The determinants of urban sustainability in Chinese resource-based cities: A panel quantile regression approach

Abstract

Improving energy efficiency and reducing environmental pollution emissions are two important ways to alleviate energy problems. Despite the progress in energy efficiency, the growth in energy demand still exceeds the efficiency improvements. This study adopts nonparametric methods to estimate the total factor energy efficiency (TFEE) of 105 resource-based cities covering the period 2010-2016 in China and analyzes the spatiotemporal characteristics of changes in energy efficiency. Furthermore, panel quantile regression is applied to analyze the multiple impacts of economic level, industrial structure, resource endowment, energy price, government intervention and degree of openness on energy efficiency. The main findings are as follows. (1) Each determinant has a different influence on TFEE at different levels; among them, the influence of the fuel and energy price index show an inverted U-shaped distribution as the quantile increases, and that of the GDP per capita shows a stronger heterogeneity than those of other factors. (2) Resource-based cities with lower efficiency are more sensitive to government intervention than are cities with higher efficiency. (3) A city's openness has a negative effect on TFEE, which partly supports the pollution haven hypothesis: the more foreign investment a resource-based city receives, the lower its energy and technology efficiency. Finally, some practical suggestions for the sustainable development of resource-based cities are discussed.

Measurement of the Energy Intensity of Human Well-Being and Spatial Econometric Analysis of Its Influencing Factors

“…Among them, the growth rate of ECPC in Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang was significantly higher than the national average, which might result from these provinces being exceptionally rich in petrochemical resources, and energy production is a pillar industry in these provinces. Therefore, ECPC of these provinces was affected to some extent, which was consistent with the research conclusions of Yan et al and Wu et al [56,57].…”

Innovation or Introduction? The Impact of Technological Progress Sources on Industrial Green Transformation of Resource-Based Cities in China

“…The "Pollution Haven Hypothesis" also proves this conclusion. This can be explained in two parts: 1) resource-based cities in China have cheap resources and immature environmental regulations, which attract foreign investment to their high energy consumption and heavypolluting industries (Yan et al, 2019) and 2) technology introduction may worsen competing domestic companies, and even crowd them out from the market (Hu and Jefferson, 2002). The competitive pressure from foreign investment has squeezed the market share of local enterprises, reducing their profits and R&D capacity.…”

“…Meanwhile, scholars have reported that multinational companies transfer pollution-intensive production to developing countries (Chung, 2014), causing serious pollution and inhibiting the green transformation of industry (Acharyya, 2009). In addition, Yan et al (2019) found the greater foreign investment a resource-based city receives, the lower its energy and technology efficiency. These results show that FDI will have a negative impact on the environment of host countries, which means that technology introduction is not conducive to industrial green transformation in the region.…”

Assessing Sustainability Behavior and Environmental Performance of Urban Systems: A Systematic Review

“…Sustainability proposals constituted by local governments and various participants [59][60][61][62][63][64][65] demonstrate the heterogeneous aspects of urban transformative capacity. Configuring robust policies or articulating groundbreaking infrastructures may enhance the operation of urban systems and carry out sustainability goals.…”