Regional eco-efficiency evaluation and spatial pattern analysis of the Yangtze River Economic Zone

doi:10.1007/s11442-020-1773-0

Abstract

Abstract:

The environmental ecology of the Yangtze River Economic Zone (YREZ) faces ecological function decline, deterioration and degradation under intense human activities, long-term development and utilization and its economy has developed rapidly over recent decades. Eco-efficiency is considered as a measure of coordinated development of economy, resources, environment and ecology, and is currently considered a very important issue. In this paper, based on the slack-based measure and data envelope analysis model, we take 129 prefecture-level cities of the YREZ as the study unit and measure the eco-efficiency of the YREZ in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, which considers undesired output. The evaluation of the status quo of the regional eco-efficiency development was carried out at provincial, prefectural and city scales. The spatial autocorrelation test model and standard deviation ellipse were used to analyze the spatially distributed characteristics and the evolutionary regularity of eco-efficiency. Our study suggested that the eco-efficiency value varied significantly at different spatiotemporal scales and the overall distribution presented an “N-shaped” pattern, the value is the largest downstream and the smallest upstream. Regional eco-efficiency presented certain volatility in growth and a clear spatial positive agglomeration trend from 2000 to 2015. The spatial distribution of each agglomeration area was also significantly different, forming some high-high agglomeration areas at the center of the shaft with Shanghai and surrounding cities, and some low-low agglomeration areas at the center with middle reaches and upstream cities. The low-high over-aggregation and high-low polarization clusters were fewer. At the same time, with the change of the research period, the degree of positive agglomeration became increasingly pronounced and the eco-efficiency gap of the neighborhood unit reduced. The regional eco-efficiency value of the YREZ presented a spatial distribution pattern in the northeast-southwest axis and the evolutionary pattern of the regional eco-efficiency similarly showed a northeast-southwest orientation.

Key words: eco-efficiency, SBM-DEA model, undesired output, Yangtze River Economic Zone

HA Lin, TU Jianjun, YANG Jianping, XU Chunhai, PANG Jiaxing, LU Debin, YAO Zuolin, ZHAO Wenyu. Regional eco-efficiency evaluation and spatial pattern analysis of the Yangtze River Economic Zone[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2020, 30(7): 1117-1139.

Figures/Tables 17

Figure 1

Table 1

Table 2

Eco-efficiency of each city in the Yangtze River Economic Zone (The number of letter “H” is corresponding to Figures 2 and 3)"

