Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Constructing stratifications for regions in China with sustainable development concerns

  • Published:
Quality & Quantity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

China’s economic boom has brought about environmental dark sides, i.e., serious air, water, and solid waste pollutions. As the largest developing countries in the world, China’s road toward economic-environmental balance is even complicated since there are various regions of diversified geographical and economic conditions. Using context-dependent-DEA (data envelopment analysis) as performance evaluating technique, this study constructs the regions’ benchmark-learning ladders for those inefficient regions to improve progressively; and to identify real benchmark for those efficient regions to rank ascendant by incorporating the stratification DEA method, attractiveness measure, and progress measure. Decision matrix covering attractiveness and progress scores is made to help the regions position themselves. Furthermore, we find that capital/employee ratio plays important role on forming levels of regions, which can be interpreted that advanced technology is one of key factors toward regional sustainable development.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Afonso A., Fernandes S.: Measuring local government spending efficiency: evidence for the Lisbon region. Reg. Stud. 40(1), 39–53 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersen P., Petersen N.C.: A procedure for ranking efficient units in Data Envelopment Analysis. Manag. Sci. 39(10), 1261–1264 (1993)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armagan, G., Ozden, A., Bekcioglu, S.: Efficiency and total factor productivity of crop production at NUTS1 level in Turkey: Malmquist index approach. Qual. Quant. (2008). doi:10.1007/s11135-008-9216-5

  • Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, APCSS.: China’s internal challenges and their implications for regional stability. (http://www.apcss.org) (2000)

  • Boscá J.E., Escribá J., Murgui M.J.: Total factor productivity growth in Spanish regions: effects of quasi-fixed and external factors and varying capacity utilization. Reg. Stud. 38(6), 587–601 (2004)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charnes A., Cooper W.W., Rhodes E.: Measuring the efficiency of decision making units. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 2(6), 44–429 (1978)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dryzek J.: The Politics of the Earth: Environmental Discourses. Oxford University Press, Oxford (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  • Färe R., Grosskopf S., Lovell C.A.K., Pasurka C.: Multilateral productivity comparisons when some outputs are undesirable: a nonparametric approach. Rev. Econ. Stat. 71(1), 90–98 (1989)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs D.: Regional development agencies and sustainable development. Reg. Stud. 32, 365–368 (1998)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs D.: Ecological modernization, regional development and regional development agencies. Geoforum 31, 9–19 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karadağ M., Önder A.O., Deliktaş E.: Growth of factor productivity in Turkish manufacturing industry at the provincial level. Reg. Stud. 39(2), 213–223 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li K.W.: China’s capital and productivity measurement using financial resources. Economic Growth Center, Yale University, New Haven (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li X.B., Reeves G.R.: A multiple criteria approach to Data Envelopment Analysis. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 115(3), 507–517 (1999)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lovell C.A.K., Pastor J.T., Turner J.A.: Measuring macroeconomic performance in the OECD: a comparison of European and non-European countries. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 87, 507–518 (1995)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maudos J., Pastor J.M., Serrano L.: Efficiency and productive specialization: an application to the Spanish regions. Reg. Stud. 34(9), 829–842 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morita H., Hirokawa K., Zhu J.: A slack based measure of efficiency in context-dependent Data Envelopment Analysis. Omega Int. J. Manag. Sci. 33(4), 357–362 (2005)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nankivell N.: China’s pollution and the threat to domestic and regional stability. China Brief 5(22), 5–8 (2005)

    Google Scholar 

  • Seiford L.M., Zhu J.: Infeasibility of super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis. INFOR 37(2), 174–187 (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  • Seiford L.M., Zhu J.: Modeling undesirable factors in efficiency evaluation. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 142(1), 16–20 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seiford L.M., Zhu J.: Context-dependent Data Envelopment Analysis: measuring attractiveness and progress. Omega Int. J. Manag. Sci. 31(5), 397–480 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith P., Mayston D.: Measuring efficiency in the public sector. Omega Int. J. Manag. Sci. 20, 569–586 (1987)

    Google Scholar 

  • The economist: a great wall of waste—China’s environment. (London) 372(8389), 64 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  • Tone K.: A slacks-based measure of super-efficiency in Data Envelopment Analysis. Eur. J. Oper. Res. 143(1), 32–41 (2002)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Uri N.D.: A note on the technical and allocative efficiency of local exchange carriers in the United States. Qual. Quant. 40(3), 383–406 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallner H.P., Narodoslawsky M., Moser F.: Islands of sustainability: a bottom-up approach towards sustainable development. Environ. Plan. A 28, 1763–1778 (1996)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J.: Quantitative Models for Performance Evaluation and Benchmarking: Data Envelopment Analysis with Spreadsheets. Kluwer, Boston (2003)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wen-Min Lu.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lu, WM., Lo, SF. Constructing stratifications for regions in China with sustainable development concerns. Qual Quant 46, 1807–1823 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9559-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-011-9559-1

Keywords

Navigation