Evaluation of Green Transformation Efficiency in Chinese Mineral Resource-Based Cities Based on a Three-Stage DEA Method

With sustained and rapid economic growth, environmental degradation and resource depletion are becoming increasingly prominent in Chinese mineral resource-based cities (MRBC). An in-depth study regarding the efficiency and characteristics of urban green transformation in recent years will help to promote the healthy development of MRBC in China. In this study, we use a three-stage data envelopment analysis model to evaluate the green transformation efficiency and potential of 110 MRBC in China from 2008 to 2017. The results show that, first, the comprehensive green transformation efficiency in the vast majority of MRBC is relatively low. After excluding external factors, the efficiency of most MRBC is considerably improved. Second, regardless of whether the external factors are excluded, the green transformation efficiency in the western and northeast regions of China is relatively higher than that in the central and eastern regions, whereas the coal cities and ferrous cities have higher efficiencies compared with non-ferrous cities and oil cities. Third, compared with pure technology efficiency, scale efficiency plays a leading role in overall green transformation efficiency. Based on the empirical analysis results, this study indicates that China's MRBC should pay special attention to the influence of external environmental factors when formulating green transformation policies.