Decision unit	Evaluation value				Stdevp	Decision unit	Evaluation value				Stdevp
Decision unit	2000	2005	2010	2015	Stdevp	Decision unit	2000	2005	2010	2015	Stdevp
Kunming (H1)	0.173	0.270	0.236	0.278	0.041	Ziyang (H43)	0.126	0.504	0.168	0.603	0.207
Qujing (H2)	0.143	0.471	0.165	0.236	0.130	Ngawa* (H44)	0.080	0.162	0.055	0.193	0.057
Yuxi (H3)	0.287	1.000	0.253	0.350	0.306	Garzê* (H45)	0.061	0.118	0.053	0.155	0.042
Zhaotong (H4)	0.132	0.434	0.127	0.207	0.125	Liangshan* (H46)	0.502	0.697	0.194	1.000	0.293
Chuxiong (H5)	0.166	0.397	0.148	0.147	0.106	Chongqing (H47)	0.174	0.368	0.413	0.512	0.123
Honghe (H6)	0.238	0.481	0.269	0.367	0.095	Wuhan (H48)	0.361	0.535	0.514	1.000	0.239
Wenshan (H7)	0.114	0.362	0.130	0.192	0.098	Huangshi (H49)	0.233	0.381	0.254	0.554	0.128
Puer (H8)	0.084	0.323	0.105	0.189	0.094	Shiyan (H50)	0.193	0.385	0.221	0.525	0.134
Xishuangbanna* (H9)	0.109	0.271	0.127	0.155	0.063	Jingzhou (H51)	0.234	0.519	0.277	0.694	0.187
Dali* (H10)	0.257	0.826	0.168	0.334	0.255	Yichang (H52)	0.295	0.637	0.409	1.000	0.269
Baoshan (H11)	0.111	0.289	0.125	0.170	0.070	Xiangyang (H53)	0.292	0.687	0.675	1.000	0.251
Dehong (H12)	0.081	0.170	0.113	0.112	0.032	Ezhou (H54)	0.165	0.201	0.263	0.562	0.157
Lijiang (H13)	0.057	0.164	0.072	0.117	0.042	Jingmen (H55)	0.331	0.670	0.443	0.780	0.178
Nujiang (H14)	0.034	0.081	0.098	0.072	0.023	Xiaogan (H56)	0.269	1.000	0.212	0.722	0.326
Diqing* (H15)	0.035	0.135	0.084	0.114	0.037	Huanggang (H57)	0.431	1.000	0.403	1.000	0.292
Lincang (H16)	0.089	0.374	0.101	0.183	0.114	Xianning (H58)	0.230	0.819	0.387	1.000	0.312
Guiyang (H17)	0.081	0.102	0.167	0.399	0.126	Enshi* (H59)	0.261	0.489	0.377	0.639	0.139
Liupanshui (H18)	0.060	0.159	0.115	0.565	0.199	Suizhou (H60)	0.443	0.617	0.511	1.000	0.215
Zunyi (H19)	0.115	0.298	0.197	0.530	0.156	Xiantao (H61)	0.447	0.302	0.180	1.000	0.313
Tongren (H20)	0.050	0.259	0.079	0.348	0.124	Tianmen (H62)	0.392	0.232	0.110	0.493	0.147
SW Guizhou* (H21)	0.054	0.248	0.070	0.354	0.125	Qianjing (H63)	0.201	0.213	0.167	1.000	0.350
Bijie (H22)	0.096	0.324	0.126	1.000	0.365	Changsha (H64)	0.154	1.000	0.513	0.710	0.308
Anshun (H23)	0.055	0.154	0.072	0.297	0.096	Zhuzhou (H65)	0.110	0.790	0.162	0.426	0.270
SE Guizhou* (H24)	0.059	0.166	0.073	0.388	0.132	Xiangtan (H66)	0.080	0.543	0.124	0.393	0.191
Qiannan* (H25)	0.091	1.000	0.082	0.485	0.375	Hengyang (H67)	0.095	0.784	0.170	0.420	0.269
Chengdu (H26)	0.217	0.455	0.428	0.587	0.133	Shaoyang (H68)	0.125	0.635	0.097	0.396	0.219
Zigong (H27)	0.091	0.224	0.126	0.372	0.109	Yueyang (H69)	0.106	1.000	0.175	0.567	0.357
Panzhihua (H28)	0.082	0.180	0.120	0.224	0.054	Changde (H70)	0.013	1.000	0.245	0.668	0.381
Luzhou (H29)	0.085	0.174	0.104	0.335	0.098	Zhangjiajie (H71)	0.078	0.398	0.097	0.299	0.135
Deyang (H30)	0.131	0.319	0.152	0.503	0.150	Yiyang (H72)	0.108	0.723	0.132	0.415	0.250
Mianyang (H31)	0.128	0.313	0.124	0.401	0.120	Chenzhou (H73)	0.106	1.000	0.130	0.402	0.360
Guangyuan (H32)	0.057	0.122	0.078	0.256	0.077	Yongzhou (H74)	1.000	0.597	0.104	0.387	0.327
