An Efficiency and Coupling Analysis of Chinese Regional Economic and Environmental Sustainability Based on a Super-SBM Model and Coupling Coordination Model

Abstract

This study presents a two-stage framework for analyzing the coupling mechanism between regional sustainable economic development and environmental protection subsystems. We propose a modified super-slack-based measure (SBM) model to evaluate efficiency and apply a coupled coordination model to measure the coordinated development levels of regional economies and environments. Subsequently, we assess the economic and environmental efficiency and coordination levels of 30 Chinese regions from 2011 to 2019. The findings indicate a strong synchronization between regional economic development and environmental protection, whereby regions with better economic development exhibit superior environmental protection measures. Regional technical inefficiency is primarily attributed to scale inefficiency, although the overall developmental trend is predominantly determined by pure technical advancement. While the synchronization between the economy and environment remains highly robust, over time, the coordination level gradually diminishes, transitioning from a state of well-coordinated and orderly development to dysfunctional and disorderly recession. Noticeable regional disparities in efficiency and coordination levels are apparent among the eastern, western, and central regions, with the central region demonstrating exemplary performance across all aspects. To promote sustainable high-quality coordinated development, regions with limited capacity should prioritize economic construction. Conversely, in other regions, the simultaneous promotion of economic development and environmental protection would be more appropriate to achieve a higher level of coordinated regional development.