Estimation of Urban High-Quality Development Level Using a Three-Stage Stacks-Based Measure Model: A Case Study of Urban Agglomerations in the Yellow River Basin

Sisi Liu (), Suchang Yang and Ningyi Liu
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Sisi Liu: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Suchang Yang: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Ningyi Liu: School of Statistics, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou 730020, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 18, 1-24

Abstract: The high-quality development paradigm, which emphasizes the organic unity of efficiency, equity, and sustainability, has gained increasing global recognition as an extension of the concept of sustainable green development. In this study, we use green development efficiency as a metric of high-quality development and employ a three-stage Stacks-based Measure Model (SBM) in order to assess the true green development efficiency (GDE) levels of urban agglomerations in China’s Yellow River Basin (YRB) from 2011 to 2020. The results indicate that external environmental factors significantly impacted the green development efficiency levels of these urban agglomerations; after removing these factors, their green development efficiency shifted from trendless fluctuations to more consistent upward trends. Additionally, the disparities between different urban agglomerations are the primary sources of overall differences in green development efficiency in the YRB. Influenced by economic development levels and administrative divisions, the degree of internal development imbalance varies among urban agglomerations; however, regional disparities show a decreasing trend, indicating a catch-up effect. Based on these findings, we further propose relevant policy recommendations in this paper. The results of this study help us to understand the current status and trends of high-quality development in the urban agglomerations of the YRB, providing empirical evidence for policy formulation.

Keywords: green development efficiency; three-stage SBM model; high-quality development; regional economies; Yellow River Basin (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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