Suining (H33)	0.089	0.183	0.111	0.309	0.086	Huaihua (H75)	0.129	0.677	0.126	0.465	0.234
Neijiang (H34)	0.062	0.263	0.117	0.413	0.137	Loudi (H76)	0.112	0.612	0.114	0.413	0.212
Leshan (H35)	0.057	0.274	0.124	0.382	0.127	Xiangxi (H77)	0.054	0.138	1.000	0.268	0.374
Nanchong (H36)	0.077	0.214	0.123	0.369	0.111	Nanchang (H78)	0.135	0.251	0.267	0.327	0.070
Yibin (H37)	0.070	0.354	0.186	0.443	0.145	Jingdezhen (H79)	0.088	0.160	0.092	0.154	0.034
Guangan (H38)	1.000	0.279	0.077	0.350	0.346	Pingxiang (H80)	0.099	0.142	0.085	0.164	0.032
Dazhou (H39)	0.126	0.343	0.235	0.425	0.113	Jiujiang (H81)	0.079	0.177	0.120	0.258	0.067
Yaan (H40)	0.065	0.202	0.063	0.405	0.140	Xinyu (H82)	0.084	0.131	0.117	0.174	0.032
Bazhong (H41)	0.064	0.272	0.091	0.310	0.108	Yingtan (H83)	0.079	0.162	0.089	0.198	0.050
Meishan (H42)	0.088	0.369	0.197	0.225	0.100	Ganzhou (H84)	0.156	0.347	0.154	0.249	0.079
Fuzhou (H85)	0.152	0.214	0.111	0.238	0.050	Changzhou (H108)	0.482	0.428	0.381	0.679	0.114
Ji'an (H86)	0.255	0.283	0.111	0.235	0.066	Suzhou²⁾ (H109)	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.000
Yichun (H87)	0.252	0.239	0.108	0.262	0.062	Nantong (H110)	1.000	1.000	0.744	1.000	0.111
Shangrao (H88)	0.266	0.361	0.124	0.309	0.088	Lianyungang (H111)	0.371	0.395	0.239	0.468	0.083
Hefei (H89)	1.000	0.247	0.358	0.525	0.288	Huai'an (H112)	0.364	0.331	0.200	0.466	0.095
Wuhu (H90)	0.455	0.182	0.175	0.456	0.139	Yancheng (H113)	0.820	0.731	1.000	1.000	0.117
Bengbu (H91)	0.281	0.168	0.108	0.261	0.070	Yangzhou (H114)	0.573	0.599	0.608	0.757	0.072
Huainan (H92)	0.294	0.117	0.140	0.292	0.083	Zhenjiang (H115)	0.460	0.487	0.529	1.000	0.221
Maanshan (H93)	1.000	0.145	0.121	0.318	0.357	Taizhou³⁾ (H116)	0.544	0.738	1.000	0.819	0.164
Huaibei (H94)	0.241	0.141	0.095	0.284	0.076	Suqian (H117)	1.000	0.782	0.265	0.643	0.268
Tongling (H95)	0.430	0.141	0.136	0.324	0.125	Hangzhou (H118)	0.589	1.000	0.626	1.000	0.197
Anqing (H96)	0.328	0.228	0.103	0.404	0.113	Ningbo (H119)	0.733	1.000	0.663	1.000	0.153
Huangshan (H97)	0.326	0.201	0.099	0.301	0.090	Jiaxing (H120)	0.583	0.738	0.456	0.672	0.106
Chuzhou (H98)	0.436	0.499	0.156	0.417	0.131	Huzhou (H121)	0.554	0.741	0.293	1.000	0.259
Fuyang (H99)	0.234	0.173	0.114	0.423	0.116	Shaoxing (H122)	0.600	0.436	1.000	0.504	0.219
Suzhou¹⁾ (H100)	0.308	0.210	0.119	0.419	0.112	Zhoushan (H123)	1.000	1.000	0.130	0.532	0.363
Lu'an (H101)	0.298	0.216	0.140	0.403	0.097	Wenzhou (H124)	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.000
Xuancheng (H102)	0.476	0.564	0.999	1.000	0.242	Jinhua (H125)	0.539	0.655	1.000	0.904	0.185
Chizhou (H103)	0.190	0.245	0.088	0.338	0.091	Quzhou (H126)	0.284	0.319	0.373	0.420	0.052
Bozhou (H104)	0.417	0.291	0.099	0.388	0.124	Taizhou⁴⁾(H127)	0.853	1.000	0.654	0.608	0.158
Nanjing (H105)	0.291	0.371	0.490	0.797	0.192	Lishui (H128)	0.308	0.650	0.470	1.000	0.257
Wuxi (H106)	0.919	1.000	0.788	0.880	0.076	Shanghai (H129)	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000	0.000
Xuzhou (H107)	0.386	0.621	0.494	0.670	0.111

