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Social Sustainability of Provinces in China: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Window Analysis under the Concepts of Natural and Managerial Disposability

Author

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  • Toshiyuki Sueyoshi

    (New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Department of Management, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, USA)

  • Yan Yuan

    (New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology, Department of Management, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801, USA)

  • Aijun Li

    (The Center for Economic Research, Shandong School of Development, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)

  • Daoping Wang

    (The Center for Economic Research, Shandong School of Development, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China)

Abstract

Natural and managerial disposability are two important strategic concepts, whose priorities are economic prosperity and environmental protection, respectively. This study defines social sustainability as the simultaneous achievement of economic prosperity and environmental protection, and then assesses the degree of social sustainability across provinces in China. In addition, this study combines the concepts of natural and managerial disposability with Data Envelopment Analysis window analysis. The method allows for frontier shifts among different time periods and thus can provide more stable and reliable results. This method is applied to assess the energy and environmental performances across the provinces of China during 2003–2014, and provides detailed information about provincial variations, which are valuable and important to policy makers (especially for those in local governments). This study identifies three important findings. First, there were no significant improvements in China’s environmental performance during the analysis periods, since, historically, the governments have not paid enough attention to environmental protection. Second, there are increasing trends in the provincial gaps regarding the environmental performance. In this regard, the central government should help the poor provinces to protect the environment. Third, there are significant differences between the results obtained under natural disposability and those obtained under managerial disposability, since they have different priorities regarding the operational and the environmental performances. Thus, significant contributions can be made by eco-technology progress combined with managerial performance improvements by business leaders and policy makers. This can be a new policy direction for the Chinese government.

Suggested Citation

  • Toshiyuki Sueyoshi & Yan Yuan & Aijun Li & Daoping Wang, 2017. "Social Sustainability of Provinces in China: A Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Window Analysis under the Concepts of Natural and Managerial Disposability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:11:p:2078-:d:119417
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    Cited by:

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    2. Tao Ding & Zhixiang Zhou & Qianzhi Dai & Liang Liang, 2020. "Analysis of China’s Regional Economic Environmental Performance: A Non-radial Multi-objective DEA Approach," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 55(4), pages 1209-1231, April.
    3. Pang, Qinghua & Qiu, Man & Zhang, Lina & Chiu, Yung-ho, 2023. "Congestion effects of energy and capital in China's carbon emission reduction: Evidence from provincial levels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    4. Li, Aijun & Zhang, Aizhen & Huang, Huijie & Yao, Xin, 2018. "Measuring unified efficiency of fossil fuel power plants across provinces in China: An analysis based on non-radial directional distance functions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 549-561.
    5. Gautier, Axel & Nsabimana, René & Walheer, Barnabé, 2023. "Quality performance gaps and minimal electricity losses in East Africa," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    6. Nicholas Igbudu & Zanete Garanti & Temitope Popoola, 2018. "Enhancing Bank Loyalty through Sustainable Banking Practices: The Mediating Effect of Corporate Image," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-11, November.
    7. Yongzhong Jiang & Xueli Chen & Vivian Valdmanis & Tomas Baležentis, 2019. "Evaluating Economic and Environmental Performance of the Chinese Industry Sector," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-17, November.
    8. Sun, Chuanwang & Liu, Xiaohong & Li, Aijun, 2018. "Measuring unified efficiency of Chinese fossil fuel power plants: Intermediate approach combined with group heterogeneity and window analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 8-18.
    9. Tingting Yang & Xuefeng Guan & Yuehui Qian & Weiran Xing & Huayi Wu, 2019. "Efficiency Evaluation of Urban Road Transport and Land Use in Hunan Province of China Based on Hybrid Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Models," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-18, July.

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