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Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier
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Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2016) | Viewed by 86534

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yongrok Choi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of International Trade, Inha University, Incheon 22212, Republic of Korea
Interests: energy & environment (E&E); e-Business
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Malin Song

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Guest Editor
Director of Research Center of Statistics for Management, Longhu Scholar of Anhui University of Finance and Economics (AUFE), No. 962, Caoshan Road, Bengbu, Anhui, China
Interests: sustainable development; environmental economics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Seunghwan Myeong

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Administration, Inha University, Incheon 22188, Republic of Korea
Interests: smart cities; smart e-governance; digital divide; information management in public organizations; government innovation and project management; information technology and communication policy; research methodology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will consist of selected papers from the Sustainable Asia Conference 2016 annual international conference held in Jeju Island, South Korea, 28 June through 2 July. SAC 2016 is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental advances in Sustainable Development Issues for Asia. The purpose of the conference is for scientists, scholars, engineers, and students from universities and research institutes around the world to present ongoing research activities so as to promote global research networking in the area of sustainable development. This conference provides opportunities for the delegates to exchange new ideas and application experiences, face-to-face, to establish research or business relations, and to find global partners for future collaborations. The scope of this Special Issue encompasses topics related to sustainable development and management at both the macro- and micro-levels in Northeast Asian countries.

Prof. Dr. Yongrok Choi
Dr. Malin Song
Prof. Dr. Seunghwan Myeong
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • New theoretical modeling for sustainable governance in Northeast Asia
  • Innovative case studies for sustainable governance with the unique contents of Northeast Asian countries (cultural, historical, socio-economical regime)
  • International cooperation for the sustainable development or green growth
  • Other related issues on the sustainable governance.

Published Papers (16 papers)

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Editorial

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1119 KiB  
Editorial
Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for the Sustainable Frontier
by Yongrok Choi
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 191; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9020191 - 28 Jan 2017
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 4169
Abstract
This Special Issue consists of selected papers from the 2016 annual international Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC), held on Jeju Island, South Korea, from 28 June to 2 July 2016. SAC 2016 is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental [...] Read more.
This Special Issue consists of selected papers from the 2016 annual international Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC), held on Jeju Island, South Korea, from 28 June to 2 July 2016. SAC 2016 is one of the leading international conferences for presenting novel and fundamental advances in sustainable development issues for Asia. In this special issue, most of the papers emphasize the importance of sustainable governance in harmonizing economic development with a healthier life, while enhancing the quality of all economic activities. The majority of papers in this special issue also deal with problems of urbanization, because the Northeast Asian countries are experiencing the transformation of their economic structure from quantitatively oriented development to the qualitative, highlighting socioeconomic performance. There has been a vast amount of discussion and many ideas put forward on sustainable development, but as the Marrakech Proclamation of COP 22 concluded in November 2016, it is now time to meet the practical challenges of sustainable development. This special edition will shed light on the action plan against global warming and environmental degradation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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Research

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2503 KiB  
Article
Empirical Study of China’s Provincial Carbon Responsibility Sharing: Provincial Value Chain Perspective
by Rui Xie, Chao Gao, Guomei Zhao, Yu Liu and Shengcheng Xu
Sustainability 2017, 9(4), 569; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9040569 - 08 Apr 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3964
Abstract
Against the background of global warming, China has vowed to meet a series of carbon emissions reduction targets and plans to launch a national carbon emissions rights trading market by 2017. Therefore, from the provincial value chain perspective, using input-output tables from China [...] Read more.
Against the background of global warming, China has vowed to meet a series of carbon emissions reduction targets and plans to launch a national carbon emissions rights trading market by 2017. Therefore, from the provincial value chain perspective, using input-output tables from China in 2002, 2007, and 2010, this study constructs models to calculate the CO2 emissions responsibility of each province under the production, consumption, and value capture principles, respectively. Empirical results indicate that Shandong, Hebei, Jiangsu, Guangdong, and Henan bear the most responsibility for CO2 emissions under the three principles in China, while Hainan and Qinghai have the least responsibility. However, there is a great difference in the proportion of carbon emissions responsibility for each province during the same period under different principles or different periods under the same principle. For consumption-oriented areas such as Beijing, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Shanghai, and Guangdong, the production principle is more favorable, and the consumption principle is more beneficial for production-oriented provinces such as Hebei, Henan, Liaoning, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, and Shaanxi. However, the value capture principle strikes a compromise of the CO2 emissions responsibility of each province between the production and consumption principles, and it shares the CO2 emissions responsibility based on the actual value captured by each province in the provincial value chain. The value capture principle is conducive to the fair and reasonable division of CO2 emissions rights of each province by sectors, as well as the construction of a standardized carbon emissions rights trading market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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1072 KiB  
Article
Moderating Effects of Trust on Environmentally Significant Behavior in Korea
by Seong-Gin Moon, Seong Young Jeong and Yongrok Choi
Sustainability 2017, 9(3), 415; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9030415 - 10 Mar 2017
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5867
Abstract
To treat environmental problems and to seek sustainable development, voluntary and cooperative efforts, which is really against the traditional mentality with the emphasis on the individual competitive optimization, became the key to maintain the sustainability of complex social and ecological systems. To understand [...] Read more.