Table 2

Table 3

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Table 4

Figure 7

Table 5

Information of Moran's I scatter plot of regional eco-efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Zone"

Year	First-quadrant	Second-quadrant	Third-quadrant	Fourth-quadrant
2000	Yuxi, Chongqing, Xianning, Jingdezhen, Pingxiang, Ganzhou, Fuzhou, Wuhu, Huaibei, Tongling, Anqing, Chuzhou, Fuyang, Suzhou¹⁾, Lu'an, Xuancheng, Chizhou, Bozhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou²⁾, Nantong, Lianyungang, Huai'an, Yancheng, Taizhou³⁾, Suqian, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Lishui, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang	Kunming, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Ya'an, Ji'an, Liangshan, Xiangyang, Changsha, Changde, Shangrao, Hefei, Huainan, Huangshan, Taizhou⁴⁾, Shanghai	Qvjing, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Dali, Baoshan, Dehong, Lijiang, Diqing, Lincang, Guiyang, Liupanshui, Tongren, SW Guizhou, Bijie, Anshun, SE Guizhou, Qiannan, Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Deyang, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Bazhong, Meishan, Ziyang, A'ba, Ganzi, Huangshi, Shiyan, Jingzhou, Yichang, Ezhou, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Huanggang, Enshi, Suizhou, Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Zhangjiaji, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Nanchang, Jiujiang, Xinyu, Maanshan, Zhoushan, Wenzhou, Sipsongpanna*, Zunyi	Nujiang, Sui- ning, Wuhan, Zhuzhou, Xiangxi, Yingtan, Yichun, Bengbu
2005	Yuxi, Bijie, Chongqing, Wuhan, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Xianning, Enshi*, Suizhou, Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Changde, Xinyu, Ganzhou, Fuzhou, Huaibei, Tongling, Anqing, Suzhou¹⁾, Lu'an, Chizhou, Bozhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Taizhou³⁾, Suqian, Hangzhou, Jinhua	Kunming, Qvjing, Dali, Baoshan, Diqing, Guiyang, Anshun, Liangshan, Shiyan, Jingzhou, Yueyang, Jiujiang, Chuzhou, Fu- yang, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Zhoushan, Quzhou, Taizhou⁴⁾	Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Wenshan, Pu'er, Sipsongpanna, Dehong, lijiang, liupanshui, Zunyi, Tongren, SE Guizhou, Qiannan*, Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Ya'an, Bazhong, Meishan, Ziyang, Ganzi, Yichang, Xiangyang, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Xiangxi, Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Pingxiang, Ji'an, Yichun, Shangrao, Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Maanshan, Huangshan, Xuancheng, Changzhou, Suzhou²⁾, Nantong, Huai'an, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Lishui	Honghe, Nujiang, Lincang, Leshan, A'ba*, Huangshi, Ezhou, Huanggang, Yingtan, Huainan, Zhenjiang, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Wenzhou, SW Guizhou, Shanghai
2010	Chongqing, Wuhan, Huangshi, Xianning, Yingtan, Ganzhou, Fuzhou, Huaibei, Tongling, Anqing, Huangshan, Chuzhou, Fuyang, Suzhou¹⁾, Lu'an, Chizhou, Bozhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Nantong, Lianyungang, Taizhou³⁾, Suqian, Hangzhou, Jinhua	Kunming, Yuxi, Liangshan, Shiyan, Yichang, Ezhou, Enshi, Jiu- jiang, Huainan, Suzhou²⁾, Ningbo, Jia- xing, Shaoxing, Quzhou, Taizhou⁴⁾, Lishui	Qvjing, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Sipsongpanna, Dali, Baoshan, Dehong, lijiang, Nujiang, Diqing, Guiyang, Liupanshui, Zunyi, Tongren, SW Guizhou, Bijie, Anshun, SE Guizhou, Qian'an, Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Ya'an, Bazhong, Meishan, Ziyang, Ganzi, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Huanggang, Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Changde, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Yongzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Xiangxi, Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Pingxiang, Ji'an, Yichun, Shangrao, Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Maanshan, Xuancheng, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Zhoushan, Wenzhou	Lincang, A'ba*, Jingzhou, Xiangyang, Suizhou, Chenzhou, Xinyu, Yancheng, Huzhou, Shanghai
2015	Kunming, Yuxi, Anshun, Liangshan, Chongqing, Wuhan, Huangshi, Huanggang, Xianning, Enshi*, Jiujiang, Xinyu, Yingtan, Ganzhou, Fuzhou, Huainan, Huaibei, Tongling, Anqing, Chuzhou, Fuyang, Suzhou¹⁾, Lu'an, Chizhou, Bozhou, Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Nantong, Lianyungang, Taizhou³⁾, Suqian, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Taizhou⁴⁾, Lishui, Shanghai	Zunyi, Bijie, SW Guizhou*, Shiyan, Jingmen, Yongzhou, Pingxiang, Huangshan, Xuancheng, Suzhou²⁾, Ningbo, Shaoxing	Qvjing, Zhaotong, Chuxiong, Honghe, Wenshan, Pu'er, Sipsongpanna, Dali, Baoshan, Dehong, lijiang, Diqing, Lincang, Guiyang, liupanshui, Tongren, Qiannan, Chengdu, Zigong, Panzhihua, Luzhou, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Nanchong, Yibin, Guang'an, Dazhou, Ya'an, Bazhong, Meishan, Ganzi, Jingzhou, Yichang, Ezhou, Xiaogan, Xiantao, Tianmen, Qianjiang, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Changde, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Xiangxi, Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Ji'an, Yichun, Shangrao, Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Maanshan, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Zhoushan, Wenzhou	Nujiang, Deyang, Leshan, Ziyang, A'ba, Xiangyang, Suizhou, Yancheng, SE²Guizhou, Huzhou

