A multi-hierarchy meta-frontier approach for measuring green total factor productivity: An application of pig breeding in China

Abstract

The pig breeding industry is one of the pillar industries of China's agriculture. The measurement of pig production efficiency, and the way to improve pig production efficiency through the measurement, thereby reducing pollution emissions, is of great significance to the development of China's pig industry. Existing research focuses on measuring the efficiency of pig breeding, while ignores the emissions of large amounts of pollutants in the breeding process, as well as the heterogeneity of scale and region. In view of this, based on the DEA model, this paper constructs a three-level Metafrontier-Malmquist-Luenberger index to evaluate the green total factor productivity of pig breeding (PBG) by considering negative output. The results indicate that: (i) China's PBG, overall, dropped by 0.34% from 2004 to 2018. In terms of scale, large-scale was the highest, medium-sized was the second and small-scale was the lowest. (ii) China's PBG is distributed in a stepped manner, with the highest in the eastern area, the second in the central area, and the lowest in the western area. The differences between regions and provinces are affected by factors, such as the level of economic development, the government's emphasis on the scale of pig breeding and local resource conditions. (iii) The three decomposition efficiencies of PBG are manifested in the decline of scale structure efficiency and management efficiency, and the improvement of technical efficiency. Among them, the low efficiency of scale structure is the leading reason for the decline of overall PBG. According to the above empirical results, this article finally puts forward policy suggestions and environmental protection recommendations for pig breeding to improve PBG.