IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i9p5616-d810024.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy-Saving Effect of Regional Development Strategy in Western China

Author

Listed:
  • Chunji Zheng

    (School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830000, China)

  • Feng Deng

    (School of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830000, China)

  • Chengyou Li

    (School of Finance, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China
    Centre for Economic Research, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)

Abstract

Improving energy utilisation efficiency is imperative to ensuring economic growth and achieving sustainable development. China’s Western Development Strategy (WDS) is a major driver to accelerate the economic development of Western China. It stresses the rational control of energy consumption through the vigorous development of a circular economy to achieve the goal of energy conservation. Based on the measurement of energy utilisation efficiency at the provincial level in China, this study evaluates the impact of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency through a synthetic control method. Then, the internal impact mechanism of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency is investigated. In addition, this paper tests the heterogeneous effects of the WDS on energy utilisation efficiency from the perspective of the regional scale, resource endowment, performance appraisal, and institutional quality. It is found that the WDS improves energy utilisation efficiency not only through direct effects but also indirectly by accelerating the spatial agglomeration of advantage industries in Western China, which enhanced technological innovation capacity, optimised industrial structure, and improved the human capital level to ameliorate energy utilisation efficiency. Further analysis proves that the energy-saving effect of the WDS is significant in provinces with a small regional scale, less abundant resources, higher levels of the performance appraisal index and quality system. Accordingly, some targeted policy suggestions are made for the government herein.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunji Zheng & Feng Deng & Chengyou Li, 2022. "Energy-Saving Effect of Regional Development Strategy in Western China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-22, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5616-:d:810024
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5616/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/9/5616/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Fleisher, Belton & Li, Haizheng & Zhao, Min Qiang, 2010. "Human capital, economic growth, and regional inequality in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 215-231, July.
    2. Lv, Yulan & Chen, Wei & Cheng, Jianquan, 2020. "Effects of urbanization on energy efficiency in China: New evidence from short run and long run efficiency models," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    3. Kenta Tanaka & Shunsuke Managi, 2017. "Analysis of energy use efficiency in Japanese factories:Industry agglomeration effect for energy efficiency," Working Papers SDES-2017-3, Kochi University of Technology, School of Economics and Management, revised May 2017.
    4. Alberto Abadie & Javier Gardeazabal, 2003. "The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(1), pages 113-132, March.
    5. Alfredo M. Pereira & Rui M. Pereira, 2017. "Reducing carbon emissions in Portugal: the relative roles of fossil fuel prices, energy efficiency, and carbon taxation," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 60(10), pages 1825-1852, October.
    6. Jiang, Lei & He, Shixiong & Zhou, Haifeng & Kong, Hao & Wang, Jionghua & Cui, Yuanzheng & Wang, Lei, 2021. "Coordination between sulfur dioxide pollution control and rapid economic growth in China: Evidence from satellite observations and spatial econometric models," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 279-291.
    7. Chen, Maozhi & Sinha, Avik & Hu, Kexiang & Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim, 2021. "Impact of technological innovation on energy efficiency in industry 4.0 era: Moderation of shadow economy in sustainable development," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    8. Levinson, Arik, 2003. "Environmental Regulatory Competition: A Status Report and Some New Evidence," National Tax Journal, National Tax Association;National Tax Journal, vol. 56(1), pages 91-106, March.
    9. Song, Malin & Xie, Qianjiao & Shen, Zhiyang, 2021. "Impact of green credit on high-efficiency utilization of energy in China considering environmental constraints," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    10. Yuan, Huaxi & Feng, Yidai & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Cen, Yan, 2020. "How does manufacturing agglomeration affect green economic efficiency?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    11. Sun, Huaping & Edziah, Bless Kofi & Sun, Chuanwang & Kporsu, Anthony Kwaku, 2019. "Institutional quality, green innovation and energy efficiency," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    12. Eric Maskin & Yingyi Qian & Chenggang Xu, 2000. "Incentives, Information, and Organizational Form," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 67(2), pages 359-378.
    13. Choi, Jun-Ki & Eom, Jiyong & McClory, Emma, 2018. "Economic and environmental impacts of local utility-delivered industrial energy-efficiency rebate programs," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 289-298.
