IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/recore/v126y2017icp1-11.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Regional disparities in the Chinese economy. An emergy evaluation of provincial international trade

Author

Listed:
  • Tian, Xu
  • Geng, Yong
  • Viglia, Silvio
  • Bleischwitz, Raimund
  • Buonocore, Elvira
  • Ulgiati, Sergio

Abstract

Due to different resource endowment, geographical features, culture and population sizes, different regions are facing different challenges and therefore need to adopt different strategies toward sustainable development. China’s Eastern, Central and Western provinces are taking different policies on international trade in order to boost their economy. This paper tries to investigate to what extent a province receives a trade advantage and the corresponding environmental resource flows by employing an emergy accounting method for the period of 1993–2012. Three emergy trade indicators (Exchange Emergy Ratio, Emergy Benefit Ratio and Opportunity Ratio) were calculated along with conventional monetary indicators, to describe the benefits and losses in trade over the investigated period. The results show that the total trade volume of each province increased, but the trajectory of growth has a clear regional disparity. Eastern provinces gained economic advantages during the investigated period, while western provinces did not. The key finding is that benefits in terms of resource availability and work potential are not always in line with monetary advantages. Foreign trade partners received more advantages than their Chinese counterparts although Eastern Chinese provinces performed much better than both Central and Western Chinese provinces. Policy suggestions are then raised so that more sustainable trade policies can be prepared by considering the local realities.

