Yangtze River Economic Belt environmental remediation efficiency based on an input-output optimization analysis

Although the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) has been metaphorized as China's "arrow" to the world as it generates nearly half of the nation's gross domestic product, the region has also suffered immense environmental degradation during its development process. This paper uses environmental data from 2003 to 2013 of the YREB's nine provinces and two municipalities and investigates environmental remediation efficiency for the region. Results illustrate that (1) the efficiency of the YREB is very low as over the study period, only three provinces had mean environmental remediation values that could be classified as "effective," leaving the remaining six provinces and two municipalities as "ineffective"; (2) environmental efficiencies of the studied provinces and municipalities became increasingly polarized; (3) from 2003 to 2013, environmental efficiencies in the region have deteriorated; (4) the principal reason for environmental remediation ineffectiveness was due to a combination of redundant resource investments, excessive pollutant discharge, low industrial waste comprehensive utilization ratios, and non-municipal environmental remediation standards. To illuminate development pathways for the ineffective provinces and municipalities of the YREB, essential factors in the optimization of economic management investments are proposed.