Urban land use efficiency and improvement potential in China: A stochastic frontier analysis. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Shuchang; Xiao, Wu; Li, Linlin; Ye, Yanmei; Song, Xiaoli
• Is Part Of: Land use policy. Volume 99(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: Urban land use efficiency -- Regional difference -- Improvement potential -- Stochastic frontier analysis -- China; Land use -- Periodicals; Land use -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Sol, Utilisation du -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation du -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.7305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.105046
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-8377

Abstract

Highlights: A stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) is used to evaluate urban land use efficiency (ULUE). The spatial and temporal characteristics of ULUE are analyzed. Undesirable outputs cause a loss of ULUE. The improvement potential of ULUE is revealed. Targeted policy suggestions for ULUE improvement are further proposed. Abstract: With economic growth facing increasing constraints of resource and environment, intensive land use becomes one of the effective ways to promote urban sustainable development. This paper aims to reveal the spatial and temporal differences in urban land use efficiency (ULUE) in provincial China, and examine the impact of undesirable output (e.g., industrial pollutant emissions) on ULUE using a one-stage stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). Furthermore, we analyze the improvement potential of ULUE. Results show that 1) ULUE in China is relatively low, and it shows a trend of slow growth at an annual growth rate of 0.34 %. 2) Undesirable output causes a loss of ULUE. The loss ratio in the western region is the highest (9.61 %), followed by the central region (8.41 %) and the eastern region (3.93 %). Estimation results of the technical inefficiency function also show that pollution intensity has a negative effect on ULUE. 3) ULUE varies significantly across the country. The mean efficiency values in the eastern, central, and western regions are 0.733, 0.535, and 0.507, respectively. ULUE levels in different provinces present a greater gap when undesirable output is considered. 4) The improvement potential analysis indicates a mismatch between the ULUE and the improvement potential. Areas with low efficiency does not necessarily have relatively high improvement potential (e.g., Ningxia and Xinjiang), or areas with relatively high efficiency may also have high improvement potential (e.g., Fujian and Shandong). Based on the difference in ULUE level and its improvement potential, targeted policy suggestions for ULUE improvement are further proposed.