Environmental Technical Efficiency Research Articles

Frontier model of the environmental inefficiency effects on livestock bioeconomy.

This work was focused on measuring environmental inefficiency in Mexican dairy farms, considering climate change variables related to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and planetary geomagnetic activity. The applied methodology measures the eco-efficiency of Mexican dairy farms using the empirical application of a stochastic frontier model of the bioeconomy. The productive sector of the bioeconomy studied was the eco-intensification of the livestock production system (dairies). The environmental inefficiency effect was assumed to be a distribution-independent truncation of a normal distribution with constant variance, while the mean was a linear environmental function of the observable variable. The results showed that the coefficients of the frontier model were highly significant, highlighting the investment in livestock (50%). The inefficiency model had an impact on climate variation with greenhouse gas emissions CH4 (1.96%). The results of the environmental technical efficiency in geometric average were 81.28%. The producers that reached the border with a technical efficiency equal to 1 are the references for the rest, marking the relative technical efficiency. It was concluded that the coefficients in the model were very significant, showing the level of investment in livestock (50%). The low-performance model estimates the impact of climate change on GHG emissions CH4 (1.96%) explaining the trend of increasing GHG emissions, keeping in view that the management of food and cattle during the study period were affected by summer feeding, which allowed considering the activity of GHG emissions. According to the results, the geometric mean environmental performance of engineering is 81.28%.

Empirical study on the technical efficiency and total factor productivity of power industry: Evidence from Chinese provinces

With government policy reviews of renewable energy, environmental regulation and climate change, the energy-based power industry has received much attention. To explore the inherent characteristics of technical efficiency and total factor productivity in Chinese power industry, we use DEA-BCC and DEA-Malmquist models to exam the regional disparities of energy efficiency in 30 provinces based on the Yearbook database from 1998 to 2017. The market technical efficiency and environmental technical efficiency were compared from the power generation link, the power network link, and the comprehensive performance, respectively. Although the empirical results indicate that the Chinese power industry presents the development pattern of “emphasizing market over environment”, the green technology and renewable energy are the waves of future and the practices of environmental regulations have borne some fruit. In addition, the power market reform in the power industry works out but lacks long-term incentives for continuous progress. The research conclusions can reveal the complex strong correlation system in power industry and help to make targeted efficiency promotion strategies, which is in line with other energy policy goals.

Analysis on the shadow price of carbon emissions from China's forestry fruit industry-taking peaches as an example.

The shadow price of carbon emissions can measure the marginal output effect under the carbon emission regulation and is also one of the key indicators to construct a low-carbon development path for production units. Currently, international research on shadow price is focused on the industrial and energy sectors. However, in the context of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality targets in China, the use of shadow price to study the cost of reducing emissions from agricultural production, especially forestry fruit industries, is significant. In this paper, we use a parametric approach to construct the quadratic ambient directional distance function. Using the input-output data of peach, we then calculate the environmental technical efficiency and shadow price of carbon emissions from peach production in Guangxi, Jiangsu, Shandong, and Sichuan provinces, and further estimate the values of green output in each province. The results show that (i) the environmental technology efficiency of peach production in Jiangsu province, located in the coastal plain area of eastern China, is the highest among the four provinces, while that in Guangxi province, located in the hilly area of southeast China, is the lowest. (ii) Guangxi province has the smallest carbon shadow price of peach production among the four provinces, while Sichuan province, located in the mountainous area of southwest China, has the largest. (iii) The green output value of the peach production in Jiangsu province is the highest among the four provinces, and that in Guangxi province is the lowest. In order to effectively reduce carbon emissions in peach production without affecting economic benefits, the paper puts forward the following suggestions: for peach-producing areas in the southeast hills of China, it is necessary to increase the application of green environmental technology while reducing the input of production factors in peach production. For peach-producing areas in the northern plains of China, the input of production factors should be reduced. It is not easy for peach-producing areas in the southwest mountains of China to reduce the input of production factors while increasing the application of green technologies. Finally, for peach-producing areas in China's eastern coastal plain, the implementation of environmental regulations for peach production should be gradual.

