Regional Resource Endowments Research Articles

The green trade benefits and horizontal ecological compensation from the perspective of embodied carbon emissions: A case study of the Yellow River Basin, China

The horizontal ecological compensation plays an important role in balancing the interests of all parties and coordinating regional development in the basin. However, the mechanism of ecological compensation based on embodied carbon emissions is still poorly understood. Here, taking the Yellow River Basin as the research area, we use the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model to measure the embodied carbon transfers between its seven urban agglomerations in 2012 and 2017 from the viewpoint of value-added trade benefits. Further, for the first time, the green trade benefits and ecological compensation amounts are analyzed. The results indicate that: (1) The transfer of trade-embodied carbon among the urban agglomerations in the basin showed obvious spatial heterogeneity and geographic proximity effects, and trade-embodied carbon outflows (inflows) had a pattern of “highest in the midstream, second in the downstream, and lowest in the upstream”. (2) The industry composition of the urban agglomerations in relation to embodied carbon outflows (inflows) was similar, mainly in the service and heavy manufacturing industries. (3) The spatial pattern of green trade benefits in the basin had shifted from “high in the north and low in the surrounding area” to “high in the east-central part and low in the west”. (4) The pattern of ecological compensation in the basin had shifted from the upstream surplus, the middle and downstream deficit to the midstream deficit, and the upstream and downstream surplus. Therefore, we recommend improving energy structures in high-demand urban agglomerations by adopting clean energy, focusing on decarbonization and energy efficiency in resource-rich regions. Additionally, promoting low-carbon economies, especially in the service and heavy manufacturing industries, implementing differentiated emission reduction strategies, and optimizing carbon compensation mechanisms considering regional disparities and resource endowments are crucial. It is expected that the study can enrich the scientific basis of horizontal ecological compensation and increase the fairness of regional carbon emission rights allocation.

Discussion On The Development Of China's Regional Carbon Market Under The Background Of Double Carbon

Accelerating China's carbon trading market is one of the important means to deal with climate change and achieve the dual carbon goal. Due to the huge differences in China's regional economic development and carbon resource endowment, the impact of the establishment of the national unified carbon trading market on regional economic development is unstable and uncertain. For local governments to make full use of this empty window period, this paper combs the recent development of the carbon market, and discusses the development prospect of China's regional carbon market under the background of carbon trading. The results show that: ①in the current development of the national carbon emission trading market, we can not achieve the carbon unification of the market and abandon the local carbon trading market; ②In the process of regional carbon trading, it can promote the low-carbon development of local economy; ③In the process of regional carbon trading, it can increase the share of clean energy and improve the efficiency of regional ecological and environmental protection. Then, some suggestions are put forward for the development of local carbon trading: ①appropriately expand the pilot scale of local carbon trading, go up and down, and realize the double cycle development of carbon market; ②Strengthen the training of professionals and create an innovative and entrepreneurial business environment; ③build a carbon platform with big data technology and improve the Regional Internet plus carbon enterprise database; ④Actively promote the development of PPP model, explore the carbon sink transaction of cooperation between the government and social capital, continuously improve the regional green and low-carbon development, and jointly promote the realization of the "double carbon goal".

Heterogeneity of regional carbon emission markets in China: Evidence from multidimensional determinants

The Chinese carbon markets are heterogeneously distributed with different regional economies and natural resource endowments. This paper examines how carbon prices behave across regional emission markets in China using the dynamic model averaging (DMA) approach. The results show that the Beijing, Guangdong, and Hubei markets are increasingly affected by various factors. In contrast, the Shanghai market gradually becomes less affected after 2020, both in the current and forecast periods. Moreover, geopolitical risk and new energy price are important variables for the concurrent relation, and domestic oil price and geopolitical risk are important variables for predicting carbon prices. Nevertheless, there are significant differences in intensity and signs among the four carbon markets affected by various factors, as well as large differences between the results for the current and forecast periods. These results indicate the heterogeneity of regional carbon markets; therefore, caution should be taken when using a single carbon market to represent the entire Chinese market.