Suggested Citation

  • Tian, Xu & Geng, Yong & Viglia, Silvio & Bleischwitz, Raimund & Buonocore, Elvira & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2017. "Regional disparities in the Chinese economy. An emergy evaluation of provincial international trade," Resources, Conservation & Recycling, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 1-11.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:recore:v:126:y:2017:i:c:p:1-11
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.07.017
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344917301969
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resconrec.2017.07.017?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lou, Bo & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2013. "Identifying the environmental support and constraints to the Chinese economic growth—An application of the Emergy Accounting method," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 217-233.
    2. Chen, Anping, 2010. "Reducing China's regional disparities: Is there a growth cost?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 2-13, March.
    3. Li, Huanan & Mu, Hailin & Zhang, Ming & Gui, Shusen, 2012. "Analysis of regional difference on impact factors of China’s energy – Related CO2 emissions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 319-326.
    4. Su, Bin & Ang, B.W., 2014. "Input–output analysis of CO2 emissions embodied in trade: A multi-region model for China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 377-384.
    5. Xu, Yan & Masui, Toshihiko, 2009. "Local air pollutant emission reduction and ancillary carbon benefits of SO2 control policies: Application of AIM/CGE model to China," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 198(1), pages 315-325, October.
    6. Brown, Mark T. & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2016. "Assessing the global environmental sources driving the geobiosphere: A revised emergy baseline," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 339(C), pages 126-132.
    7. Zhang, Youguo, 2009. "Structural decomposition analysis of sources of decarbonizing economic development in China; 1992-2006," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2399-2405, June.
    8. Tian, Xu & Geng, Yong & Dai, Hancheng & Fujita, Tsuyoshi & Wu, Rui & Liu, Zhe & Masui, Toshihiko & Yang, Xie, 2016. "The effects of household consumption pattern on regional development: A case study of Shanghai," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 49-60.
    9. Li, Zheng & Pan, Lingying & Fu, Feng & Liu, Pei & Ma, Linwei & Amorelli, Angelo, 2014. "China's regional disparities in energy consumption: An input–output analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 426-438.
    10. Guo, Ju’e & Zhang, Zengkai & Meng, Lei, 2012. "China’s provincial CO2 emissions embodied in international and interprovincial trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 486-497.
    11. Bi, Jun & Zhang, Rongrong & Wang, Haikun & Liu, Miaomiao & Wu, Yi, 2011. "The benchmarks of carbon emissions and policy implications for China's cities: Case of Nanjing," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(9), pages 4785-4794, September.
    12. Geng, Yong & Tian, Xu & Sarkis, Joseph & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2017. "China-USA Trade: Indicators for Equitable and Environmentally Balanced Resource Exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 245-254.
    13. Kanada, Momoe & Dong, Liang & Fujita, Tsuyoshi & Fujii, Minoru & Inoue, Tsuyoshi & Hirano, Yujiro & Togawa, Takuya & Geng, Yong, 2013. "Regional disparity and cost-effective SO2 pollution control in China: A case study in 5 mega-cities," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1322-1331.
    14. Sheng, Yu & Shi, Xunpeng & Zhang, Dandan, 2014. "Economic growth, regional disparities and energy demand in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 31-39.
    15. Zhang, Bo & Yang, T.R. & Chen, B. & Sun, X.D., 2016. "China’s regional CH4 emissions: Characteristics, interregional transfer and mitigation policies," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1184-1195.
    16. Mischke, Peggy & Xiong, Weiming, 2015. "Mapping and benchmarking regional disparities in China’s energy supply, transformation, and end-use in 2010," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 359-369.
    17. Zhu Liu & Steven J. Davis & Kuishuang Feng & Klaus Hubacek & Sai Liang & Anadon, Laura Diaz & Bin Chen & Liu, Jingru & Yan, Jinyue & Dabo Guan, "undated". "Targeted opportunities to address the climate-trade dilemma in China," Working Paper 336456, Harvard University OpenScholar.
    18. Dong, Xiaobin & Ulgiati, Sergio & Yan, Maochao & Gao, Wangsheng, 2008. "Progress, influence and perspectives of emergy theories in China, in support of environmentally sound economic development and equitable trade," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1019-1028, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Sun, Xudong & Li, Jiashuo & Qiao, Han & Zhang, Bo, 2017. "Energy implications of China's regional development: New insights from multi-regional input-output analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 118-131.
    2. Zhang, B. & Qiao, H. & Chen, Z.M. & Chen, B., 2016. "Growth in embodied energy transfers via China’s domestic trade: Evidence from multi-regional input–output analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1093-1105.
    3. Tian, Xu & Sarkis, Joseph, 2020. "Expanding green supply chain performance measurement through emergy accounting and analysis," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    4. Zhang, Zengkai & Guo, Ju'e & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2014. "The effects of direct trade within China on regional and national CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 161-175.
    5. Pan, Hengyu & Geng, Yong & Jiang, Ping & Dong, Huijuan & Sun, Lu & Wu, Rui, 2018. "An emergy based sustainability evaluation on a combined landfill and LFG power generation system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 310-322.
    6. Evariste Rutebuka & Lixiao Zhang & Ernest Frimpong Asamoah & Mingyue Pang & Emmanuel Rukundo, 2018. "Resource Dynamism of the Rwandan Economy: An Emergy Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, May.
    7. Tan, Feifei & Lu, Zhaohua, 2015. "Current status and future choices of regional sectors-energy-related CO2 emissions: The third economic growth pole of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 237-251.
    8. Zhang, Bo & Qiao, H. & Chen, B., 2015. "Embodied energy uses by China’s four municipalities: A study based on multi-regional input–output model," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 318(C), pages 138-149.
    9. Rui Huang & Klaus Hubacek & Kuishuang Feng & Xiaojie Li & Chao Zhang, 2018. "Re-Examining Embodied SO 2 and CO 2 Emissions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-17, May.
    10. Zheng, Jiali & Mi, Zhifu & Coffman, D'Maris & Milcheva, Stanimira & Shan, Yuli & Guan, Dabo & Wang, Shouyang, 2019. "Regional development and carbon emissions in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 25-36.
    11. Meng, Bo & Wang, Jianguo & Andrew, Robbie & Xiao, Hao & Xue, Jinjun & Peters, Glen P., 2017. "Spatial spillover effects in determining China's regional CO2 emissions growth: 2007–2010," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 161-173.
    12. Yuhuan Zhao & Song Wang & Jiaqin Yang & Zhonghua Zhang & Ya Liu, 2016. "Input-output analysis of carbon emissions embodied in China-Japan trade," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 48(16), pages 1515-1529, April.
    13. Li, Meng & Gao, Yuning & Meng, Bo & Yang, Zhusong, 2021. "Managing the mitigation: Analysis of the effectiveness of target-based policies on China's provincial carbon emission and transfer," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    14. Xing Zhou & Meihua Zhou & Ming Zhang, 2016. "Contrastive analyses of the influence factors of interprovincial carbon emission induced by industry energy in China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(3), pages 1405-1433, April.
    15. Hehua Zhao & Hongwen Chen & Lei He, 2022. "Embodied Carbon Emissions and Regional Transfer Characteristics—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-20, February.
    16. Hairuo Wang & Yexin Liu & Junxue Zhang & He Zhang & Li Huang & Dan Xu & Chunxia Zhang, 2022. "Sustainability Investigation in the Building Cement Production System Based on the LCA-Emergy Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-22, December.
    17. Li, Zheng & Pan, Lingying & Fu, Feng & Liu, Pei & Ma, Linwei & Amorelli, Angelo, 2014. "China's regional disparities in energy consumption: An input–output analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 426-438.
    18. Leying Wu & Zheng Wang, 2017. "Examining drivers of the emissions embodied in trade," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(4), pages 1-14, April.
    19. Feng, Y.Y. & Chen, S.Q. & Zhang, L.X., 2013. "System dynamics modeling for urban energy consumption and CO2 emissions: A case study of Beijing, China," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 44-52.
    20. Wang, H. & Ang, B.W. & Su, Bin, 2017. "Assessing drivers of economy-wide energy use and emissions: IDA versus SDA," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 585-599.

    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:eee:recore:v:126:y:2017:i:c:p:1-11. 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: Kai Meng (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/resources-conservation-and-recycling .

    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.