Tracking sustainable development efficiency with human-environmental system relationship: An application of DPSIR and super efficiency SBM model

Sustainable development of the Yellow River Basin, China, has gained comprehensive realistic and academic attention as a significant part of high-quality development. Current study used the 30 years (1997-2017) panel data of 9 provinces and constructed Drivers, Pressure, State, Impact and Response analysis framework and super efficiency Slack-Based Measure (DPSIR-SBM) model to evaluate rural sustainable development efficiency (RSDE). For the reason, the convergence, divergence and their influencing factors are discussed from three aspects, which are cr convergence, absolute 13 convergence and conditional 13 convergence. The research findings revealed that the RSDE in yellow river basin display a fluctuating downward pattern per an average decrease rate of 0.03%, while regional differences exist in three sub-basins. The upper and lower basins display a fluctuating upward pattern, whereas the middle basin present a fluctuating downward pattern. Moreover, regional differences were also observed from the average RSDE, followed by the spatial pattern of "upper basin > lower basin > middle basin". cr convergence exist in the whole basin as well as in its upper basin, while absolute 13 convergence exists in the whole basin and in the lower basin, and there exists conditional 13 convergence in the whole as well as in all the three sub-basins. Initial RSDE, planting structure, financial autonomy rate and mechanization level inhibit the improvement of RSDE, while urbanization level and rural GDP per capita have negative and non-significant impact on RSDE of the whole basin. (c) 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.