Measuring Comprehensive Production Efficiency of the Chinese Construction Industry: A Bootstrap-DEA-Malmquist Approach

Abstract

Production efficiency is a critical research topic in the field of construction economics and management. It reflects the developmental potential and competitiveness of the economy or an economic system. An objective and reasonable assessment framework of the production efficiency in the construction industry is essential to promote the industry’s high-quality development. This study aims to propose a scientific and holistic framework to examine the production efficiency in the construction industry and to investigate evolution patterns from a macroeconomic perspective. Input and output indicators were identified through the value-added and the fuzzy Delphi methods. In addition, the production efficiency in the construction industry was examined via the bootstrap-DEA and Malmquist exponential decomposition models. A case study in China was conducted at the end of this research. The panel data of 31 provinces from 2010 to 2020 were applied in the case study. The results reveal the following: (1) The bootstrap-DEA model results show that the trends of production efficiency before and after rectification are similar, but the difference is largest at the peak. Moreover, the production efficiency value after correction is evidently lower than that which is obtained by the traditional DEA model. (2) The Malmquist index decomposition results show that the change trend of technical efficiency in the construction industry is contrary to that of the scale efficiency. In addition, the improvement of scale efficiency cannot bring a melioration of management efficiency or the accumulation of production experience. (3) There is no direct correlation between production efficiency and economic development. High-value areas and median areas are contiguous, and they are mainly distributed in the central and eastern provinces. The findings accurately reflect construction industry productivity, providing practical data for developing policy recommendations for bridging regional construction development gaps.