Frontier model of the environmental inefficiency effects on livestock bioeconomy

Background: This work was focused on measuring environmental inefficiency in Mexican dairy farms, considering climate change variables related to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and planetary geomagnetic activity. Methods: The applied methodology measures the eco-efficiency of Mexican dairy farms using the empirical application of a stochastic frontier model of the bioeconomy. The productive sector of the bioeconomy studied was the eco-intensification of the livestock production system (dairies). The environmental inefficiency effect was assumed to be a distribution-independent truncation of a normal distribution with constant variance, while the mean was a linear environmental function of the observable variable. Results: The results showed that the coefficients of the frontier model were highly significant, highlighting the investment in livestock (50%). The inefficiency model had an impact on climate variation with greenhouse gas emissions CH4 (1.96%). The results of the environmental technical efficiency in geometric average were 81.28%. The producers that reached the border with a technical efficiency equal to 1 are the references for the rest, marking the relative technical efficiency. Conclusions: It was concluded that the coefficients in the model were very significant, showing the level of investment in livestock (50%). The low-performance model estimates the impact of climate change on GHG emissions CH4 (1.96%) explaining the trend of increasing GHG emissions, keeping in view that the management of food and cattle during the study period were affected by summer feeding, which allowed considering the activity of GHG emissions. According to the results, the geometric mean environmental performance of engineering is 81.28%.

Environmental technical efficiency and its dynamic evolution in China's industry: A resource endowment perspective

Achieving green industrial transformation is the primary path to regional sustainable development. To accurately explore the regional gaps, dynamic evolutionary trends, and inequality characteristics of green industrial production performance from the resource endowment perspective, this study constructs a meta-frontier parametric framework combined with the bootstrap method to estimate the industrial environmental technical efficiency (ETE) and pollutants emissions reduction potential of different types of cities in China. A convergence model and an inequality index are then used to explore the dynamic evolutionary characteristics of industrial ETE. Finally, a quantitative analysis is conducted, with four notable findings. (1) With some fluctuation, China's industrial ETE rose from 0.4613 in 2003 to 0.8017 in 2016, indicating outstanding achievement in clean industrial development. The industrial ETE of non-resource-based cities (N-cities) is higher than that of resource-based cities (R-cities), which are primarily ascribed to the technology gap. (2) Industrial ETE conforms to the σ and β convergence. The inequality across the country continues to decrease, signifying the coordinated development trend of urban industry. (3) Despite remarkable achievements, industrial pollutants still have a reduction potential higher than 30%. N-cities’ emissions reduction potential is greater than that of R-cities based on higher total pollutant emissions. (4) Resource dependence significantly reduces industrial ETE of the nation and R-cities. The findings suggest that different types of cities should formulate strategically targeted policies according to resource endowment characteristics. R-cities must eliminate the efficiency loss caused by resource dependence through technological advancement, whereas N-cities must focus policies on reducing pollutants emissions and improving resource allocation.

Inequality in Fossil Fuel Power Plants in China: A Perspective of Efficiency and Abatement Cost

Quantifying the shadow price (SP) of CO2 emissions is the key to achieving China’s “double carbon” targets. Considering technology heterogeneity, this study applies stochastic frontier analysis combined with meta-frontier technology to estimate the environmental technical efficiency (ETE) and SP of CO2 emissions for China’s fossil fuel power plants from 2005 to 2015. This approach overcomes the lack of statistical inference and consistency of traditional methods and improves the reliability of results. The main results are as follows: (a) the average ETE of China’s power plants is 0.9444, indicating that inefficient production accounts for 5.66%. The difference in efficiency between the central and local groups is significant. (b) The national average SP of CO2 is 266.8 US dollars per ton, which is much higher than the carbon price in the emission trading system. This result implies the need to design a carbon trading price mechanism. (c) The distribution of SP shows obvious corporation and geographical characteristics that are closely related to the level of regional economic development. Finally, the findings provide policy implications for the improvement of the efficiency and abatement of costs of power plants and the determination of carbon prices.