To treat environmental problems and to seek sustainable development, voluntary and cooperative efforts, which is really against the traditional mentality with the emphasis on the individual competitive optimization, became the key to maintain the sustainability of complex social and ecological systems. To understand the cooperative and voluntary individual’s environmentally significant behavior (ESB), this paper focuses on the role of trust, and assesses the effect of trust on the relationship between existing factors and ESB. A structural equation model (SEM) is constructed to estimate the moderating effects of trust on ESB in Korea. We found that people with a negative view on strict environmental regulations do not exhibit ESB and thus nudge policies could be much more effective than the forceful measure. It is noteworthy that public private partnership, as a kind of optimal trust, should be more promoted in the environmental protection policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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2393 KiB  
Article
Scheduling Optimization of Home Health Care Service Considering Patients’ Priorities and Time Windows
by Gang Du, Xi Liang and Chuanwang Sun
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 253; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9020253 - 10 Feb 2017
Cited by 39 | Viewed by 5907
Abstract
As a new service model, home health care can provide effective health care by adopting door-to-door service. The reasonable arrangements for nurses and their routes not only can reduce medical expenses, but also can enhance patient satisfaction. This research focuses on the home [...] Read more.
As a new service model, home health care can provide effective health care by adopting door-to-door service. The reasonable arrangements for nurses and their routes not only can reduce medical expenses, but also can enhance patient satisfaction. This research focuses on the home health care scheduling optimization problem with known demands and service capabilities. Aimed at minimizing the total cost, an integer programming model was built in this study, which took both the priorities of patients and constraints of time windows into consideration. The genetic algorithm with local search was used to solve the proposed model. Finally, a case study of Shanghai, China, was conducted for the empirical analysis. The comparison results verify the effectiveness of the proposed model and methodology, which can provide the decision support for medical administrators of home health care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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3335 KiB  
Article
The Influence of Household Heterogeneity Factors on the Green Travel Behavior of Urban Residents in the East China Region
by Ranran Yang, Ruyin Long, Yu Bai and Lanlan Li
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 237; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9020237 - 10 Feb 2017
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 4272
Abstract
A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1475 urban residents in the east region of China to explore the impact of household heterogeneity factors on the green travel behavior of urban residents. The green travel behavior was divided into practice-based and promotion-based green travel [...] Read more.
A questionnaire survey was conducted with 1475 urban residents in the east region of China to explore the impact of household heterogeneity factors on the green travel behavior of urban residents. The green travel behavior was divided into practice-based and promotion-based green travel behavior, and the results showed that variables including gender, age, educational background, household monthly income, amount of cars, professional status, positional tiers and housing ownership were correlated with both of the two types of green travel behavior significantly. Variables that included having elderly family members or not, having children or not, and position level were only correlated with practice-based green travel behavior significantly. Moreover, the study found that the variables female, elderly and young, highly educated, low-income, low professional status, low positional tiers, low positional status, house-renting, not having elderly family members or children and having fewer cars had a significantly positive impact on green travel behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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600 KiB  
Article
Providing Appropriate Technology for Emerging Markets: Case Study on China’s Solar Thermal Industry
by Jianghua Zhou, Hao Jiao and Jizhen Li
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 178; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9020178 - 25 Jan 2017
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5442
Abstract
Building on a case study of five Chinese solar thermal companies and one association, our study aims to understand how the innovator’s choices regarding the use of technology and organizational practices for new product development enable companies to design and diffuse appropriate technology [...] Read more.
