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Do neighboring prefectures matter in promoting eco-efficiency? Empirical evidence from China

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  • Yu, Yantuan
  • Peng, Chong
  • Li, Yushuang

Abstract

This study investigates the spatial externality of eco-efficiency using a novel panel dataset of 191 prefectural-level cities in China covering the period 2003–2013. We apply an extended data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, while simultaneously considering metafrontier, undesirable outputs, and super-efficiency slack-based measure (Meta-US-SBM) to estimate eco-efficiency. Then, we use a two-regime spatial Durbin model to examine the spatial externality of eco-efficiency. The empirical results indicate that: 1) there are significant spatiotemporal disparities in eco-efficiency and, on average, the eco-efficiency of the eastern region is relatively higher than that of the central and western regions; 2) the kernel density estimations of eco-efficiency of different regions reveal left-skewed distributions; 3) the estimates of the two-regime spatial Durbin model indicate the presence of emulation of higher eco-efficiency by the prefectural-level cities, while the sensitivity analysis indicates that the conclusions are robust for different spatial weighting matrix specifications. The policy implications presented are based on the empirical results.

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  • Yu, Yantuan & Peng, Chong & Li, Yushuang, 2019. "Do neighboring prefectures matter in promoting eco-efficiency? Empirical evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 456-465.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:144:y:2019:i:c:p:456-465
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2018.03.021
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