[Spatio-temporal evolution and driving mechanism of green economic efficiency at county level in the Yellow River Delta, China]. / 黄河三角洲县域绿色经济效率的时空演变与驱动机制.

ABSTRACT

A comprehensive measurement of green economic efficiency in the Yellow River Delta region can provide a reference basis for achieving ecological protection and high-quality development. We constructed an evaluation system of green economic efficiency in counties based on multi-source remote sensing data. We adopted the Super-EBM model that considered non-expected output to make a comprehensive measurement of green economic efficiency in Yellow River Delta counties, used the kernel density function estimation method to portray the characteristics of spatial and temporal evolution, and finally used the system generalized moment estimation method to identify influen-cing factors. The results showed that the comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of the green economy in the Yellow River Delta counties showed a fluctuating upward trend from 2000 to 2015. The scale efficiency showed a rapid increase and then stayed stable in a 'Γ' type trend, while the increase in comprehensive efficiency transformed from being driven by scale-technology to being led by technology. The comprehensive efficiency and pure technical efficiency of the green economy in the Yellow River Delta counties showed an evolutionary trend from 'club convergence' to 'overall convergence', with the low efficiency counties formed a 'catch-up effect' on the high efficiency counties and the scale efficiency toward a balanced and smooth development. The comprehensive efficiency of green economy and its decomposition efficiency spatially formed a 'mountain' pattern, which was high in the middle, low in the two wings, and the high value area concentrated in the headland of the Yellow River Delta and along the coast of Laizhou Bay. The high-value area showed the characteristics of a northwest-southeast shift, and the east and west wings of the Yellow River Delta formed low-value subsidence areas. Industrial structure, population concentration level, and fixed asset investment intensity had positive effects on green economic efficiency, while population urbanization rate had negative effects on green economic efficiency. There was an obvious 'environmental Kuznets' effect between green economic efficiency and economic development level.