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Convergence analysis of Chinese urban green land-use efficiency

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Abstract

Convergence analysis of China’s urban green land-use efficiency (GLUE) will help to explore whether regional differences in GLUE determined by regional economic development and imbalance of resource endowments gradually decrease over time. We construct a DEA model considering variable returns to scale to measure Chinese urban GLUE, and discuss the convergence of Chinese urban GLUE. We find that Chinese urban GLUE is generally low. GLUE of eastern cities is the best. GLUE of non-resource-based (NRB) cities is higher than that of resource-based (RB) cities. GLUE of Pearl River Delta Economic Zone is the highest, while that of Comprehensive Economic Zone of Central 6 Provinces is the lowest. Chinese urban GLUE is mainly affected by technological change. Chinese urban GLUE shows absolute and conditional β convergence, and the gap of GLUE between cities is constantly narrowing. Cities in different locations, resource dependence degrees, and economic zones have different convergence rates. The conclusions help the Chinese government to formulate policies for intensive land use, improve national GLUE, and promote urban intensive and high-quality development.

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Availability of data and materials

Data will be available upon request.

Funding

This research was supported by Scientific Research Project of Hunan Provincial Education Department in year 2019 (No. 19B090).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering Management, Hunan University of Finance and Economics, Changsha, 410205, Hunan, China

    Cenjie Liu

  2. School of Economics, Central South University of forestry and Technology, Changsha, 410004, Hunan, China

    Guomei Zhao

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  1. Cenjie Liu
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  2. Guomei Zhao
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Contributions

Cenjie Liu and Guomei Zhao conceptualized the study and participated in the study design. Cenjie Liu wrote the manuscript. Guomei Zhao collected the data and conducted the statistical analysis. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Cenjie Liu.

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Liu, C., Zhao, G. Convergence analysis of Chinese urban green land-use efficiency. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 89469–89484 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21841-3

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