Evaluation of regional comprehensive development efficiency under low-carbon policy: based on optimized DDF-GML combined with unsupervised clustering method

In the study of urban development, it is very important to evaluate the influence of production factors reasonably and efficiently for the region to achieve efficient development. The principal aim of this investigation is to amalgamate the conventional measurement model characterized by robust interpretability with the non-parametric model characterized by limited interpretability, thereby enhancing the precision of research outcomes. Towards this objective, the study employs an optimized directional distance function integrated with a global Malmquist–Luenberger index to formulate a comprehensive total factor productivity measurement framework. In elucidating the homogeneous attributes of regions, departing from prior methodologies reliant on manual or direct algorithmic partitioning, this paper employs the K-means clustering algorithm for index discernment, abstracting the concept of K-means clustering centroids to encapsulate regional homogeneity, thereby delineating results through the visualization of regional development potential maps and the evolution of centroid-based clustering trend maps. The findings of the investigation illuminate common patterns of change across disparate regions, proposing a strategy for leveraging regional resource endowments towards a cohesive framework, thereby transcending constraints imposed by production efficiency limitations. Amidst the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, this study draws upon provincial-level data spanning from 2000 to 2018 in China. The conclusive analytical outcomes underscore the pivotal role of energy factors in regional development efficiency, particularly within high-potential development regions, followed by the capital and labor factors. Concurrently, the study discerns a discernible hierarchical pattern among areas of development potential, which exhibits correlation with factor mobility dynamics.

Government‐industrial‐research cooperation in virtual water strategy: A multi‐agent evolutionary game analysis

AbstractThe virtual water strategy (VWS) is an effective tool to balance regional water resource endowments and guarantee water supply security. However, because of self‐interested games around VWS (human decision bias), there is a need for methods to maintain reliable cooperation between governments, virtual water (VW) enterprises and research institutions. This study builds a multi‐agent evolutionary game model to analyse the relationship of players and their impacts on VWS through changing decision mechanisms and the paths to enhance their confidence in cooperation. Considering differences in initial willingness to cooperate and changing factors affecting payoffs, an evolutionary game can produce changing stable equilibriums or stable cooperations, even if some players are reluctant to cooperate. Therefore, to promote the development of VWS, a multistep support mechanism can be built for the VW industry, which fosters model enterprises and optimizes the cooperation framework to stimulate research innovations at scientific institutions.

A study of the impact of the digital economy on regional energy efficiency

The digital economy, emerging as a new form of economic system, holds a crucial position in enhancing energy efficiency. It does so by streamlining the distribution of resources with the help of data and augmenting the flow efficiency of production factors. This paper examines the precise role and mechanism of the digital economy in enhancing energy efficiency from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. This paper utilises panel data from China's provinces and cities over a fifteen-year period, ranging from 2006 to 2021. The fixed-effects model is employed to investigate the precise pathway in which the level of digital economy development influences energy efficiency. The study reveals that the digital economy has a notable impact on enhancing energy efficiency. The analytical mechanism indicates that the digital economy effectively improves energy efficiency by advancing regional marketisation, optimising the industrial structure, and fostering innovation and the adoption of new technologies. Owing to considerable disparity among diverse parts of China, the digital economy seems to have a positive impact on the eastern and central regions, while its influence remains restricted in the western regions. Meanwhile, the areas encompassed by the Yangtze River Economic Belt are the most viable for advancement in energy efficiency through the digital economy. The influence of the digital economy on energy efficiency is markedly inconsistent due to the considerable variation in resource allocation among various regions. The role of the digital economy in enhancing energy efficiency is particularly evident in regions with moderate resource endowment. Thus, this study contends that realisation of the digital economy's capacity requires the government to consider the regional development disparities and resource endowment circumstances. To achieve balanced regional growth and comprehensive progress in energy efficiency, the government must develop tailored policies that promote marketisation, optimise industrial structure, and incentivise technological advancement. Therefore, the implementation of these measures is crucial.