    14. Ge Huang & Wei Pan & Cheng Hu & Wu-Lin Pan & Wan-Qiang Dai, 2021. "Energy Utilization Efficiency of China Considering Carbon Emissions—Based on Provincial Panel Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-14, January.
    15. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu, 2020. "How do environmental regulation and environmental decentralization affect green total factor energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    16. Cheong, Tsun Se & Wu, Yanrui, 2014. "The impacts of structural transformation and industrial upgrading on regional inequality in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 339-350.
    17. Guimarães, Paulo & Figueiredo, Octávio & Woodward, Douglas, 2009. "Dartboard tests for the location quotient," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 360-364, May.
    18. Qu, Chenyao & Shao, Jun & Shi, Zhenkai, 2020. "Does financial agglomeration promote the increase of energy efficiency in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    19. Baomin Dong & Jiong Gong & Xin Zhao, 2012. "FDI and environmental regulation: pollution haven or a race to the top?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 216-237, April.
    20. Abadie, Alberto & Diamond, Alexis & Hainmueller, Jens, 2010. "Synthetic Control Methods for Comparative Case Studies: Estimating the Effect of California’s Tobacco Control Program," Journal of the American Statistical Association, American Statistical Association, vol. 105(490), pages 493-505.
    21. Xu, Chen & Bin, Qiu & Shaoqin, Sun, 2021. "Polycentric spatial structure and energy efficiency: Evidence from China's provincial panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    22. Liu, Zuankuo & Xin, Li, 2019. "Has China's Belt and Road Initiative promoted its green total factor productivity？——Evidence from primary provinces along the route," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 360-369.
    23. Mohamed Sameer Hoosain & Babu Sena Paul & Seeram Ramakrishna, 2020. "The Impact of 4IR Digital Technologies and Circular Thinking on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-16, December.
    24. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    25. Zhu, Bangzhu & Zhang, Mengfan & Zhou, Yanhua & Wang, Ping & Sheng, Jichuan & He, Kaijian & Wei, Yi-Ming & Xie, Rui, 2019. "Exploring the effect of industrial structure adjustment on interprovincial green development efficiency in China: A novel integrated approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    26. Orlov, Anton & Grethe, Harald & McDonald, Scott, 2013. "Carbon taxation in Russia: Prospects for a double dividend and improved energy efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 128-140.
    27. Chen, Wenying & Li, Hualin & Wu, Zongxin, 2010. "Western China energy development and west to east energy transfer: Application of the Western China Sustainable Energy Development Model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(11), pages 7106-7120, November.
    28. He, Lingyun & Liu, Rongyan & Zhong, Zhangqi & Wang, Deqing & Xia, Yufei, 2019. "Can green financial development promote renewable energy investment efficiency? A consideration of bank credit," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 974-984.
    29. He, Pinglin & Sun, Yulong & Niu, Hanlu & Long, Chengfeng & Li, Shufeng, 2021. "The long and short-term effects of environmental tax on energy efficiency: Perspective of OECD energy tax and vehicle traffic tax," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 307-325.
    30. Hao, Yu & Gai, Zhiqiang & Wu, Haitao, 2020. "How do resource misallocation and government corruption affect green total factor energy efficiency? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    31. Chang, Chun-Ping & Wen, Jun & Dong, Minyi & Hao, Yu, 2018. "Does government ideology affect environmental pollutions? New evidence from instrumental variable quantile regression estimations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 386-400.
    32. Dhesigen Naidoo & Luxon Nhamo & Shenelle Lottering & Sylvester Mpandeli & Stanley Liphadzi & Albert T. Modi & Cristina Trois & Tafadzwanashe Mabhaudhi, 2021. "Transitional Pathways towards Achieving a Circular Economy in the Water, Energy, and Food Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-16, September.
    33. John Whalley & Xiliang Zhao, 2010. "The Contribution of Human Capital to China's Economic Growth," NBER Working Papers 16592, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    34. Doytch, Nadia & Narayan, Seema, 2016. "Does FDI influence renewable energy consumption? An analysis of sectoral FDI impact on renewable and non-renewable industrial energy consumption," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 291-301.
    35. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Wei, Xiaoyun & Sun, Chuanwang & Du, Gang, 2018. "Impact of factor price distortions on energy efficiency: Evidence from provincial-level panel data in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 573-583.
    36. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu & Yang, Xiaodong & Xie, Guo, 2021. "Does internet development improve green total factor energy efficiency? Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    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. Xiaoyu Ju & Jie Wan & Ziwei Zhang & Chunai Ma & Liangwei Zhang & Xiaodong Zhao, 2023. "Impact of Chinese Carbon Emissions Trading Policy on Chongqing’s Carbon Emissions and Economic Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-16, February.

