Spatio-Temporal Evolution of Environmental Efficiency of Construction Land in Yangtze River Economic Zone

Abstract

With the rapid expansion of construction land in Yangtze River Economic Zone, problems such as shortage of land resources, low utilization efficiency and serious environmental pollution have become increasingly important. This study used Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model of super efficiency and Malmquist index to measure the environmental efficiency of construction land in Yangtze River Economic Zone from 2006 to 2016, and analyzed the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics, by using sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide emissions and PM 2.5 as the environmental cost. It was found that the overall environmental efficiency of construction land in Yangtze River Economic Zone is low, which is smaller than 1. The average efficiency of the eastern coastal economic zones is the highest, which is larger than 1. In addition, from the perspective of the change trend of the environmental efficiency, Shanghai and Jiangsu have witnessed rapid growth, and technological progress is the main driving force. However, some provinces (e.g. Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan and Anhui) also experienced decrease of technical efficiency. The findings provide scientific support for controlling the intensity and allocation of regional construction land under the background of ecological civilization in Yangtze River Economic Zone.