1. Is water use sustainable and efficient in China? Evidence from a macro level analysis.
- Author
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Adom, Philip Kofi, Yeo, Joonho, and Zhang, Lin
- Subjects
WATER use ,REGIONAL disparities ,WATER management ,WATER supply ,STRUCTURAL components - Abstract
This paper measures the performance and efficiency dynamics of provincial water use by differentiating the long-run persistent efficiency from the short-run transient efficiency. We combine the econometric frontier approach with panel Markov-switching and Tobit estimations to investigate the macro level data over the period 2002–2016. The results reveal evidence of significant provincial and regional disparities, with a mean efficiency of 0.42 in terms of water use. We find that a large share of inefficiency is attributed to the long-term structural component, with persistency inefficiency estimated as 55%. We also find that the probability of maintaining efficient is less sustainable (about 48.5% by the sixth year) compared with 54.3% for staying inefficient. Thus, it is relatively difficult to transition out of the less efficient state. We thus suggest policy directions for sustainable and efficient management of water resource use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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