Research on Spatial Unbalance and Influencing Factors of Ecological Well-Being Performance in China

Abstract

Ecological well-being performance (EWP) is central to achieving coordinated and sustainable economic and social development and environmental protection. This study constructed an evaluation index system of EWP, measured the EWP of 30 Chinese provinces or cities from 1997 to 2018 using the super-efficiency slack-based model (Super-SBM), and analyzed the spatial and temporal evolutionary characteristics of EWP. Under the division of four regions and eight regions, the Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition is applied to analyze the regional differences and sources of differences in EWP in China. Then, the Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression (GTWR) model analyzes the factors influencing EWP. Results show that the inter-provincial differences in EWP in China are significant, with the eastern region having significantly higher EWP than the western, central, and northeastern regions. From 1997 to 2018, the overall spatial differences in EWP in China decreased. The four regions and eight regions show that reducing inter-regional differences is the key to mitigating regional unbalance in China. Urbanization significantly enhances EWP in China and the degree of openness and industrial structure has a significant heterogeneous effect on EWP. Therefore, future policy formulation should focus on transforming the economic development model, promoting coordinated regional development, and exploring the optimal ways to improve EWP according to local conditions. This study aims to provide a scientific basis and reference for promoting sustainable regional economic and social development and improving the imbalance.

Research on Spatial Differences and Driving Effects of Ecological Well-Being Performance in China

“…Figure 4 shows that the contribution rate of G b had higher fluctuation, peaking at 65.70% in 2012, whereas the contribution rate of G w remained consistent at approximately 9.00%. The contribution of inter-regional differences was much more significant than intra-regional differences, implying that inter-regional differences affected the direction of spatial differences in China’s EWP, which was consistent with Wang et al (2021) [ 13 ]. The takeaway was that reducing inter-regional differences is the key to mitigating spatial differences in China’s EWP.…”

“…The results indicated the relatively apparent spatial differences in EWP between the southwest and northeast regions and the northwest and northeast regions. China must break administrative barriers across regions and create a cross-regional sustainable development partnership framework [ 13 ]. Moreover, the capacity for sustainable development is further stretched between provinces.…”

“…In essence, EWP measures eco-efficiency to enhance human well-being and is a broader extension of sustainable development [ 11 , 12 ]. Policymakers and academics focus on assessing EWP for coordinating economic, social, and environmental development and well-being improvement [ 13 , 14 ]. At the same time, compared with developed countries, such as the United States and European countries, China is a less developed country with a more severe situation of spatial differences and sustainable development.…”

Can Green Economy and Ecological Welfare Achieve Synergistic Development? The Perspective of the “Two Mountains” Theory

“…Yale University assessed the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) in 180 countries in 2020, and China’s 120th place with a score of 37.3 is a good illustration of this. How to properly handle economic growth, ecological protection, and the improvement of people’s livelihood and well-being is a common challenge faced by human society [ 2 ]. For this purpose, as early as 2005, Xi Jinping, who was then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, creatively proposed the “Two Mountains” theory based on the concept of strengthening ecological civilization and green development, that is, “Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”.…”

Spatial and Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of Urban Ecological Well-Being Performance in China

“…There are great differences in economic development, resource endowments and energy consumption in different Chinese regions, and different regions have spatial differences in terms of the EWP. For example, Wang et al explored the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics of the EWP of 30 provinces in China [ 21 ]. Li et al selected the Yellow River Delta as the research area, and adopted the coupling coordination degree model to research spatiotemporal evolution, and used the geographic weighted regression model to analyze the influencing mechanism of the EWP [ 22 ].…”