Frontier model of the environmental inefficiency effects on livestock bioeconomy

Background: This work was focused on measuring environmental inefficiency in Mexican dairy farms, considering climate change variables related to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) and planetary geomagnetic activity. Methods: The applied methodology measures the eco-efficiency of Mexican dairy farms using the empirical application of a stochastic frontier model of the bioeconomy. The productive sector of the bioeconomy studied was the eco-intensification of the livestock production system (dairies). The environmental inefficiency effect was assumed to be a distribution-independent truncation of a normal distribution with constant variance, while the mean was a linear environmental function of the observable variable. Results: The results showed that the coefficients of the frontier model were highly significant, highlighting the investment in livestock (50%). The inefficiency model had an impact on climate variation with greenhouse gas emissions CH4 (1.96%). The results of the environmental technical efficiency in geometric average were 81.28%. The producers that reached the border with a technical efficiency equal to 1 are the references for the rest, marking the relative technical efficiency. Conclusions: It was concluded that the coefficients in the model were very significant, showing the level of investment in livestock (50%). The low-performance model estimates the impact of climate change on GHG emissions CH4 (1.96%) explaining the trend of increasing GHG emissions, keeping in view that the management of food and cattle during the study period were affected by summer feeding, which allowed considering the activity of GHG emissions. According to the results, the geometric mean environmental performance of engineering is 81.28%.

An analysis of the impact of service inputs in manufacturing industries on eco-efficiency: evidence from China.

The eco-efficiency of manufacturing industries has been a concern for decades in China. However, less attention has been paid to the growing service inputs in manufacturing industries and their eco-efficiency impact. Based on China's input-output tables in consecutive years collected from the structural analysis database issued by the OECD, this study describes service inputs in manufacturing industries with the direct and total consumption coefficients and then primarily discusses its environmental impacts as measured by the green total factor productivity. It finds that a significant nonlinear U-shaped relationship exists between service inputs in manufacturing industries and eco-efficiency in which the expected positive impact only emerges when a critical level of service inputs is achieved. The findings exhibit significant robustness under various measures of outcome variables and explanatory variables, as well as subsample checks and instrumental variable estimation. Environmental technical progress, rather than environmental technical efficiency, plays a decisive role in the U-shaped relationship and contributes to improvement in eco-efficiency. Furthermore, this study reveals that service inputs in the form of direct consumption of intermediate service in manufacturing industries have a significant positive impact on eco-efficiency.

The Evolution and Influencing Factors of Total Factor Productivity of Grain Production Environment: Evidence from Poyang Lake Basin, China

The total factor productivity (hereafter TFP) of grain production is important to achieve balanced development, while environmental factors are an important part of TEP. In order to explore the characteristics and patterns of the temporal and spatial evolution of the environmental total factor productivity (hereafter ETFP), the Malmquist-Luerberger index, and the spatial autoregressive panel (SAR panel) model were adopted to analyze the evolutionary rules and the influencing factors of ETFP. In this study, we took Poyang Lake, one of China’s main grain production areas, as a study area, and carried out empirical research based on grain production statistical data. The results show that: (1) ETFP shows a growth trend with the increase of grain production from 2001 to 2017, and a great potential for improvement exists. Moreover, from the perspective of time sequence evolution and decomposition of ETFP, which belongs to the dual-track driver of environmental technical efficiency and environmental technological progress, relevant technologies play an important role in promoting the improvement of TEFP; (2) Given that the objective conditions of gain production remain unchanged, the fact that the urbanization rate and average annual rainfall have a negative effect on ETFP, the explanatory variables such as the business scale per worker, the proportion of grain growing population, industrial agglomeration, the proportion of grain sown area and the average annual temperature all play a positive role. Among the variables, the business scale per worker and the proportion of grain growing population significantly affect ETFP at the 1% level. The average annual rainfall, industrial agglomeration and the proportion of grain sown area significantly affect the ETFP at the 5% level. The average annual temperature significantly affects the ETFP at the 10% level.