Building on a case study of five Chinese solar thermal companies and one association, our study aims to understand how the innovator’s choices regarding the use of technology and organizational practices for new product development enable companies to design and diffuse appropriate technology in emerging markets. The study uncovers two critical factors that enhance the appropriateness of technology: redefining the identity of technology and building a local supply system. Our analysis shows that synergic innovation in both architecture and component leads to the appropriate functionalities desired by emerging markets. Moreover, modular design and the building of a local supply system enhance the process appropriateness of technology. Our study provides an empirical basis for advocating going beyond minor adaptations of existing products to creating appropriate technology for emerging markets, and extends our understandings of the upstream process of designing appropriate technology. Moreover, the emphasis on the local supply system reflects a holistic framework for shaping and delivering appropriate technology, expanding the existing research focus on the perspective of the technology itself. Our research also has managerial implications that may help firms tap into emerging markets. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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736 KiB  
Article
Efficiency Allocation of Provincial Carbon Reduction Target in China’s “13·5” Period: Based on Zero-Sum-Gains SBM Model
by Wen Guo, Tao Sun and Hongjun Dai
Sustainability 2017, 9(2), 167; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9020167 - 24 Jan 2017
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 4337
Abstract
Firstly, we introduce the “Zero Sum Gains” game theory into the SBM (Slacks-based Measure) model, and establish the ZSG-SBM model. Then, set up 4 development scenarios for the China’s economic system in “13·5” (The Chinese government formulates a Five-Year Planning for national economic [...] Read more.
Firstly, we introduce the “Zero Sum Gains” game theory into the SBM (Slacks-based Measure) model, and establish the ZSG-SBM model. Then, set up 4 development scenarios for the China’s economic system in “13·5” (The Chinese government formulates a Five-Year Planning for national economic and social development every five years, “13·5” means 2016 to 2020.) period through two dimensions as economic growth and energy consumption structure, and make the efficient allocation in provincial level of carbon reduction target by using the above ZSG-SBM model based on the China’s overall carbon reduction constraint (18%) which is set in “13·5” planning. Finally, we analyze the provincial development path of low-carbon economy by comparing the economic development status with the allocated result of carbon reduction target. Results show that: After the ZSG-SBM model being applied to the efficiency allocation of carbon emission, the input and output indicators of the 30 provinces realize the effective allocation, and the carbon emission efficiency reaches the efficiency frontier. The equity-oriented administrative allocation scheme of government will bring about efficiency loss in a certain degree, and the efficiency allocation scheme, based on the ZSG-SBM model, fits better with the long-term development requirement of low-carbon economy. On the basis of carbon intensity constraint, the re-constraint of energy intensity will force the provinces to optimize their energy consumption structure, thereby enhancing the overall carbon emission efficiency of China. Sixteen provinces’ allocation results of carbon reduction target are above China’s average (18%) in “13·5” period, all the provinces should select appropriate development path of low-carbon economy according to the status of their resource endowment, economic level, industrial structure and energy consumption structure. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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394 KiB  
Article
Can High-Tech Ventures Benefit from Government Guanxi and Business Guanxi? The Moderating Effects of Environmental Turbulence
by Dejin Su, Qixia Du, Dongwon Sohn and Libo Xu
Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 142; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9010142 - 19 Jan 2017
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 6279
Abstract
The construct of guanxi has become an interesting topic for analyzing how to do business more effectively and successfully in China’s economic transition period. Drawing on the guanxi strategy theory, this study examines when government guanxi (guanxi with the government and its [...] Read more.
The construct of guanxi has become an interesting topic for analyzing how to do business more effectively and successfully in China’s economic transition period. Drawing on the guanxi strategy theory, this study examines when government guanxi (guanxi with the government and its officials) and business guanxi (guanxi with the business sectors) matter to new venture performance under two typical turbulent environments (institutional turbulence and market turbulence). According to empirical results using original data from 146 new ventures in clusters driven by China’s local governments, both government guanxi and business guanxi were positively related to new venture performance, and market turbulence was an important contextual factor influencing performance benefits of guanxi. However, the results reveal no moderating effects of institutional turbulence on direct relationships. Furthermore, the study provides a better conceptual and empirical understanding of why market turbulence is a double-edged sword for performance implications of guanxi in the rapidly changing business environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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981 KiB  
Article
Determinants of Residential Solid Waste Management Services Provision: A Village-Level Analysis in Rural China
by Dan Pan, Ruiyao Ying and Zuhui Huang
Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 110; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9010110 - 13 Jan 2017
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 5231
Abstract
Providing residential solid waste collection (RSWC) services is the first and most indispensable part of residential solid waste management and is crucial for rural environment protection. This paper seeks to analyze the determinants of RSWC services’ provision at the village level, based on [...] Read more.
