Abstract
In the present study, For China’s prefecture-level cities of Jiangxi, their respective Water Resource Utilization Efficiency (WRUE) from 2006 to 2015 was evaluated in this study, by applying a three-stage DEA and bootstrap DEA model. The results revealed that a comprehensive efficiency of water resources utilization in prefecture-level cities of Jiangxi remained at a relatively low level. The scale of investment in these prefecture-level cities is a key factor restricting their WRUE. However, we found that external environmental variables greatly influenced this efficiency. The spatial changes of DEA effective cities presented the evolution character of change from clear contiguous to complicated scattered. Moreover, our results suggest the bootstrap method can provide more accurate results for WRUE than those from a three-stage DEA. Finally, based on these results, corresponding policy recommendations are put forward in this study.
Highlights
Water is an irreplaceable basic natural resource and a strategic economic one for maintaining human civilization and social progress
It is clear that the Comprehensive Efficiency (CE), Pure Technical Efficiency (PTE), and Scale Efficiency (SE) (Figure 1 and Table 1) of NC, XY and YT in Jiangxi Province achieved an effective Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for 2006-2015, which meant the allocation of inputs and outputs had reached their optimum, with technical efficiency and scale efficiency both effective
4.1.2 Stage II: Stochastic Frontier Analysi (SFA) Regression Results The slack variables, including Total Water (TW), Fixed Assets Investment (FAI), and Labor Force (LF) for the decision making unit (DMU) calculated in the first stage were dependent variables in the second stage
Summary
Water is an irreplaceable basic natural resource and a strategic economic one for maintaining human civilization and social progress. In 2012, the ‘‘Opinions of the State Council on Applying the Strictest Water Resources Control System’’, published by the Chinese Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council, drew a red line for water efficiency achieved by 2030 (MWR, 2012) In this context, the rational development and efficient utilization of water resources is prominently recognized as an urgent task underpinning regional sustainable development (Wang et al, 2015). Marques et al (2014) relied on DEA to study institutional and environmental factors affecting the efficiency of Japanese water utilities, while Wang, and Lu (2014) used an input-oriented DEA model to analyze agricultural water use efficiency and its regional differences. This study is of strong practical significance to water conservation in Jiangxi, but it provides key recommendations for government decision-makers to better plan for the efficient use of water resources among prefecturelevel cities
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