Exploring environmental efficiency and total factor productivity of cultivated land use in China

During cultivated land use, nonseparable relationships exist between certain inputs and outputs. This study explored the influence of the nonseparable characteristics of input and output variables on both the cultivated land use environmental efficiency (CLUEE) and the cultivated land use environmental total factor productivity (CLUETFP). To evaluate China's CLUEE and CLUETFP from 1997 to 2017, we used the nonseparable hybrid model with undesirable outputs (NSH-U) and the nonseparable hybrid Malmquist (NSH-M) productivity index. The results showed the following: (1) The CLUEE differed significantly among regions, with the CLUEE decreasing from the eastern region to the western, northeastern, and central regions. We observed large differences in the CLUEE among provinces. (2) Nonradial input inefficiency and radial output inefficiency were the primary sources of cultivated land use environmental inefficiency. (3) Technical progress was the primary driving force behind the growth of CLUETFP across the entire country and in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions; however, technical efficiency limited the growth of CLUETFP to a certain extent. Finally, we proposed policy implications to improve China's CLUEE and CLUETFP.