Exploring the dynamics of urban energy efficiency in China: A double machine learning analysis of green finance influence

Analysing the impact of green finance policies on urban energy efficiency contributes to finding solutions to promote the development of China's low-carbon energy system and the global reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Utilizing Chinese urban data from 2006 to 2021, the study employs an enhanced non-radial distance function (NDDF) model to evaluate the energy efficiency of 282 prefecture-level cities. It examines the 'Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone' policy as a quasi-natural experiment. It uses a double machine learning model to analyze its effect on urban energy efficiency and its mechanisms. The research demonstrates that green finance policies significantly improve energy efficiency, mainly through strengthening environmental regulation, fostering green technology innovation, and optimizing industrial structure. Additionally, an in-depth analysis of regional heterogeneity reveals variations in the policy's effectiveness across eastern, central, and western regions and between resource-rich and resource-poor cities. The findings suggest that the efficacy of green finance policies, while generally positive, is influenced by regional economic development and resource endowment differences. The study suggests targeted strategies to improve the green finance system, customize policies according to regional specifics, incentivize corporate green innovation, and foster cross-sectoral collaboration. By offering novel insights into sustainable development and providing actionable policy recommendations, this research contributes to advancing Chinese urban centres' economic and environmental sustainability through the strategic application of green finance.

Analysis of the Spatial Spillover Effect and Impact Transmission Mechanism of China’s Water Network by Constructing a Water Transfer Information Weight Matrix

In China, the water network project plays a pivotal role in optimizing water resources allocation, enhancing regional water resources carrying capacity, and bolstering high-quality economic development. This study is grounded in the spatial interconnection of water resources, serving as the foundation for constructing a spatial measurement model. Leveraging data from 558 panel samples encompassing 31 provinces (including municipalities and districts) in China between 2003 and 2020, this research unveils the inherent correlation between the establishment of the water network and economic as well as social development. The findings indicate the following: (1) Considering inputs, outputs, and nonconsensual outputs, regional disparities in the SBM (slacks-based measure) value of the water network exist, demonstrating an overall increasing trend annually. In 2020, the nationwide average benefit level of input–output in water network construction reached 0.603. (2) Moran’s I test, predicated on the weight matrix of spatial water transfer information, reveals a spatial positive autocorrelation. All tests pass the significance threshold of 5%, affirming the presence of spatial agglomeration due to project construction, operation, and the interconnectedness of water resources. (3) SDM (spatial Durbin model) regression analysis elucidates that per capita GDP, resource endowment, technological innovation level, consumption index, and average wage significantly influence the growth of water network efficiency. Specifically, per capita GDP and the consumption index exert negative influences. Moreover, aspects such as regional resource endowment, technological innovation level, industrial and agricultural water demand, average wage, and other spatial dependencies exhibit a notable positive spatial spillover effect. (4) The SDM model suggests that per capita GDP growth fails to yield a significant spatial spillover effect on neighboring regions. Instead, it highlights a substantial indirect effect and spatial dependence of government attention among regions. These analyses are instrumental in optimizing the water resources allocation network system and enhancing investment efficacy.

Regional Heterogeneity Analysis of Residential Electricity Consumption in Chinese Cities: Based on Spatial Measurement Models

