Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) Study of the Provincial Ecological Footprints and Domestic Embodied Footprints Traded among China’s 30 Provinces

Decun Wu and Jinping Liu
Additional contact information
Decun Wu: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Jinping Liu: School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Sustainability, 2016, vol. 8, issue 12, 1-31

Abstract: Rapid development in China has led to imbalances and inequities of ecological resources among the provinces and regions. In this study, an environmentally extended multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model was used to analyze the imbalances, inequities and pressures of the ecological footprints (EF) of China’s 30 provinces in 2007. In addition, by decomposing the total product consumption coefficients, we calculated the net embodied EF of the flows among the provinces by the total amount, land type and sector. The results showed that most provinces presented EF deficits. Significant differences were observed between the ecological pressure in consumption (EPC) and ecological pressure in production (EPP) for each province because of the net embodied EF trade; the EPCs of Shanghai (15.16), Beijing (7.81) and Tianjin (7.81) were the largest and presented descending EPPs, whereas the EPCs of Heilongjiang (0.98), Hebei (0.98), Xinjiang (0.98) and Guangxi (0.98) were under the threshold value (1) and presented ascending EPPs. The carbon footprint in the secondary sector was the main embodied EF of the flows among the provinces responsible for inequities. Finally, based on the various conditions of the provinces in different geographical regions, we have provided suggestions for regionally balanced development that can maintain the EPP and EPC values under the threshold for each province.

Keywords: ecological footprint (EF); multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model; China; biocapacity (BC); ecological pressure (EP) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1345/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/12/1345/ (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:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:12:p:1345-:d:85838

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

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