This present article proposes a mechanism and mathematical model of environmental regulation and energy efficiency. Then, it analyses the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2012 by using the super-efficiency DEA model. Empirical results show that, in general, environmental regulation can significantly promote the total factor energy efficiency in China, which is an existing reversed transmission mechanism. There are obvious U-structure nonlinear relations between environmental regulation and total factor energy efficiency. Most of the eastern provinces of China are on the right side of the U-structure's inflection point. Therefore, energy efficiency can be improved by promoting environmental regulation. However, the central and western provinces are primarily on the left side or near the U-structure's inflection point. In these regions, environmental regulation does not implement the reversed transmission mechanism. The differences between developed provinces and undeveloped ones contribute to realizing the plight in the development stages of emerging market countries.

The high-tech industry has resulted in economic development and international competition among countries. High output and large exports cannot conceal development imbalances of the high-tech industry. This study is an empirical research to analyse regional competitiveness differences using China as a case study. Based on factor analysis, it compared the competitiveness of the high-tech industry in 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, analysed the competitiveness differences among four economic regions, and discussed spatial distribution features of the high tech industry. The results showed that large differences existed in regional competitiveness of the high-tech industry. Guangdong had the strongest high-tech industry competitiveness, while Shanxi ranked at the bottom. Among the four economic regions, the eastern region had the strongest competitiveness, followed by middle, western and north-eastern regions. In addition, differences and imbalances of development of the high-tech industry also existed within the same economic region.

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China is a large economy being troubled by excessive energy consumption, serious environmental pollution and carbon emission problems. To reduce energy consumption, pollutant and carbon emission, understanding their trend and their relationships with the socioeconomic development is essential. Among various sectors, transportation sector is energy-intensive and emits a large amount of air toxics and CO2, and therefore deserves primary attention. This study took carbon emission as a proxy of environmental degradation and employed an analytical framework composed of input-output analysis, ecological network analysis and structural decomposition analysis to scrutinize production-and consumption-based energy consumption and carbon emission (ECCE), to analyze effects of final demand elasticity on them, mutualism relationships between transportation sector and other sectors, and pulling/ driving force of transportation sector on the ECCE of the whole economy, and to explore the drivers affecting ECCE of transportation sector. Results comprise the increase trend of ECCE of transportation sector, the noticeable relevance of transportation sector to ECCE, the domination of control relationship and the increase of competition relationship between transportation sector and other sectors, the significant effects of final demand structure, per capita final demand, production structure and sectoral carbon emission density on ECCE. According to these results, as for transportation sector, adjusting the energy structure, improving the transportation efficiency and coordinating the relations between the transportation and its relevant sectors are suggested. The analytical framework facilitates ECCE policy devising in transportation sector for China's target of energy conservation and emission reduction and are instructive for other countries' ECCE actions.

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