The share of electricity consumption by urban and rural residents in China’s overall electricity consumption is very close to that of the tertiary sector, which has become an important driver of China’s electricity consumption growth. At the same time, due to the mismatch between China’s regional resource endowments and the level of regional development, the regional supply and demand situation for electricity varies. Therefore, it is urgent to clarify the regional differences in residential electricity consumption and the factors affecting it, and accordingly adopt targeted and feasible measures to regulate residential electricity consumption. This article includes data from 285 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2006 to 2019, and adopts a “three lines” method of region-partitioning (Qinling–Huaihe line, Huhuanyong line, and Shanhaiguan line) to divide four regions. We used spatial econometric models to examine residential electricity consumption and its influencing factors in China from the standpoint of regional heterogeneity. The results show that there is significant regional heterogeneity in residential electricity consumption in China, and the difference between the north of the Shanhaiguan line and other areas is significant. Moreover, there is a positive spatial correlation in the per capita domestic electricity consumption of urban residents, and each influencing factor has obvious regional heterogeneity, among which household appliances are the significant influencing factor. Based on the regional heterogeneity of residential electricity consumption, management measures should be formulated according to local conditions, and the supply of electricity should be ensured by strengthening multidimensional initiatives.

The impact of geopolitical risk on energy security: Evidence from a GMM panel VAR approach

Energy security plays a crucial role in a country's long-term economic development. This study investigates the impact of geopolitical risks on energy security in China by employing a panel VAR model, and using provincial panel data from 1994 to 2021. The findings reveal that the relationship between geopolitical risk and energy security is dynamic and inconsistently negative. Notably, variations in regional resource endowments within China contribute to varying levels of susceptibility to geopolitical risks. Specifically, the eastern region demonstrates heightened sensitivity, experiencing significant impacts, while the western region is comparatively less affected. This study recommends Maintaining stable geopolitical risks will improve regional energy security. In addition, promoting renewable energy will also enhance national energy security. This study suggests the fluctuating relationship between geopolitical risks and energy, and suggests strengthening industrial transformation and renewable energy utilization to improve energy security.

Does the Development of Digital Inclusive Finance Promote the Construction of Digital Villages?—An Empirical Study Based on the Chinese Experience

The degree of the effect of digital inclusive finance on the construction of China’s digital villages and the mechanism of action is investigated in this study by matching the digital inclusive finance index in accordance with a data sample of China’s provincial digital villages from 2013 to 2020. As indicated by the result of this study, first, the development of digital inclusive finance positively expedites the development of digital villages. Second, geographical and dimensional differences exist when digital inclusive finance boosts the construction of digital villages. Third, digital inclusive finance is capable of facilitating the construction of digital villages by deepening technological innovation and communication infrastructure construction and further enhancing the digital literacy of residents. Fourth, a positive moderating effect of internal conditions of rural residents’ consumption and external conditions of financial regulation is reported when digital inclusive finance promotes digital rural development. Based on the above-mentioned findings, the following policy recommendations are presented to advance digital countryside construction in depth. First, following the goal of building Chinese modernization, differentiated policies, with regional resource endowments, social conditions, and rural characteristics considered, should be implemented in accordance with local conditions. Second, the digitalization process in rural areas should be vigorously boosted, and it is imperative to optimize and upgrade mobile communication infrastructure, with the aim of injecting new momentum into China’s digital countryside construction. Third, investment in scientific and technological research and development funds and high-level innovative talents should be increased to endow digital technology with better independent innovation capacity and facilitate the level of innovation. Fourth, investment in education should be increased to enhance the digital literacy of urban and rural residents.

Will the Structure of Food Imports Improve China’s Water-Intensive Food Cultivation Structure? A Spatial Econometric Analysis

