IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecolec/v206y2023ics0921800923000125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The inter-provincial trade inequality in China: An assessment of the impact of changes in built-up land and carbon storage

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Pengfei
  • Li, Hongbo
  • Huang, Zhenbin

Abstract

Inter-regional trade contributes to the expansion of built-up land and carbon storage loss, which results in inequality in unequal exchange. Revealing this inequality can help socio-environmental sustainability be better achieved. This paper uses a multi-regional input-output model to analyze the virtual built-up land flows embodied in the inter-provincial trade in China, and calculates the carbon storage loss caused by the expansion of built-up land. The inter-provincial trade inequality in China is discussed subsequently. The results show that regional unfair trade exists in China, and less developed regions are in an inferior position. Compared to less developed regions, developed regions obtain more benefits from inter-provincial trade, in both economic and environmental aspects. Regionally, the expansion of built-up land mainly occurs in the eastern and southern regions, which lost much carbon storage, especially Guangdong and Yunnan. Coastal regions had a high built-up land utilization efficiency, followed by the central regions. The built-up land interactions are mainly concentrated in the central and eastern regions, and the degree of trade participation in less developed regions is low.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Pengfei & Li, Hongbo & Huang, Zhenbin, 2023. "The inter-provincial trade inequality in China: An assessment of the impact of changes in built-up land and carbon storage," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 206(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:206:y:2023:i:c:s0921800923000125
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107749
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921800923000125
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2023.107749?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liang, Xuedong & Yang, Xu & Yan, Fuhai & Li, Zhi, 2020. "Exploring global embodied metal flows in international trade based combination of multi-regional input-output analysis and complex network analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    2. Guo, Shan & Jiang, Li & Shen, Geoffrey Q.P., 2019. "Embodied pasture land use change in China 2000-2015: From the perspective of globalization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 476-485.
    3. Rivera-Basques, Luisa & Duarte, Rosa & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio, 2021. "Unequal ecological exchange in the era of global value chains: The case of Latin America," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Hornborg, Alf, 2014. "Ecological economics, Marxism, and technological progress: Some explorations of the conceptual foundations of theories of ecologically unequal exchange," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 11-18.
    5. Xindong Du & Xiaobin Jin & Xilian Yang & Xuhong Yang & Yinkang Zhou, 2014. "Spatial Pattern of Land Use Change and Its Driving Force in Jiangsu Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-18, March.
    6. Masayuki Kondo & Kazuhito Ichii & Prabir K. Patra & Joseph G. Canadell & Benjamin Poulter & Stephen Sitch & Leonardo Calle & Yi Y. Liu & Albert I. J. M. van Dijk & Tazu Saeki & Nobuko Saigusa & Pierre, 2018. "Land use change and El Niño-Southern Oscillation drive decadal carbon balance shifts in Southeast Asia," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-11, December.
    7. Richard Wood & Konstantin Stadler & Moana Simas & Tatyana Bulavskaya & Stefan Giljum & Stephan Lutter & Arnold Tukker, 2018. "Growth in Environmental Footprints and Environmental Impacts Embodied in Trade: Resource Efficiency Indicators from EXIOBASE3," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(3), pages 553-564, June.
    8. Han, Mengyao & Chen, Guoqian, 2018. "Global arable land transfers embodied in Mainland China’s foreign trade," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 521-534.
    9. Guo, Shan & Wang, Yao & Shen, Geoffrey Q.P. & Zhang, Bo & Wang, Hao, 2020. "Virtual built-up land transfers embodied in China’s interregional trade," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    10. Infante-Amate, Juan & Krausmann, Fridolin, 2019. "Trade, Ecologically Unequal Exchange and Colonial Legacy: The Case of France and its Former Colonies (1962–2015)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 98-109.
