{"title":"Intersecting sustainability and governance: The impact of industrial land price distortion on carbon emission efficiency in China","authors":"Zhiji Huang , Han Li , Mingyue Song , Lin Ma","doi":"10.1016/j.apgeog.2025.103510","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between sustainability and governance by examining how growth-oriented industrial development strategies impact carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in China. Using the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model, we estimate CEE for 261 prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022 and analyze its relationship with distortions in industrial land prices. Our findings reveal that increased distortions in industrial land prices, manipulated by local governments, hinder progress in CEE. This effect is particularly pronounced in large cities, those with abundant land and resource endowments, or cities with higher levels of economic development. The negative association operates through mechanisms such as industrial agglomeration and low-end lock-in effects. Distorted industrial land prices promote agglomeration and trap regions in low-end manufacturing, exacerbating their adverse impact on CEE. This paper underscores the critical role of institutions and market mechanisms in shaping carbon efficiency, deepening our understanding of how urban governance and institutional frameworks influence sustainability outcomes. It also offers theoretical guidance for local government actions to enhance CEE.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48396,"journal":{"name":"Applied Geography","volume":"176 ","pages":"Article 103510"},"PeriodicalIF":4.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Geography","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0143622825000050","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"GEOGRAPHY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study contributes to the literature on the relationship between sustainability and governance by examining how growth-oriented industrial development strategies impact carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in China. Using the super-efficiency SBM-DEA model, we estimate CEE for 261 prefecture-level cities from 2010 to 2022 and analyze its relationship with distortions in industrial land prices. Our findings reveal that increased distortions in industrial land prices, manipulated by local governments, hinder progress in CEE. This effect is particularly pronounced in large cities, those with abundant land and resource endowments, or cities with higher levels of economic development. The negative association operates through mechanisms such as industrial agglomeration and low-end lock-in effects. Distorted industrial land prices promote agglomeration and trap regions in low-end manufacturing, exacerbating their adverse impact on CEE. This paper underscores the critical role of institutions and market mechanisms in shaping carbon efficiency, deepening our understanding of how urban governance and institutional frameworks influence sustainability outcomes. It also offers theoretical guidance for local government actions to enhance CEE.
期刊介绍:
Applied Geography is a journal devoted to the publication of research which utilizes geographic approaches (human, physical, nature-society and GIScience) to resolve human problems that have a spatial dimension. These problems may be related to the assessment, management and allocation of the world physical and/or human resources. The underlying rationale of the journal is that only through a clear understanding of the relevant societal, physical, and coupled natural-humans systems can we resolve such problems. Papers are invited on any theme involving the application of geographical theory and methodology in the resolution of human problems.