To explore new strategies for optimizing China’s food cultivation structure, this study empirically investigates the relationship between the food import structure and China’s food cultivation structure from the perspective of water conservation based on factor endowments theory. The following conclusions are drawn: (i) Overall, the water-intensive food cultivation structure (WFCS) in South China and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River shows a slightly upward trend and is obviously at a higher level. The WFCS in the Huang-Huai-Hai and Northwest regions shows a decreasing trend and is obviously at a lower level. (ii) The structural effects of food imports (SEFI) can effectively reduce the proportion of water-intensive food cultivation (WFC). Furthermore, every 100,000 tons of food imports will, on average, reduce the proportion of water-intensive food cultivation in the region by 0.161%. The negative effect of the SEFI on the proportion of WFC in the northern region and the major food-producing regions is stronger than that in the southern region and the non-major food-producing regions. (iii) The quantile regression reveals that the marginal role played by the SEFI is progressively stronger in regions with a higher proportion of WFC. This is because in regions with a low proportion of water- and land-intensive food cultivation, regional resource endowments are still sufficient to support the production. However, as the proportion of such food cultivation increases, the regional resource endowment will have difficulty supporting normal production. In this case, the negative effect of the SEFI on the proportion of WFC will be stronger. (iv) Driven by profits, some provinces import food and then dispatch it to adjacent regions. Thus, the SEFI has a spatial spillover effect on China’s food cultivation structure. This study verifies the applicability of factor endowments theory in the field of food trade, which not only extends the boundary of research into food import structure but also provides planning suggestions for China’s food cultivation structure.

The effect exerted by environment regulation on industrial structure optimization: Evidence of 286 China's cities on the prefecture level

Promoting industrial structure optimization and improvement on the basis of environment regulation based on “China's carbon peak and carbon neutralization” turns out to be a requirement that cannot be avoided for achieving China's economic growth with high quality. In this study, a dynamic game model for enterprises and governments in local areas with two phases, covering a polluting production sector and a clean production sector, is built for analyzing the influence mechanism of environment regulation of local governments on industrial structure optimization. Panel data of 286 cities on the prefecture level and above from 2003 to 2018 served as samples. The direct and dynamic impacts of environment regulation on industrial structure optimization are empirically tested, and the threshold model is adopted to test whether industrial structures and resource endowment will affect the effect of environment regulation on industrial structure optimization. Lastly, the effect exerted by environment regulation on industrial structure optimization is tested by region. The empirical results show that there is a nonlinear correlation of environment regulation and industrial structure optimization. Once the environment regulation intensity reaches a certain inflection point, it will hinder industrial structure optimization. When regional resource endowment and the secondary industry's ratio are used as threshold variables, environment regulation has a threshold effect on industrial structure optimization. The effect exerted by environment regulation on industrial structure optimization has regional heterogeneity.

Projection of regional carbon emissions and analysis of emission reduction potential under multiple scenarios

At the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, president Xi Jinping proposed to reach ”carbon peak” by 2030 and strive to achieve the ”carbon neutrality” by 2060. Research on carbon emission projections is of positive significance to facilitate the effective application of ”double carbon” in China. Therefore, this paper proposes a regional carbon emission projection method. Firstly, based on the regional resource endowment and historical data on energy consumption, this paper forecasts the energy structure of each sector in the region through the Markov model and the energy demand of each sector in the region through the LEAP model. Then, the CO2 emission factor of each energy source is calculated. Finally, the projection of regional CO2 emissions under different policy and technology scenarios is provided by considering the influence of different factors on future regional carbon emissions, and the emission reduction potential is analyzed based on the projection results. To check the effectiveness of the presented method, this paper carries out a case study of regional CO2 emission in a city in China and analyzes the emission decrease effect of each proposed initiative according to the projected results. The results of the case study demonstrate that the presented method can effectively assess the regional CO2 emissions and the reduction potential of different emission reduction measures.

Scenario-based urban growth simulation by incorporating ecological-agricultural-urban suitability into a Future Land Use Simulation model

