Abstract
This paper evaluated the water use efficiency in 12 Chinese western provinces from 2005 to 2015. Based on data availability and the index selection rationality and the slacks-based measure (SBM)-undesirable Window analysis model and the Malmquist productivity index, the water resource inputs and outputs were measured to analyze water use efficiency. Total investment in fixed assets for the whole society and total water, made up of total agricultural water, total industrial water, and total domestic water, were used as the input indexes, and regional GDP and waste water discharge were the output indexes, with the waste water discharge being regarded as an undesirable output. The data from different years and different provinces in the same period, and data from the same year and the same provinces in different periods were compared in order to derive the water resource efficiency and technical changes over time and space. It was found that the total water resource factor productivity in the 12 provinces grew slowly in the study period, that water resource technical progress positively affected water use efficiency, and that a lack of technical efficiency restricted water use efficiency growth. Several suggestions are given to optimize water use efficiency in the 12 provinces. The research findings and suggestions provide valuable reference for studies in related fields.
Highlights
Water availability is essential for the successful development of the economy, the society, and the environment [1,2]
As western China is the main area for agricultural development, the availability of agricultural water is directly related to its economic development; the rational use of the water resources and improvements in water use efficiency are vital for future survival and development
To demonstrate the natural properties that are associated with the water resources, regional GDP and total fixed assets investment were selected to reflect the economic properties of the water resources [30,31], total agricultural, industrial, and domestic water were adopted as the social water resources measure [32], and total wastewater was taken as the undesirable output [33]
Summary
Water availability is essential for the successful development of the economy, the society, and the environment [1,2]. Deng applied DEA to analyze the water use efficiency in 31 provincial-level administrative regions in mainland China in 2010, and applied the Malmquist-Luenberger index to assess the total factor water use efficiency and the water rebound effect that is caused by technological progress. China in 2007 and 2008 using the DEA method, and concluded that as technological progress was main factor restricting water resource use efficiency, in order to improve water resource use efficiency, it was necessary to first increase the technological input, expand production scales, and optimize industrial structures [15]. Zhu examined water use efficiency in Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province, China, using DEA methods, in which five input indexes and eight output indexes were selected, and the undesirable output variables were applied as input variables for agriculture, industry, daily life, the ecology, and society. Window Model and the Malmquist productivity index are used in concert to improve water use efficiency and provide a valuable water research reference
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