Investigating the effects of energy price index on technical environmental efficiency in Iran

This study investigates the effects of increasing real energy prices on technical environmental efficiency in Iran using a directional distance function. To achieve this purpose, six variables are used, namely labor, capital stock, energy consumption, real energy price, industrial value added, and environmental cost index, for the period 2009–2015. Moreover, two indexes for industrial environmental cost and real energy price are introduced. The environmental cost index is derived from the pollution cost of six types of emissions (NOx, SO2, CO2, CO, CH4, SPM) produced by 23 industries. The results show that the real energy price and distance function have an inverse relationship. Specifically, higher real energy prices cause industries to move toward using more energy-efficient technologies and more technical environmental efficiency. This study is one of the few studies that have evaluated the environmental effects of targeted subsidy law or energy price liberalization in Iran and demonstrates that an increase in real energy prices would lead to improved environmental technical efficiency.

Modelling environmental technical efficiency and phosphorus pollution abatement cost in dairy farms

The dairy sector is an important sector in Northern Ireland being the single largest contributor to its agricultural economy. However, the sector contributes more to soil phosphorus (P) surplus compared to other agricultural sectors. Consequently, the goal of this research is to analyse the environmental technical efficiency of dairy farms making use of a novel parametric hyperbolic distance function approach. The model is able to internalise P surplus as undesirable output in the dairy production process by treating desirable and undesirable outputs asymmetrically. The stochastic production frontier model is analysed simultaneously with an inefficiency model to explain variability in efficiency scores assuming the existence of heteroskedasticity in the idiosyncratic error term. Additionally, we estimated the shadow price and pollution cost ratio of P surplus in dairy farms. This paper contributes to the existing literature as it provides the first attempt to empirically estimate the pollution abatement cost of P surplus in dairy farms. Besides, the hyperbolic environmental technology distance function methodology employed to achieve the study objectives is less restrictive compared to the radial output/input distance function approach employed in previous studies. This allows for the estimation of a more robust environmental efficiency measure and shadow price of P surplus that is consistent with public policy goals that seek to simultaneously reduce pollution and increase production of desirable outputs. Our results showed that the average environmental technical efficiency estimates for dairy farms in Northern Ireland is 0.93 and the shadow price (marginal abatement cost) of P surplus evaluated at the mean is £12.29/kg. Intensification resulting in increased use of concentrates feed was found to be negatively related to environmental technical efficiency. We also found that age of the farmer and share of milk output have a positive relationship with environmental technical efficiency.

Environmental Efficiency and Pollution Costs of Nitrogen Surplus in Dairy Farms: A Parametric Hyperbolic Technology Distance Function Approach

Negative externalities such as nitrogen (N) surplus that accompany dairy production activities are not usually accounted for in the market place since they are not costed. Using a parametric hyperbolic environmental technology distance function approach, we estimate the environmental efficiency and farm-specific abatement costs (shadow price) of nitrogen surplus in dairy farms on the island of Ireland (Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland). The methodology, unlike previous approaches (output/input distance functions), allows for asymmetric treatments of production outputs (desirable and undesirable outputs). We also analyse the farm level nitrogen pollution costs ratio and its determinants. The results of our analyses showed that the average environmental technical efficiency estimates for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are 0.89 and 0.92 and the mean abatement costs per kg of N surplus is €4.02 and €6.2 respectively. We found a reasonable degree of variation in the spectrum of abatement costs across the dairy farms with a relative increase observed over the years.

Market regulation and environmental productivity changes in the electricity and gas sector of 13 observed EU countries

The paper explores the way the environmental technical efficiency and productivity in the electricity and gas sectors of 13 EU countries have changed under the energy market reorganisation fostered by the EU energy reforms between 1995 and 2013. Using a multiple output distance function approach, we find that regulation encouraging privatisation and removing barriers to entry into the market had positive consequences on both environmental technical efficiency and the growth of environmental productivity. We find that the sector has made significant steps in improving its competitiveness and environmental sustainability, showing an annual average potential of 5.9% value-added gains and 5.6% CO2 emissions reductions. However, the improvements in environmental performance differ greatly across countries and, at times, come at the expense of economic benefit whereas environmental productivity change (3.2%) grew slower than the productivity change that did not account for emissions. Regarding improvements in environmental productivity, the main source came from environmental technical change (2.4–2.8%), underlying the role of research and development on energy transition.