Providing residential solid waste collection (RSWC) services is the first and most indispensable part of residential solid waste management and is crucial for rural environment protection. This paper seeks to analyze the determinants of RSWC services’ provision at the village level, based on a latest survey data set of 150 villages in the Poyang Lake Eco-Economic Zone (PLEEZ) in Jiangxi Province. Using a Probit regression model and a Bivariate Probit regression model, our results indicated that: (1) The provision of RSWC services is not evenly distributed and richer villages have more RSWC services; (2) A showcasing phenomenon exists in the provision of RSWC services. Villages that are more populous, nearer to the township government, and located in the new countryside and old liberated areas saw an increase in the provision of RSWC facilities, services that will more easily showcase village leaders’ political achievement, while the provision of RSWC workers and both RSWC facilities and workers, services that will less easily showcase village leaders’ political achievement, do not increase in these villages; (3) Informal governance characteristics, such as the ratio of largest family clans, whether village leaders come from the village’s largest family clans, and the number of people working in the upper-level government have strong predictive power over the provision of RSWC services, while formal governance characteristics, such as elections, do not matter in RSWC services’ provision. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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1063 KiB  
Article
The Economic Efficiency of Urban Land Use with a Sequential Slack-Based Model in Korea
by Yongrok Choi and Na Wang
Sustainability 2017, 9(1), 79; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su9010079 - 09 Jan 2017
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 5228
Abstract
Since the inauguration of the government-led five year economic plans in the 1960s, Korea has achieved remarkable economic development. Korea’s economic strategy, known as ‘The Miracle on the Han River’, focused on heavy and chemical industries such as ship building and petrochemicals and [...] Read more.
Since the inauguration of the government-led five year economic plans in the 1960s, Korea has achieved remarkable economic development. Korea’s economic strategy, known as ‘The Miracle on the Han River’, focused on heavy and chemical industries such as ship building and petrochemicals and was based on resource intensive urbanization. This rapid urban development caused a series of problems, such as over-development in urban areas, bottlenecks in utilities, and environmental degradation. Nevertheless, the Korean government has recently moved toward deregulation of the greenbelts of major city areas. Since very few studies have analyzed the urban land use economic efficiency (ULUEE) in Korea, this paper assesses the feasibility of recent deregulation policy concerning the greenbelts utilizing the sequential slack-based measure (SSBM) model under environmental constraints across 16 South Korean cities from 2006 to 2013. Our research makes three significant contributions to urbanization research. First, this paper uses an SSBM model to analyze the dynamic changes of urban land use economic efficiency in Korea at the regional level; Second, this paper analyzes factors influencing ULUEE in Korea, and the feasibility of the deregulation policies on the greenbelts; Third, this paper suggests more performance-oriented policy alternatives to improve the ULUEE and implement sustainable greenbelt management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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358 KiB  
Article
International Comparison of Total Factor Ecology Efficiency: Focused on G20 from 1999–2013
by Shujing Yue, Yang Yang, Jun Shao and Yuting Zhu
Sustainability 2016, 8(11), 1129; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8111129 - 03 Nov 2016
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4152
Abstract
Little attention has been paid to international ecological efficiency, especially taking ecological footprint (EF), labor, and capital into account as multi-inputs to produce GDP in the total-factor framework. This study evaluates the total-factor ecological efficiency (TFEcE) of G20 during the period of 1999–2013 [...] Read more.
Little attention has been paid to international ecological efficiency, especially taking ecological footprint (EF), labor, and capital into account as multi-inputs to produce GDP in the total-factor framework. This study evaluates the total-factor ecological efficiency (TFEcE) of G20 during the period of 1999–2013 by employing slack-based measure (SBM) with EF as the index of comprehensive ecological inputs. Findings show that the average level of TFEcE of G20 from 1999 to 2013 is at a low level of about 0.54, which means there is a large space for the improvement of TFEcE. Furthermore, TFEcE of G20 is very imbalanced and there is a big gap between developed countries and developing countries in the G20. For the developing countries and developed countries in the G20, the analysis of factors that affect national TFEcE shows different statistical significance in the truncated regression model. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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358 KiB  
Article
Are Emissions Trading Policies Sustainable? A Study of the Petrochemical Industry in Korea
by Yongrok Choi and Hyoung Seok Lee
Sustainability 2016, 8(11), 1110; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8111110 - 29 Oct 2016
Cited by 20 | Viewed by 4492
Abstract
In 2015, Korea inaugurated an emissions trading scheme (ETS). In this regard, many studies have considered the sustainable performance and efficiency of industries that emit carbon; however, few have examined ETS at company level. This paper focuses on companies’ data related to Korean [...] Read more.
