IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i8p2595-d159655.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Water-Economy Nexus and Sustainable Transition of the Pearl River Delta, China (1999–2015)

Author

Listed:
  • Lei Liu

    (School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

  • Tong Wu

    (School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

  • Zhihang Xu

    (School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

  • Xiaofeng Pan

    (Shenzhen Environmental Monitoring Center, Shenzhen 518049, China)

Abstract

As the world’s largest urban area in both size and population, the rapid development of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) during past three decades has been accompanied by worsening water problems. This paper examines the water-economy nexus of the PRD from the perspectives of both water use and water quality between 1999 and 2015, with a Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition model as well as an Environmental Kuznets Curve model, in order to assess the sustainable transition of the area. The results show that in this period, while the water dependency of economic development went down by a significant extent, the efficiency gains did not prevail over problems caused by economic scale expansion. However, at the city level, the 2008 financial crisis stimulated an economic transformation of the main economies from being scale-dominated to being efficiency-dominated. From 2009 to 2015, the sewage decreases driven by water dependency of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Dongguan outweighed the sewage increases driven by economic scale. While sewage discharge increased, the river water quality of the PRD kept improving. We found an inverted “U”-shaped relationship between GDP per capita and water quality of the PRD, with GDP per capita = ¥14,228.27 as the inflection point for river water quality. Once dubbed the “factory floor” of the world, the PRD has moved into a less environmentally impactful phase of development, with more expenditure on environmental protection and policy reform. However, given the huge and ever-increasing economic and population scales, ensuring a sufficient and safe water supply through industrial recycling and public education, along with even further pollution abatement, will be particularly important.

