The impact of economic growth, FDI, and innovation on environmental efficiency of the logistics industry in provinces along the belt and road in China: An empirical study based on the panel Tobit model

Abstract

Due to the high-quality development of the Chinese economy, the improvement of environmental efficiency in Chinese industries has become a significant task. Understanding the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry is essential for implementing effective environmental policies. This study aims to explore the impacts of economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and innovation on the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry. In this paper, we apply the undesirable SBM model to calculate the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry and use the Tobit model to analyze the impacts of economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and innovation on the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry in provinces along the Belt and Road in China from 2009 to 2018. Based on the results indicate the average environmental efficiency of the logistics industry in Chinese provinces along the Belt and Road is 0.7880, indicating that the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry was generally low in some regions along the belt and road. Innovation and FDI were found have a significant impact on the environmental efficiency, while economic growth fails to significantly impact on the environmental efficiency of the logistics industry in provinces along the Belt and Road. Therefore, we should encourage improvement of the level of environmental efficiency of the logistics industry. It is necessary to realize the co-ordinated development of the logistics industry and the environment through optimization of the development of innovation and transforming the FDI model in provinces along the Belt and Road.