    11. Chuai, Xiaowei & Gao, Runyi & Huang, Xianjin & Lu, Qinli & Zhao, Rongqin, 2021. "The embodied flow of built-up land in China's interregional trade and its implications for regional carbon balance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    12. Xia Wang & Lijun Zhang & Yaochen Qin & Jingfei Zhang, 2020. "Analysis of China’s Manufacturing Industry Carbon Lock-In and Its Influencing Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-15, February.
    13. Anke Schaffartzik & Melanie Pichler, 2017. "Extractive Economies in Material and Political Terms: Broadening the Analytical Scope," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-17, June.
    14. Zhang, Chao & Anadon, Laura Diaz, 2014. "A multi-regional input–output analysis of domestic virtual water trade and provincial water footprint in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 159-172.
    15. Han, M.Y. & Chen, G.Q. & Dunford, M., 2019. "Land use balance for urban economy: A multi-scale and multi-type perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 323-333.
    16. Dorninger, Christian & Hornborg, Alf & Abson, David J. & von Wehrden, Henrik & Schaffartzik, Anke & Giljum, Stefan & Engler, John-Oliver & Feller, Robert L. & Hubacek, Klaus & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2021. "Global patterns of ecologically unequal exchange: Implications for sustainability in the 21st century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    17. Qiaowen Lin & Lu Zhang & Bingkui Qiu & Yi Zhao & Chao Wei, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use Patterns on Carbon Emissions in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-13, February.
    18. Piñero, Pablo & Pérez-Neira, David & Infante-Amate, Juan & Chas-Amil, María L. & Doldán-García, Xoán R., 2020. "Unequal raw material exchange between and within countries: Galicia (NW Spain) as a core-periphery economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    19. Chao Bao & Mutian Xu & Siao Sun, 2019. "China’s Land Uses in the Multi-Region Input–Output Framework," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-17, August.
    20. Moran, Daniel D. & Lenzen, Manfred & Kanemoto, Keiichiro & Geschke, Arne, 2013. "Does ecologically unequal exchange occur?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 177-186.
    21. Jason Hickel, 2019. "The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 873-884, September.
    22. Garbarino, Elena & Orveillon, Glenn & Saveyn, Hans G.M., 2020. "Management of waste from extractive industries: The new European reference document on the Best Available Techniques," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    23. Althouse, Jeffrey & Guarini, Giulio & Gabriel Porcile, Jose, 2020. "Ecological macroeconomics in the open economy: Sustainability, unequal exchange and policy coordination in a center-periphery model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pang, Qinghua & Liu, Xuan & Zhang, Lina & Chiu, Yung-ho, 2024. "Temporal-spatial evolution of environmental inequality of embodied energy transfer within inter-provincial trade of China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    2. Pengfei Wang & Hongbo Li & Zhenbin Huang, 2024. "Quantifying Inter‐regional Trade Inequality of China's Cities Based on Environmental‐economic Benefits in Virtual Built‐up Land Flow," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 32(5), pages 226-246, September.
    3. Bakouan, Pousseni & Sawadogo, Relwendé, 2024. "BioTrade and income inequality: Does frontier technology readiness matter?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 650-665.
    4. Zhang, Wei & Han, Jie & Kuang, Shiyi & Işık, Cem & Su, Ya & Ju Lai Ti, Gu Li Ni Ga Er & Li, Su & Xia, Zebang & Muhammad, Anas, 2024. "Exploring the impact of sustainable finance on carbon emissions: Policy implications and interactions with low-carbon energy transition from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Althouse, Jeffrey & Cahen-Fourot, Louison & Carballa-Smichowski, Bruno & Durand, Cédric & Knauss, Steven, 2023. "Ecologically unequal exchange and uneven development patterns along global value chains," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    2. Dorninger, Christian & Hornborg, Alf & Abson, David J. & von Wehrden, Henrik & Schaffartzik, Anke & Giljum, Stefan & Engler, John-Oliver & Feller, Robert L. & Hubacek, Klaus & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2021. "Global patterns of ecologically unequal exchange: Implications for sustainability in the 21st century," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 179(C).