Suggested Citation

  • Lei Liu & Tong Wu & Zhihang Xu & Xiaofeng Pan, 2018. "The Water-Economy Nexus and Sustainable Transition of the Pearl River Delta, China (1999–2015)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2595-:d:159655
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2595/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/8/2595/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kumiko Kondo, 2005. "Economic analysis of water resources in Japan: using factor decomposition analysis based on input-output tables," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 7(2), pages 109-129, June.
    2. Cazcarro, Ignacio & Duarte, Rosa & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio, 2013. "Economic growth and the evolution of water consumption in Spain: A structural decomposition analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 51-61.
    3. Orubu, Christopher O. & Omotor, Douglason G., 2011. "Environmental quality and economic growth: Searching for environmental Kuznets curves for air and water pollutants in Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(7), pages 4178-4188, July.
    4. Suleyman Muyibi & Abdul Ambali & Garoot Eissa, 2008. "The Impact of Economic Development on Water Pollution: Trends and Policy Actions in Malaysia," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 22(4), pages 485-508, April.
    5. Cropper, Maureen & Griffiths, Charles, 1994. "The Interaction of Population Growth and Environmental Quality," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 250-254, May.
    6. Distefano, Tiziano & Kelly, Scott, 2017. "Are we in deep water? Water scarcity and its limits to economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 130-147.
    7. Rowan Roberts & Nicole Mitchell & Justin Douglas, 2006. "Water and Australia’s future economic growth," Economic Roundup, The Treasury, Australian Government, issue 1, pages 53-69, March.
    8. Jaesung Choi & Robert Hearne & Kihoon Lee & David Roberts, 2015. "The relation between water pollution and economic growth using the environmental Kuznets curve: a case study in South Korea," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 499-512, May.
    9. Rosa Duarte & Vicente Pinilla & Ana Serrano, 2014. "Looking backward to look forward: water use and economic growth from a long-term perspective," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 46(2), pages 212-224, January.
    10. B. W. Ang & Ki-Hong Choi, 1997. "Decomposition of Aggregate Energy and Gas Emission Intensities for Industry: A Refined Divisia Index Method," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 3), pages 59-73.
    11. Zhao, X. & Tillotson, M.R. & Liu, Y.W. & Guo, W. & Yang, A.H. & Li, Y.F., 2017. "Index decomposition analysis of urban crop water footprint," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 348(C), pages 25-32.
    12. Seung-Hoon Yoo, 2007. "Urban Water Consumption and Regional Economic Growth: The Case of Taejeon, Korea," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 21(8), pages 1353-1361, August.
    13. Hua-peng Qin & Qiong Su & Soon-Thiam Khu & Nv Tang, 2014. "Water Quality Changes during Rapid Urbanization in the Shenzhen River Catchment: An Integrated View of Socio-Economic and Infrastructure Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-19, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yitian Ren & Heng Li & Liyin Shen & Yu Zhang & Yang Chen & Jinhuan Wang, 2018. "What Is the Efficiency of Fast Urbanization? A China Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-26, September.
    2. Yu Wei & Siyuan He & Gang Li & Xutu Chen & Linlu Shi & Guangchun Lei & Yang Su, 2019. "Identifying Nature–Community Nexuses for Sustainably Managing Social and Ecological Systems: A Case Study of the Qianjiangyuan National Park Pilot Area," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Shi, Changfeng & Zhao, Yi & Zhang, Chenjun & Pang, Qinghua & Chen, Qiyong & Li, Ang, 2022. "Research on the driving effect of production electricity consumption changes in the Yangtze River Economic Zone - Based on regional and industrial perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    4. Jorge Alejandro Silva, 2022. "Implementation and Integration of Sustainability in the Water Industry: A Systematic Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-28, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Na Qiao & Lan Fang & Lan Mu, 2020. "Evaluating the impacts of water resources technology progress on development and economic growth over the Northwest, China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-14, March.
    2. Darío Serrano-Puente, 2021. "Are we moving towards an energy-efficient low-carbon economy? An input-output LMDI decomposition of CO2 emissions for Spain and the EU28," Working Papers 2104, Banco de España.
    3. Lin Cui & Alistair Hunt & Bruce Morley, 2021. "The Effectiveness of Environmental Spending in China and the Environmental Kuznets Curve," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Darío Serrano-Puente, 2021. "Are we moving toward an energy-efficient low-carbon economy? An input–output LMDI decomposition of CO $$_{2}$$ 2 emissions for Spain and the EU28," SERIEs: Journal of the Spanish Economic Association, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 12(2), pages 151-229, June.
    5. D. Jingyuan I. & L. Chong I. & L. Marsiliani & D. Jingyuan I. & L. Chong I. & L. Marsiliani, 2018. "Взаимосвязь между экономическим ростом и окружающей средой в Пекине на основе показателя PM2.5 // The Relationship between Growth and the Environment in Beijing, Using PM2.5 Concentrations," Review of Business and Economics Studies // Review of Business and Economics Studies, Финансовый Университет // Financial University, vol. 6(2), pages 5-18.
    6. Rosa Duarte & Vicente Pinilla & Ana Serrano, 2018. "Income, Economic Structure and Trade: Impacts on Recent Water Use Trends in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13, January.
    7. Jena, Pradyot, 2009. "A study of changing patterns of energy consumption and energy efficiency in the Indian manufacturing sector," MPRA Paper 31195, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Guangyao Deng & Liujuan Wang & Yanan Song, 2015. "Effect of Variation of Water-Use Efficiency on Structure of Virtual Water Trade - Analysis Based on Input–Output Model," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(8), pages 2947-2965, June.
    9. Sébastien Marchand, 2012. "Legal Origin, Colonial Origins and Deforestation," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 32(2), pages 1653-1670.
    10. Araujo, Claudio & Bonjean, Catherine Araujo & Combes, Jean-Louis & Combes Motel, Pascale & Reis, Eustaquio J., 2009. "Property rights and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2461-2468, June.
    11. Löschel, Andreas & Pothen, Frank & Schymura, Michael, 2015. "Peeling the onion: Analyzing aggregate, national and sectoral energy intensity in the European Union," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 52(S1), pages 63-75.
    12. Bradford David F. & Fender Rebecca A & Shore Stephen H. & Wagner Martin, 2005. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve: Exploring a Fresh Specification," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 4(1), pages 1-30, June.
    13. Yeray Hernandez & Gustavo Naumann & Serafin Corral & Paulo Barbosa, 2020. "Water Footprint Expands with Gross Domestic Product," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-6, October.
    14. Parvez, Md Rezwanul & Ripplinger, David & Maduraperuma, Buddhika, 2015. "Modeling Land Use Pattern Change Analysis in the Northern Great Plains: A Novel Approach," 2015 AAEA & WAEA Joint Annual Meeting, July 26-28, San Francisco, California 205868, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Sebri, Maamar, 2009. "La Zone Méditerranéenne Face à la Pollution de L’air : Une Investigation Econométrique [The Mediterranean Zone in front of Air pollution: an Econometric Investigation]," MPRA Paper 32382, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    16. Fabian Knorre & Martin Wagner & Maximilian Grupe, 2021. "Monitoring Cointegrating Polynomial Regressions: Theory and Application to the Environmental Kuznets Curves for Carbon and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-35, March.
    17. Sébastien Marchand, 2011. "Technical Efficiency, Farm Size and Tropical Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazonian Forest," CERDI Working papers halshs-00552981, HAL.
    18. Islam, Asif & Hyland, Marie, 2019. "The drivers and impacts of water infrastructure reliability – a global analysis of manufacturing firms," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 143-157.
    19. Benhin, J.K.A. & Barbier, E.B., 2001. "The Effects of the Structural Adjustment Program on Deforestation in Ghana," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 30(1), pages 66-80, April.
    20. Yiming He & Thomas M. Fullerton, 2020. "The economic analysis of instrument variables estimation in dynamic optimal models with an application to the water consumption," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 66(9), pages 413-423.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:8:p:2595-:d:159655. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.