%I MDPI
%V 17
%R 10.3390/ijerph17020446
%J International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
%T The double-edged sword of urbanization and its nexus with eco-efficiency in China
%O cited By 21
%X Urbanization has made tremendous contributions to China�s economic development since its economic reforms and opening up. At the same time, population agglomeration has aggravated environmental pollution and posed serious challenges to China�s environment. This article empirically investigates the impacts of China�s urbanization on eco-efficiency, comprehensively reflecting economic growth, resource input, and waste discharge. We first measured the provincial eco-efficiency in China from 2005 to 2015 using the Super Slack-Based model (Super-SBM). We then constructed a spatial model to empirically analyze the effects of urbanization on eco-efficiency at the national level, and at four regional levels. The results indicated that the regional eco-efficiency in China has fluctuated, but is generally improving, and that a gap between regions was evident, with a trend toward further gap expansion. We observed an effect of spatial spillover in eco-efficiency, which was significant and positive for the whole country, except for the western region. The influence of urbanization on China�s eco-efficiency exhibited a U-curve relationship. The changing trend in the eastern, central, and western regions was the same as that in the whole country; however, the trend exhibited an inverted U-curve relationship in the northeastern region. To the best of our knowledge, covering a time period of 2005�2015, this article is the first of its kind to study the impact of urbanization on eco-efficiency in China at both the national and regional levels. This study may help policy-makers to create sustainable policies that could be helpful in balancing urbanization and the ecological environment. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
%K econometrics; economic growth; economic impact; environmental economics; pollution incidence; spatial analysis; sustainable development; urbanization, article; China; urbanization; China; economic development; environmental protection; human; pollution, China, China; Conservation of Natural Resources; Economic Development; Environmental Pollution; Humans; Urbanization
%L scholars13554
%A L. Yue
%A D. Xue
%A M.U. Draz
%A F. Ahmad
%A J. Li
%A F. Shahzad
%A S. Ali
%D 2020
%N 2