China's rapid urbanization has imposed a considerable strain on land resources and infrastructure, resulting in environmental deterioration, food shortage, traffic congestion, and various other challenges. The urban growth boundary (UGB) is regarded as an important policy instrument for managing and curbing urban sprawl. Previous studies on UGB have focused on the quantity and spatial constraints of built-up land concerning natural resources conservation. However, achieving a balance between urban conservation and development by easing the conflict between land functions is not yet well understood. To bridge this gap, combining “bottom-up” local spatial simulation with “top-down” regulation and human constraint, this study simulated multi-scenario urban expansion and UGB in Jiangsu Province, China in 2035 using ecological-agricultural-urban suitability assessment and a Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) model. The results show that the maintenance of different land functions will have a significant impact on the number, spatial distribution, and landscape characteristics of UGB. Under the integrated development scenario, UGB will have the largest area (27,893.33 km2) with the most significant agglomeration characteristics. The delineated UGB, coupling ecological-agricultural-urban suitability, will reflect regional heterogeneous resource endowment and can further alleviate conflicts between multiple objectives. For fairness and equality between cities, future urban expansion should emphasize the development of less-developed areas. This study expands a new insight for simulating urban expansion and offers practical recommendations for orderly urban growth and sustainable urban management in other cities.

Air Pollution and Enterprise Energy Efficiency: Evidence from Energy-Intensive Manufacturing Industries in China

This study aims to investigate the causal effect of air pollution on enterprise-level energy efficiency in the energy-intensive manufacturing industries of China. To address the potential endogenous problem, it employs thermal inversions as the instrumental variable. The study finds that air pollution would significantly decrease enterprise-level energy efficiency. It shows heterogeneous influences of air pollution on enterprise-level energy efficiency, varying with enterprise ownership, enterprise age, enterprise location, and regional energy resource endowment. This study further reveals that air pollution exerts a negative influence on enterprise-level energy efficiency through the mechanisms of decreasing enterprise productivity (both total factor productivity and labor productivity), increasing enterprise total energy consumption, and lowering enterprise exports. The findings of this study provide an economic rationale for enterprises to motivate themselves to reduce air pollution and have important implications for policymaking in China and other developing countries.

Gains and losses of farmland associated with farmland protection policy and urbanization in China: An integrated perspective based on goal orientation

The Requisition-Compensation Balance of Farmland (RCBF) policy remedies the situation where valuable farmland becomes occupied for non-agricultural objectives during the rapid urbanization in China. However, there has been little systematic and provincial research on the RCBF policy. This study explores the establishment of an optimized and differentiated RCBF policy, adapted to regional resource endowments, socioeconomic developments based on the current policy system. We evaluated the holistic performance of gains and losses of farmland in Jiangsu Province from 1995 to 2015. The aims of this framework include the well-known “quantity-quality-ecological-yield” balance and a significant but undervalued farmland quality improvement object. We compared the differences between gained farmland and lost farmland using the quantity balance index, quality balance index, ecosystem service value benefits-and-losses method, and grain yield spatialization method, respectively. The structural transformation of “dry land to paddy” has been used to evaluate quality improvement. The evaluation results revealed that the challenges of “more occupation than compensation” in quantity have existed for a long time. Additionally, some ecological land was exploited to replenish the farmland, resulting in the unsustainable phenomenon of “dual development and dual loss.” Moreover, the average productivity and average utilization intensity of the gained farmland were superior to those of the lost farmland. This confirms the grain yield gap could be narrowed by increasing farmland utilization intensity. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that a low percentage of farmland in Jiangsu Province had improved in quality and that significant improvement was required. Based on these findings, we encourage Jiangsu Province to focus on improving the quality and productivity of farmland to precisely achieve “quality against quantity and yield balance” to address the quantity imbalance and the resulting ecological risks.

Can Environmental Regulations Promote Regional Industrial Transfer?

