; configuration analysis; Super-SBM model; dynamic QCA (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/8/1549/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/8/1549/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:8:p:1549-:d:1711834

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().