The Impact of Blockchain on the Administrative Efficiency of Provincial Governments Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis–Tobit Model

Abstract

Since its reform and opening up in 1978, China has maintained strong economic growth for more than four decades. For a long time, China’s economic growth has been characterized by a crude growth mode, which is mainly manifested in growth driven by large amounts of capital, energy and raw materials, and labor inputs, with little contribution from innovation and technology, which will make it difficult to promote sustainable development in the era of the knowledge economy. On the other hand, improving administrative efficiency is one of the key paths to realizing China’s sustainable development strategy. The Chinese government emphasizes high-quality development, and long-term development and stable management can be achieved only if administrative efficiency is improved on the basis of achieving sustainable development. For the purpose of transforming and developing the Chinese government to a higher standard, this study examined how blockchain affects administrative effectiveness across different provinces. The three-stage Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model was chosen to evaluate China’s regional administrative efficiency. It used the typical markers found in both the international and domestic literature. The input–output indicators were determined using the Delphi method, and the findings showed that while most provinces had reasonably high administrative efficiency, there were notable regional variations. This article empirically employed the Tobit model to examine the effect of blockchain on administrative efficiency based on administrative efficiency calculations. The findings showed that administrative efficiency was significantly impacted by blockchain research investment, blockchain research output, the number of blockchain policies, and the size of the population. In contrast, there was not a significant impact on administrative efficiency due to the quantity of procurements for blockchain government initiatives.