Has Disparity Among Regions in China in Environmental Total-Factor Energy Productivity Decreased?

Abstract

This paper, in the framework of “total factor†and “output diversityâ€, has measured the environmental total-factor energy productivity (ETFEP) of 29 Chinese provinces/regions for the period between 1999 and 2014, and, by means of structural diverge indicator and exploratory spatial data analysis tool, has analyzed the disparity among regions and spatial effect in environmental total factor energy productivity. The result shows that 1) in the observation period, the ETFEP of China displays an evolutionary characteristics of a “downward-upward-downward†trend; 2) after 1999, although the Chinese government, as a strategy, meant to give rise to a balanced growth among the regions, their differences in ETFEP have not been reduced.