The environmental efficiency of Wanjiang demonstration area: A Bayesian estimation approach

With the implementation of the strategic policy and the construction of Wanjiang demonstration area recently, the government cares more about the natural environment. To protect the environment of this demonstration area, a quantitative analysis of environmental efficiency and its influencing factors is needed. In this paper, we measure the environmental efficiency of the demonstration area, and then analyze the total factor productivity of the area by Malmquist productivity index through data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach. Through the index and its decomposition, we are able to reveal the changing trend of the environmental efficiency. Moreover, we apply Bayesian estimation approach to analyze the influencing factors of the efficiency and discuss the relationship between these factors and the environmental efficiency. Results show that the efficiency of Wanjiang demonstration area bares a significant difference among constituent cities. Each area should devise proper environmental policy according to its particular circumstance. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.