China's SO2 shadow prices and environmental technical efficiency at the province level

This paper uses the output directional distance function to estimate the shadow prices and environmental technical efficiency of China's provincial SO2 emissions for 2001–2013. The shadow prices were regarded as the abatement cost. We found that the Chinese national average SO2 shadow price showed a fluctuating downward trend during the period of 2001–2012 and increased significantly in 2013. The results also show that the mean value of the non-efficiency of environmental technology presents a downward trend. Moreover, the values of environmental technical non-efficiency of all production units are greater than zero, which shows that there is room for improvement. Finally, the factors influencing the shadow price were analyzed using regression analysis, which revealed a negative correlation between the shadow price of CO2 and that of SO2. The shadow price of SO2 will decrease with increasing per capita GDP. The effect of capital-labor intensity is also significant, but the coefficient is positive, i.e., higher capital-labor intensity is associated with a higher SO2 abatement cost.

Environmental technical efficiency in EU member and candidate countries: A parametric hyperbolic distance function approach

This paper investigates environmental technical efficiency for a panel of European Union (EU) member and candidate countries for the period 1990–2011 using parametric hyperbolic distance function. The paper also examines the environmental technical efficiency convergence among the sampled countries. The main results suggest that environmental technical efficiency scores vary among EU member and candidate countries. The EU-15 countries in contrast to the new members and the candidate countries have a greater potential for reducing CO2 emissions while increasing GDP and reducing energy use simultaneously. The results also indicate the existence of environmental technical efficiency convergence among EU member and candidate countries.

The Role of International Trade and Urbanization on Environmental Technical Efficiency in EU Member and Candidate Countries

Son yillarda kuresel dikkat, yuksek karbon emisyonlarinin cevre ve ekonomi uzerindeki yikici etkileri konusuna ayrilmistir. Aralik 2015’te 190’dan fazla ulke tarafindan kabul edilen Paris Anlasmasi iklim degisikligine karsi savasta yeni bir donemin baslamasini isaret ediyor. Kotu sohretli bir kuresel olguya karsi boylesine bir ortak eylemin amaci, gelecek nesiller icin daha temiz bir cevre ve surdurulebilir ekonomi saglamaktir. Cevre verimliligini anlamak bu cabanin en onemli yonlerinden biridir. Bu makale, 1990-2011 yillari arasinda AB uye ve aday ulkeleri icin parametrik hiperbolik bir mesafe fonksiyonu araciligiyla tahmin edilen cevresel verimlilik puanlari ile kisi basina dusen gelir, sanayinin GSYIH icindeki payi, ticarete aciklik ve kentlesme arasindaki iliskiyi bir Tobit modeli kullanarak arastirmaktadir. Sonuclar, tum degiskenlerin cevresel teknik verimliligin onemli birer belirleyicisi olduguna isaret etmektedir. Cevresel teknik verimlilik ile ekonomik kalkinma arasindaki iliski U seklinde bir egriyi gosterirken, sanayinin GSYIH payi ters U seklinde bir egri izlemektedir. Cevresel teknik verimliligin ticarette aciklik ile arasinda ters, kentlesme ile pozitif bir iliskisi vardir

The infeasible problem of Malmquist–Luenberger index and its application on China’s environmental total factor productivity

The Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index would cause infeasible problem when measuring mixed period change of total factor productivity. The former research focuses on the infeasible issue under the hypothesis of constant return to scale (CRS). There are many meaningful solutions which could avoid this infeasible problem of Malmquist–Luenberger productivity index. However, these solutions couldn’t avoid infeasible problem under condition of variable returns to scale (VRS). The new solution is proposed in this paper which could solve this problem under VRS based on super-efficiency issue. The empirical results of environmental total factor productivity (ETFP) change of thirty regions in China indicate that China isn’t efficient from 1997 to 2014. Among eight economic regions northwest and southern coastal decline, the ETFP decrease 15%, 10% respectively. From the perspective of provinces in China, Hainan, Qinghai and Ningxia have the lowest environmental total factor productivity and their environmental technical efficiency is also the lowest. These non-efficient provinces all have lower gross domestic product and they should improve technique change efficiency through adopting advanced technology in the future. The fixed effects regression model illustrates that energy intensity, research and development, foreign direct investment are factors of ETFP in China. Both research and development and foreign direct investment could improve total factor productivity and this indicates that Pollutant Heaven Hypothesis doesn’t exist in China.

PENGUKURAN ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY INDUSTRI PENGOLAHAN DI JAWA TIMUR TAHUN 2006-2009

CO2 emission is the greatest source of global warming that poses serious threats on environment, ecology, and socio-economic system. In the production process, CO2 is considered as undesirable output that always risesas long as desirable output is produced. Indonesia, as the one of the biggest emitter of CO2 emission, has been committing in reducing emission up to 26% for 2020. Using panel data, stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) has been used to evaluate the environmental technical efficiency of manufacturing industry in Java on 2006-2009. The translog hyperbolic distance function has been chose since this model can accommodate environmental characteristic of production technology. The empirical result shows the average environmental technical efficiency is 0,834. This study also investigates the factors that explain the level of environmental technical efficiency of firm. The results reveal that there are seven factors that significantly affecting environmental technical efficiency included: firm size, ownership status, foreign investment, type of industry, composition effect, scale effect, and technical effect. The finding of this paper indicate that environmental technical efficiency among manufacturing industry in Java still can be improved by focusing on those seven factor.

O Custo Privado da Reserva Legal para os Produtores Agropecuários de São Paulo e Mato Grosso nos Anos de 1995 e 2006

Resumo: Apesar de a reserva legal gerar benefícios ambientais e ecológicos, ela implica custos de oportunidade ao produtor agrícola. O objetivo deste artigo é estimar, por meio do modelo de folgas proposto por Zhou, Ang e Poh (2006), o custo de oportunidade da manutenção da reserva legal para os municípios dos estados de São Paulo e Mato Grosso nos anos de 1995 e 2006 (os dois últimos censos agropecuários). A metodologia considera o produtor médio por município e ajusta o número de municípios entre os anos citados segundo a proposta de Paiva (2007, 2008). Entre os resultados obtidos destacam-se: (a) a eficiência técnica e a técnica ambiental são pequenas nos dois estados analisados, mas cresceram entre os anos citados; (b) o custo de oportunidade de manutenção da reserva legal por estabelecimento é menor em São Paulo do que em Mato Grosso (R$ 23.878 e R$ 48.353, respectivamente, em 2006), mas o custo por hectare é 2,22 vezes maior em São Paulo do que em Mato Grosso; (c) a disposição desses custos em mapas permite observar relações de similaridade ou não entre municípios vizinhos, o que permitirá, no futuro, explorar relações espaciais entre esses custos. Trabalhos futuros poderão, também, atualizar a análise deste artigo à medida que novos dados censitários estejam disponíveis.

Environmental technical efficiency, technology gap and shadow price of coal-fuelled power plants in China: A parametric meta-frontier analysis

In this paper, we propose a new meta-frontier estimation method to investigate the environmental technical efficiency and carbon abatement cost of power plants in China taking the technological heterogeneities into consideration. This study is based on a plant-level cross-sectional data set comprising 648 observations for the year 2008. Results show that, state-owned power plants are least efficient relative to the meta-frontier. A further 44 percent of total CO2 emissions can be cut if all power plants are completely efficient. Additionally, the group of state-owned power plants is faced with the lowest cost to marginal CO2 abatement.