On Modeling Environmental Production Characteristics: A Slacks-Based Measure for China's Poyang Lake Ecological Economics Zone

Environmental issues are currently of great concern, especially in the area of sustainable development. Thus, data envelopment analysis (DEA) has enjoyed much popularity, given its ability to measure environmental efficiency and shadow prices at the macro-economic level. In this study, we use the duality theory of slacks-based measure in DEA to develop a general procedure for modeling environmental production characteristics. By using the proposed methodology, we can measure environmental technical efficiency, the shadow prices of emissions, and inter-factor substitution possibilities. Further, we use the proposed methodology to carry out an empirical study of the Poyang Lake Ecological Economics Zone in China. Finally, we suggest some policy implications based on the study's empirical results.