    3. Olk, Christopher, 2024. "How much a dollar cost: Currency hierarchy as a driver of ecologically unequal exchange," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    4. Cheng, Mengyao & Wu, Jialu & Li, Chaohui & Jia, Yuanxin & Xia, Xiaohua, 2023. "Tele-connection of global agricultural land network: Incorporating complex network approach with multi-regional input-output analysis," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Tunç, Gül İpek & Akbostancı, Elif & Türüt-Aşık, Serap, 2022. "Ecological unequal exchange between Turkey and the European Union: An assessment from value added perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Xiaomei Fan & Hongguang Liu & Mengmeng Wang, 2022. "Study on the Agricultural Land Transfer Embodied in Inter-Provincial Trade in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Pengfei Wang & Hongbo Li & Zhenbin Huang, 2024. "Quantifying Inter‐regional Trade Inequality of China's Cities Based on Environmental‐economic Benefits in Virtual Built‐up Land Flow," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 32(5), pages 226-246, September.
    8. Mengyao Han & Shuchang Li, 2021. "Transfer Patterns and Drivers of Embodied Agricultural Land within China: Based on Multi-Regional Decomposition Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Chuai, Xiaowei & Gao, Runyi & Huang, Xianjin & Lu, Qinli & Zhao, Rongqin, 2021. "The embodied flow of built-up land in China's interregional trade and its implications for regional carbon balance," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    10. Xingbo Yin, 2022. "The influence of urbanization on vegetation carbon pools under a tele-coupling framework in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4046-4063, March.
    11. Zhang, Haoran & Li, Ruixiong & Cai, Xingrui & Zheng, Chaoyue & Liu, Laibao & Liu, Maodian & Zhang, Qianru & Lin, Huiming & Chen, Long & Wang, Xuejun, 2022. "Do electricity flows hamper regional economic–environmental equity?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 326(C).
    12. Rivera-Basques, Luisa & Duarte, Rosa & Sánchez-Chóliz, Julio, 2021. "Unequal ecological exchange in the era of global value chains: The case of Latin America," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    13. Yang, Honghua & Ma, Linwei & Li, Zheng, 2023. "Tracing China's steel use from steel flows in the production system to steel footprints in the consumption system," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    14. Franco-Solís, Alberto & Montanía, Claudia V., 2021. "Dynamics of deforestation worldwide: A structural decomposition analysis of agricultural land use in South America," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    15. Hekmatpour, Peyman & Leslie, Carrie McLachlin, 2022. "Ecologically unequal exchange and disparate death rates attributable to air pollution: A comparative study of 169 countries from 1991 to 2017," OSF Preprints racms, Center for Open Science.
    16. Lena Gerdes & Bernhard Rengs & Manuel Scholz-Wäckerle, 2022. "Labor and environment in global value chains: an evolutionary policy study with a three-sector and two-region agent-based macroeconomic model," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 123-173, January.
    17. Han, Mengyao & Xiong, Jiao & Yang, Yu, 2023. "Comparisons between direct and embodied natural gas networks: Topology, dependency and vulnerability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 280(C).
    18. Peng, Shuijun & Zhang, Wencheng & Sun, Chuanwang, 2016. "‘Environmental load displacement’ from the North to the South: A consumption-based perspective with a focus on China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 147-158.
    19. Falconí, Fander & Ramos-Martin, Jesus & Cango, Pedro, 2017. "Caloric unequal exchange in Latin America and the Caribbean," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 140-149.
    20. Li, Chaohui & Wu, Xudong & Chen, Guoqian & Han, Mengyao & Chen, Kuang & Yangzong, Ciren & Lo, Dan & Alsaedi, Ahmed & Hayat, Tasawar, 2021. "Pastureland use of China: Accounting variations from different input-output analyses," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:206:y:2023:i:c:s0921800923000125. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/ecolecon .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.