Abstract
Analyzing the potential for green development and its influencing factors is an important part of the energy savings and low-carbon economic growth of China’s iron and steel industry (ISI). Many studies have concentrated on improving the ISI’s energy use and pollution control efficiencies, analyzing the influencing factors from the perspectives of regions and firms. However, no study has focused on measuring the provincial green development efficiency (GDE) in the ISI. The selected driving forces of the GDE do not consider regional or industrial characteristics. In this study, based on provincial panel data for 2006–2015 in China, the GDE of the Chinese ISI was evaluated using the super-slack-based measure (super-SBM) model. China’s 28 provinces were divided into different groups through cluster analysis. Then, a Tobit model was constructed to explore the factors influencing the GDE. The key results show the following: (1) The GDE values decline, fluctuating from 0.628 in 2006 to 0.571 in 2015, decreasing by 1.1% annually. Among the provinces, wide differences exist in the GDE values for the ISI, with the highest average GDE value being observed in Beijing and the lowest in Shanxi. (2) The provinces with high R&D expenditure inputs and high GDE values are mostly located in the eastern region, while the provinces with low R&D expenditure inputs and low GDE values are located in the central and western regions. (3) The export demand, property structure, and capital investment have significant positive effects on the ISI’s GDE in the eastern and western regions, while the energy consumption structure and industry scale have negative impacts on the improvement of the GDE in the central region. (4) Specific policy recommendations for sustainable development in the ISI mainly include further strengthening investment in R&D, expanding exports, adjusting energy consumption structures, and deepening the reform of stated-own enterprises.
Highlights
China’s iron and steel industry (ISI) has rapidly developed since the beginning of the country’s reform and opening-up processes
The multicollinearity test was used as a variance inflation factor (VIF) before the Tobit regression model
Measuring green development efficiency (GDE) is important for upgrading the structure and green development of China’s iron and steel industry
Summary
China’s iron and steel industry (ISI) has rapidly developed since the beginning of the country’s reform and opening-up processes. In 1996, China became the world’s largest producer of crude steel. The country’s past policy approaches affected its industry development and economic growth [1]. The 12th Five-Year Plan (2011–2015) periods, the crude steel output in China increased from 423 million tons (Mt) in 2006 to 804 Mt in 2015, which is an increase of 7.4% annually [2]. As a pillar promoting China’s national economic growth, the ISI has played a key role by providing industrial products, promoting employment, and constructing national infrastructure. China’s ISI is an energy- and emission-intensive industry. From 2006 to 2015, the energy consumption of the ISI increased
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