China’s regional industrial two-stage system – Efficiencies and their influencing factors

Abstract

To reduce waste discharge, China’s industrial system has been divided into stages of clean production (CP) and waste treatment (WT). Based on the conceptual framework of this industrial two-stage system, this study develops two network slacks-based measure models to evaluate the efficiency of this system from the perspectives of outside peers and inside managers. To identify the inefficient stages for each region during the period of 2011–2015, CP and WT efficiencies are further evaluated. Then, the factors influencing CP and WT efficiencies are explored using the censored least absolute deviations model. The results indicate that the industrial two-stage efficiencies of the external model are lower than those of the internal model, have more discriminatory power, and a similar efficiency rank. Moreover, CP efficiencies are higher than or equal to WT efficiencies for almost all regions. A higher economic development level significantly improved CP and WT efficiencies, while a higher industrial concentration degree significantly decreased these. Both influencing factors exerted a larger influence on WT efficiency than on CP efficiency. The strength of environmental protection did not significantly affect CP efficiency but exerted a positive effect on WT efficiency.