Ecological efficiency in China and its influencing factors—a super-efficient SBM metafrontier-Malmquist-Tobit model study

Ecological problem is one of the core issues that restrain China’s economic development at present, and it is urgently needed to be solved properly and effectively. Based on panel data from 30 regions, this paper uses a super efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model that introduces the undesirable output to calculate the ecological efficiency, and then uses traditional and metafrontier-Malmquist index method to study regional change trends and technology gap ratios (TGRs). Finally, the Tobit regression and principal component analysis methods are used to analysis the main factors affecting eco-efficiency and impact degree. The results show that about 60% of China’s provinces have effective eco-efficiency, and the overall ecological efficiency of China is at the superior middling level, but there is a serious imbalance among different provinces and regions. Ecological efficiency has an obvious spatial cluster effect. There are differences among regional TGR values. Most regions show a downward trend and the phenomenon of focusing on economic development at the expense of ecological protection still exists. Expansion of opening to the outside, increases in R&D spending, and improvement of population urbanization rate have positive effects on eco-efficiency. Blind economic expansion, increases of industrial structure, and proportion of energy consumption have negative effects on eco-efficiency.