Agricultural Efficiency in Different Regions of China: An Empirical Analysis Based on Dynamic SBM-DEA Model

Abstract

This study applies the dynamic slacks-based measure (DSBM) and the total-factor agricultural efficiency (TFAE) to explore the overall agricultural production efficiency of 30 administrative regions and the eastern, central, and western regions of China from 2012 to 2016. The previous literature has mainly focused on China’s economic development and experience, but as the economy continues to grow, more food is needed and agricultural labor is shifting to urban areas. Little attention has been paid to the impact of limited agricultural land on agricultural production efficiency. Therefore, this paper uses the agricultural land area as the carry-over variable and uses agricultural labor, total agricultural machinery power, rural electricity consumption, agricultural fertilizer use, and agricultural GDP as variables to discuss the efficiency of agricultural production in different regions. The empirical results show that from 2012 to 2016, the best administrative region in terms of overall agricultural production efficiency in China was the east. In terms of the overall analysis of the region, the east had the highest overall agricultural production efficiency, while the central region had the lowest. The input variable that needed the most improvement was rural electricity consumption, with the largest adjustment in rural electricity consumption being observed in Hebei and Liaoning provinces of the eastern region. Furthermore, from 2012 to 2016, both overall agricultural production efficiency and agricultural GDP showed upward trends. However, adjustments are still needed for other relevant agricultural input variables to effectively allocate resources and improve the overall agricultural production efficiency.