    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. Jiang, Yufan & Wang, Hongyan & Liu, Zuankuo, 2021. "The impact of the free trade zone on green total factor productivity ——evidence from the shanghai pilot free trade zone," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PB).
    2. Guo, Qiu-tong & Dong, Yong & Feng, Biao & Zhang, Hao, 2023. "Can green finance development promote total-factor energy efficiency? Empirical evidence from China based on a spatial Durbin model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    3. Yang Liu & Ruochan Xiong & Shigong Lv & Da Gao, 2022. "The Impact of Digital Finance on Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency: Evidence at China’s City Level," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Ren, Siyu & Hao, Yu & Wu, Haitao, 2022. "The role of outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on green total factor energy efficiency: Does institutional quality matters? Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    5. Xiaoxue Liu & Fuzhen Cao & Shuangshuang Fan, 2022. "Does Human Capital Matter for China’s Green Growth?—Examination Based on Econometric Model and Machine Learning Methods," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-27, September.
    6. Lee, Chi-Chuan & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    7. Jiang, Qichuan & Ma, Xuejiao & Wang, Yun, 2021. "How does the one belt one road initiative affect the green economic growth?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    8. Wang, Ying & Deng, Xiangzheng & Zhang, Hongwei & Liu, Yujie & Yue, Tianxiang & Liu, Gang, 2022. "Energy endowment, environmental regulation, and energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    9. Zhuo, Chengfeng & Xie, Yuping & Mao, Yanhua & Chen, Pengqin & Li, Yiqiao, 2022. "Can cross-regional environmental protection promote urban green development: Zero-sum game or win-win choice?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    10. Feng, Yidai & Yuan, Huaxi & Liu, Yaobin, 2023. "The energy-saving effect in the new transformation of urbanization," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 41-59.
    11. Feng, Yidai & Yuan, Huaxi & Liu, Yaobin & Zhang, Shaohui, 2023. "Does new-type urbanization policy promote green energy efficiency? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    12. Muhammad Zahid Rafique & Nicolas Schneider & Umer Shahzad & Malin Song, 2022. "High‐tech industries, financial expansion, and low‐carbon energy deployment along the Belt and Road Initiative," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1779-1795, December.
    13. Huiling Liu & Jianhua Zhang & Hongyun Huang & Haitao Wu & Yu Hao, 2023. "Environmental good exports and green total factor productivity: Lessons from China," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(3), pages 1681-1703, June.
    14. Dong, Feng & Li, Yangfan & Li, Kun & Zhu, Jiao & Zheng, Lu, 2022. "Can smart city construction improve urban ecological total factor energy efficiency in China? Fresh evidence from generalized synthetic control method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    15. Song, Malin & Xie, Qianjiao & Shen, Zhiyang, 2021. "Impact of green credit on high-efficiency utilization of energy in China considering environmental constraints," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    16. Eleftherios Giovanis & Oznur Ozdamar, 2021. "Regional employment support programs and multidimensional poverty of youth in Turkey," Eurasian Economic Review, Springer;Eurasia Business and Economics Society, vol. 11(4), pages 583-609, December.
    17. Senhua Huang & Lingming Chen, 2023. "The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Urban Total-Factor Energy Efficiency: Evidence from 275 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    18. Kodjo Adandohoin & Vigninou Gammadigbe, 2022. "The revenue efficiency consequences of the announcement of a tax transition reform: The case of WAEMU countries," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 34(S1), pages 195-218, July.
    19. Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Kırdar, Murat G., 2017. "Quasi-experimental impact estimates of immigrant labor supply shocks: The role of treatment and comparison group matching and relative skill composition," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 282-315.
    20. Da Gao & Chang Liu & Xinyan Wei & Yang Liu, 2023. "Can River Chief System Policy Improve Enterprises’ Energy Efficiency? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-17, February.

    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:14:y:2022:i:9:p:5616-:d:810024. 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.