Study on eco-efficiency and influencing factors of freshwater aquaculture based on the Super-NSBM model in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

Ecological efficiency is a crucial index to evaluate the green development of freshwater aquaculture industry, which is an important factor for its rapid and sustainable development. Taking the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2014 to 2022 as an example, the Super-NSBM model was used to estimate the freshwater aquaculture's ecological efficiency and phased efficiency. The influence mechanism of freshwater aquacultural ecological efficiency was investigated by the Tobit model. Then, the dynamic evolution of the total factor productivity was analyzed by the super-efficiency SBM-Malmquist index. The results showed that: (1) During the study period, the average ecological efficiency of freshwater aquaculture in the Yangtze River Economic Belt was greater than 1, beyond the valid value. Respectively, showing upper stream > middle stream > down-stream; In terms of stages, the efficiency in the first stage is generally higher than that in the second stage. (2) From the dynamic perspective of efficiency, the total factor productivity of freshwater aquaculture is more influenced by the efficiency of technological progress. (3) From the perspective of influencing factors, the structural adjustment of aquaculture, the degree of marketization and the level of economic development impact positively the ecological efficiency and phased efficiency of freshwater aquaculture, while the disaster rate has a negative effect on both of them; Training intensity has an adverse influence on the first stage.