In 2015, Korea inaugurated an emissions trading scheme (ETS). In this regard, many studies have considered the sustainable performance and efficiency of industries that emit carbon; however, few have examined ETS at company level. This paper focuses on companies’ data related to Korean ETS in the petrochemical industry. Based on the non-radial, nonparametric directional distance function (DDF), the paper evaluates the governance factors related to ETS policies and sustainable performance in terms of carbon technical efficiency (CTE), the shadow price of carbon emissions, and Morishima elasticity between the input and undesirable output of carbon emissions. Using a dual model, the paper shows that Korean ETS has huge potential for participating companies to improve CTE. If all companies consider the production possibility frontier, they could potentially improve efficiency by 52.8%. Further, Morishima elasticity shows strong substitutability between capital and energy, implying that green technology investment should bring a higher degree of energy-saving performance. Unfortunately, however, the market price of carbon emissions is far too low compared with its shadow price, suggesting that the Korean government’s price-oriented market intervention has resulted in the ETS producing poor sustainable performance. As the title suggests, ETS of Korea is not sustainable at the current stage, but with more efforts on the transition period, all the developing countries should support the governance factors of the ETS in terms of the more effective green investment with easier access to the green technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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7557 KiB  
Article
Ecological Security and Ecosystem Services in Response to Land Use Change in the Coastal Area of Jiangsu, China
by Caiyao Xu, Lijie Pu, Ming Zhu, Jianguo Li, Xinjian Chen, Xiaohan Wang and Xuefeng Xie
Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 816; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8080816 - 19 Aug 2016
Cited by 63 | Viewed by 10891
Abstract
Urbanization, and the resulting land use/cover change, is a primary cause of the degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems. Reclamation projects are seen as a way to strike a balance between socioeconomic development and maintenance of coastal ecosystems. Our aim was to understand the [...] Read more.
Urbanization, and the resulting land use/cover change, is a primary cause of the degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems. Reclamation projects are seen as a way to strike a balance between socioeconomic development and maintenance of coastal ecosystems. Our aim was to understand the ecological changes to Jiangsu’s coastal wetland resulting from land use change since 1977 by using remote sensing and spatial analyses. The results indicate that: (1) The area of artificial land use expanded while natural land use was reduced, which emphasized an increase in production-orientated land uses at the expense of ecologically important wetlands; (2) It took 34 years for landscape ecological security and 39 years for ecosystem services to regain equilibrium. The coastal reclamation area would recover ecological equilibrium only after a minimum of 30 years; (3) The total ecosystem service value decreased significantly from $2.98 billion per year to $2.31 billion per year from 1977 to 2014. Food production was the only one ecosystem service function that consistently increased, mainly because of government policy; (4) The relationship between landscape ecological security and ecosystem services is complicated, mainly because of the scale effect of landscape ecology. Spatial analysis of changing gravity centers showed that landscape ecological security and ecosystem service quality became better in the north than the south over the study period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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2872 KiB  
Article
Urbanization and Its Effects on Industrial Pollutant Emissions: An Empirical Study of a Chinese Case with the Spatial Panel Model
by Jin Guo, Yingzhi Xu and Zhengning Pu
Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 812; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8080812 - 18 Aug 2016
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 6121
Abstract
Urbanization is considered a main indicator of regional economic development due to its positive effect on promoting industrial development; however, many regions, especially developing countries, have troubled in its negative effect—the aggravating environmental pollution. Many researchers have addressed that the rapid urbanization stimulated [...] Read more.