Table 5

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Table 6

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Indicator type	Indicator attribute	Indicator name (unit)
Input	Capital	Fixed assets investment (ten thousand yuan)
	Labor force	Employed population (10,000 people)
	Energy	Energy consumption per 10 thousand yuan GDP
	Land	Urban construction land area (square kilometers)
	Water resources	Total urban water use (10,000 tons)
Desired output	Total economic development	Regional GDP (100 million yuan)
Undesired output	Wastewater disposal	Wastewater discharge (10,000 tons)
	Exhaust emissions	Exhaust emissions (10,000 tons)
	Solid waste discharge	Solid waste discharge (10,000 tons)

Year	Moran's I	Standard deviation	Z value	P value
2000	0.5372	0.6670	7.9833	0.01
2005	0.3770	0.0707	5.4944	0.01
2010	0.5660	0.0651	8.7050	0.01
2015	0.5365	0.0638	8.4087	0.01

Year	Average center X (°)	Average center Y (°)	Standard distance X (m)	Standard distance Y(m)	The direction of the ellipse (°)
2000	115.473	30.436	302346.9	848975.7	69.357
2005	113.089	29.552	313050.6	942349.6	68.645
2010	114.728	30.183	294889.3	893137.3	70.664
2015	113.453	30.075	296667.2	872024.5	70.803