In the context of building a “Beautiful China”, it is imperative to strengthen environmental regulations to restrict industrial pollution emissions. However, there are significant differences of regulations intensity among different regions, which will lead to an increase in the cost of compliance with regulations for polluting industries, so these industries tend to transfer from areas with strong environmental regulations to areas with weak environmental regulations. Based on the panel data of 282 prefecture-level cities and national patent data from 1994 to 2010, this paper constructs a difference in difference model (DID) to empirically study the impact of environmental regulations on regional industrial transfer and its mechanism. We find that, firstly, the “Two-Control Zones” policy has significantly promoted regional industrial transfer, and its effect has gradually increased in the long run. Then, the promotion effect of the “Two-Control Zones” policy on regional industrial transfer is heterogeneous among different regions due to the regional market environment and resource endowment; that is, the promotion effect is the greatest in Central China, then in Eastern China, and finally in Western China. At the same time, the frequency of industrial transfer in areas with high resource dependence is significantly lower than that in areas with low resource dependence. Finally, mechanism studies find that environmental regulation enhances inter-regional industrial liquidity and promotes regional technological innovation, and the role of environmental regulation on technological innovation is more obvious in regions with weak industrial liquidity. This proves that the “Pollution Heaven Hypothesis” and the “Porter Hypothesis” can be established at the same time in the Chinese context, which provides more reliable empirical evidence for the government to formulate environmental regulations, restrict pollution emissions, and balance environmental governance and sustainable economic development.

Robust optimization for sustainable agricultural management of the water-land-food nexus under uncertainty

Global climate change has led to a severe loss of water and land resources and has exacerbated food crisis concerns. The water-land-food nexus in agricultural irrigation systems is receiving increasing attention. However, for sustainable food production, land and water resources must be managed effectively. The allocation of agricultural water and land resource components involves a large amount of uncertainty regarding readily available water. A robust optimization model of water-land-food nexus for agricultural irrigation systems is presented in this study, which comprehensively considers the uncertainty of the system and optimizes the allocation of scarce water and land resources for diverse crops to maximize irrigation system productivity. Using the Yellow River Basin as a case study, the results revealed that the developed optimization model can successfully resolve the system uncertainty perturbation and provide the finest potential allocation of water and land resources. Its irrigation system productivity can attain 1.6843–1.7143 kg/m3, which is improved by 6.6%–8.5%, and it can also reveal the interaction between WLF-nexus systems. This study also discovered that crop type and proportion can be modified to improve resource-use efficiency based on regional water and land resource endowment. Finally, policy implications are proposed to enhance resource utilization efficiency.

The Allocation Change of Rural Land Consolidation Type Structure under the Influence Factors of Different Geographical and Economic Development of China.

Land consolidation structure reflects land consolidation function, and studies about its spatio-temporal change and driving mechanism can serve for regional management and control land consolidation. At present, the analysis of regional differences, time changes, and driving factors of land consolidation type structure change is relatively lacking. Based on the data of provincial acceptance projects from 2000 to 2014, this paper analyzes the spatio-temporal change of rural land consolidation type structure in China, discusses the impact of relevant policies, and identifies the socio-economic driving factors in key regions by employing correlation analysis and the PLSR (partial least squares regression) method. The results showed that from 2000 to 2014, the proportional increase of land arrangement in China was significantly correlated with the proportional decrease of land reclamation (R2 = 0.93), and the proportional decrease of land development (R2 = 0.99) showed an obvious co-evolution pattern of increase and decrease; TILC (The area of land development/The area of land arrangement) decreased from 2.14 to 0.91 in 2002-2003. Since 2003, the dominant type of land consolidation in China has gradually changed from land development to land arrangement. However, the proportion of land development in QT (Qinghai-Tibet), JY (Jin-Yu), and FGH (Fujian-Guangdong-Hainan) areas is still more than 40%; the change of land consolidation type structure was influenced by policies, social and economic factors, such as urbanization rate, fixed assets investment, industrial proportion, and population density, and the regional difference was significant: the eastern section (JZS, Jiangsu-Zhejiang-Shanghai) is the industry proportion, the central area (HHAJ, Hunan-Hubei-Anhui-Jiangxi) is grain production and fixed assets investment, the western region (NW, Northwest China) has the urbanization rate, grain production, population density, and fixed assets investment. Land consolidation structure should be configured differentially in each region based on the identification of regional function orientation and comprehensive consideration of regional resource endowment and development needs and directions to improve the efficiency of land consolidation.