Urbanization is considered a main indicator of regional economic development due to its positive effect on promoting industrial development; however, many regions, especially developing countries, have troubled in its negative effect—the aggravating environmental pollution. Many researchers have addressed that the rapid urbanization stimulated the expansion of the industrial production and increased the industrial pollutant emissions. However, this statement is exposed to a grave drawback in that urbanization not only expands industrial production but also improves labor productivity and changes industrial structure. To make up this drawback, we first decompose the influence of urbanization impacts on the industrial pollutant emissions into the scale effect, the intensive effect, and the structure effect by using the Kaya Identity and the LMDI Method; second, we perform an empirical study of the three effects by applying the spatial panel model on the basis of the data from 282 prefecture-level cities of China from 2003 to 2014. Our results indicate that (1) there are significant reverse U-shapes between China’s urbanization rate and the volume of industrial wastewater discharge, sulfur dioxide emissions and soot (dust) emissions; (2) the relationship between China’s urbanization and the industrial pollutant emissions depends on the scale effect, the intensive effect and the structure effect jointly. Specifically, the scale effect and the structure effect tend to aggravate the industrial wastewater discharge, the sulfur dioxide emissions and the soot (dust) emissions in China’s cities, while the intensive effect results in decreasing the three types of industrial pollutant emissions; (3) there are significant spatial autocorrelations of the industrial pollutant emissions among China’s cities, but the spatial spillover effect is non-existent or non-significant. We attempt to explain this contradiction due to the fact that the vast rural areas around China’s cities serve as sponge belts and absorb the spatial spillover of the industrial pollutant emissions from cities. According to the results, we argue the decomposition of the three effects is necessary and meaningful, it establishes a cornerstone in understanding the definite relationship between urbanization and industrial pollutant emissions, and effectively contributes to the relative policy making. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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4964 KiB  
Article
Forested Land Use Efficiency in China: Spatiotemporal Patterns and Influencing Factors from 1999 to 2010
by Yafen He, Hualin Xie, Yuanhua Fan, Wei Wang and Xue Xie
Sustainability 2016, 8(8), 772; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8080772 - 09 Aug 2016
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4710
Abstract
More attention needs to be paid to efficiency in the use of forested land. This article is devoted to the study of forested land use efficiency (FLUE) and its spatiotemporal differences in China during the period from 1999 to 2010. The global generalized [...] Read more.
More attention needs to be paid to efficiency in the use of forested land. This article is devoted to the study of forested land use efficiency (FLUE) and its spatiotemporal differences in China during the period from 1999 to 2010. The global generalized directional distance function (GGDDF) and global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index models are used to measure and analyze forested land use efficiency. The empirical results showed that forested land use efficiency continued to increase during the study period. The FLUE of Shanghai was always highest, whereas Tibet, Inner Mongolia, and Qinghai suffered the most inefficiency in forested land use. There were obvious spatial differences in forested land use efficiency among the 31 provinces. Urbanization, economic development context, and population density were the main factors influencing spatial differences in forested land use efficiency. The growth in the non-radial Malmquist forested land performance index (NMPFI) in the east was driven mainly by technological change, whereas the growth in the central region was mostly derived from progress in efficiency change. For the western region, the change in the productivity of forested land was the result of the interactive effect between technological change and effect change, and only in the western region did an absolute β-convergence exist. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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248 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Traditional Culture on Farmers’ Moral Hazard Behavior in Crop Production: Evidence from China
by Liguo Zhang and Xuerong Li
Sustainability 2016, 8(7), 643; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su8070643 - 08 Jul 2016
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 4485
Abstract
To obtain higher yields, farmers may excessively use pesticides when they grow crops (like rice, vegetables, or fruit), causing moral hazard behavior. This paper examines how Chinese farmers’ moral hazard behavior in crop production is influenced by their traditional culture. A semi-parametric logistic [...] Read more.
To obtain higher yields, farmers may excessively use pesticides when they grow crops (like rice, vegetables, or fruit), causing moral hazard behavior. This paper examines how Chinese farmers’ moral hazard behavior in crop production is influenced by their traditional culture. A semi-parametric logistic model is used to investigate the impact of Chinese traditional culture on farmers’ moral hazard behavior. The results reveal that Chinese traditional culture has a positive effect on ameliorating the farmers’ excessive use of pesticides in crop production, which leads to a moral hazard in agro-product safety. Specifically, when we control for extraneous variables, the probability of moral hazard decreases by 15% if farmers consider their traditional culture in their production decisions. Moreover, the probability of moral hazard decreases by 17% if farmers consider the traditional culture as a powerful restraint regarding the use of pesticides. Our analysis provides some supportive evidence on the effect of Chinese traditional culture on mitigating farmers’ excessive use of pesticides. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Governance in Northeast Asia: Challenges for Sustainable Frontier)
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