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A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Oceans and Coastal Zones".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 May 2023) | Viewed by 31881

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Prof. Dr. Shuhong Wang

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Guest Editor

Marine Economics and Management, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan, China
Interests: economics; marine economics; environmental economics; economic development; efficiency
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Sheng Xu

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Guest Editor

School of Economcis, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China
Interests: economics; marine economics; marine industry; blue economy; economic development

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Dear Colleagues,

As an important carrier of modern economic development and social activities, the ocean is not only a natural basis for ecologically sound and sustainable development, but also a new growth pole for economic breakthroughs and innovations and a key component of the overall composition of social development, but at the same time, it may also turn into a bottleneck and a hidden danger that restricts socioeconomic development. As the strategic position of the ocean continues to be highlighted, issues such as high-quality development of the marine economy, resource accounting and management, efficiency and management, ecological compensation and security, marine bearing capacity measurement, and the construction of monitoring and early warning and management systems have become increasingly important. More and more scholars believe that the quality of marine resources and environment is deeply related to the level of human economic development and society’s environmental policy response. Although the development and utilization of marine resources are the only way to achieve a “strong ocean state”, if the rapid development of regional marine economy is really at the cost of rapid consumption of marine resources and the environment, then the economic development-oriented marine economic development model will eventually lead to the depletion of marine resources and the exposure of environmental problems. The recent rapid development and application of the digital economy, artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing technologies provide new opportunities for the development and protection of marine economy. Appropriate methods are selected to explore the development of marine economy and meet the needs of the goal of sustainable development and protection of marine economy.

Prof. Dr. Shuhong Wang
Prof. Dr. Sheng Xu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

marine economics
marine environment
management and efficiency
economic security
high-quality development

Related Special Issue

Marine Bearing Capacity and Economic Growth in Water (4 articles)

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 144 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Marine Economic Development and Conservation

by Shuhong Wang and Sheng Xu

Water 2023, 15(12), 2253; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15122253 - 16 Jun 2023

Viewed by 982

Abstract

The ocean is an important component of modern economic development and social activities, and acts as a natural source for ecologically sound and sustainable development [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

20 pages, 3539 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integration of Marine and Terrestrial Ecological Economies in the Cities of the Bohai Rim, China, Based on the Concept of Viscosity

by Zhe Yu, Xiaolong Chen and Qianbin Di

Water 2023, 15(4), 749; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15040749 - 14 Feb 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1513

Abstract

The integration of sea and land ecological economies is crucial for the development of a high-quality sea–land economy. This study explores and proposes the concept of a sea–land-integrated ecological economy. By constructing the evaluation index system for developing a sea–land-integrated ecological economy, the development level, evolution process, and development trend prediction of a sea–land-integrated ecological economy were evaluated and analysed in cities around the Bohai Sea from 2009 to 2019 using methods such as a model for assessing the development level, a spatio-temporal autocorrelation model, and an exploratory spatio-temporal data analysis model. The results of the study show that (1) the development level of the ecological economy of the cities of Bohai Rim’s sea–land integration generally had an upward trend; however, the magnitude significantly varied between cities; (2) the spatio-temporal autocorrelation pattern formed three major agglomerations with Dalian in the north, Yantai and Qingdao in the south, and Tianjin and Tangshan in the centre as the core cities and contained low agglomerations and scattered L–H spatio-temporal heterogeneous units; and (3) the integration prediction curve for 2020–2029 indicates that the level value for integration of most cities will improve over time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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16 pages, 308 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Resource Constraints and Economic Growth: Empirical Analysis Based on Marine Field

by Shuhong Wang, Wenqian Tian, Baomin Geng and Zhe Zhang

Water 2023, 15(4), 727; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15040727 - 12 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1409

Abstract

To explore the contribution of marine resources to marine economic growth, this study uses panel data from 2006–2019 across 11 coastal provinces and cities in China and establishes threshold regression models using marine capital, labor, and science and technology as threshold variables affecting marine resources and economic growth. The findings reveal that the impact of marine resources on marine economic growth only demonstrates a single threshold effect under the primary industry marine resources; in general, with increased capital investment, the marine economy presents a positive development trend. The impact of primary and secondary marine resources on marine economic growth has a single threshold effect of labor input, while the impact of tertiary marine resources on marine economic growth has a double threshold effect of labor input. With investment in marine science and technology, marine resource development and utilization in the primary industries have played a consistent role in promoting marine economic growth. However, the impact of this role is gradually decreasing; marine resource development and utilization in the secondary and tertiary industries shows a development pattern wherein the driving effect of marine economic growth is first large, then small, and then large again. Based on the above analysis, China should promote the transformation of labor-intensive to capital-intensive industries by increasing investment in marine capital, training marine talent, and developing marine science and technology innovation to increase the development level of China’s marine economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

23 pages, 4161 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Game of Marine Natural Resources Management: A strategy for Determining Rights Registration

by Chun-Yu Lin, Gui-Lin Dai, Zhuo Chen, Su Wang, Ying Liu, Ping Wang and Xiu-Mei Fu

Water 2023, 15(1), 36; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w15010036 - 22 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1892

Abstract

The unified right confirmation and registration of natural resources in sea areas (URCRNRSA) has been considered a key approach to the effective management and sustainable utilization of marine resources. In China, the system of URCRNRSA is insufficient due to the lack of central auditing supervision and public participation. In this study, the mechanism of stakeholder interaction is clarified based on the game relationship among the tripartite of the central government, local governments, and the public. The evolutionary process of tripartite decision-making is simulated with an evolutionary game model. On this basis, the strategic choices of the tripartite were analyzed in the four evolutionary scenarios of high-quality URCRNRSA. It was demonstrated that the tripartite could jointly affect the URCRNRSA through cooperation-constraint, principal-agent, and incentive-compatibility relationships. The most effective, realistic, and feasible URCRNRSA strategy was the trinity system with local government high-quality rights confirming, the central government auditing as a hard constraint and the public participating as a soft constraint. The main influencing factors for the tripartite to make different strategy selections were clarified through parameter sensitivity analysis, including cost, benefit, reward, and punishment. Accordingly, the policy recommendations were put forward to ensure the stable and efficient implementation of the URCRNRSA in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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18 pages, 2266 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Carbon Neutrality Assessment and Driving Factor Analysis of China’s Offshore Fishing Industry

by Hongjun Guan, Yuhuan Chen and Aiwu Zhao

Water 2022, 14(24), 4112; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14244112 - 16 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1511

Abstract

The marine fishing industry has a huge carbon sink potential and is also an important source of carbon emissions. The low-carbon development of the marine fishing industry is particularly important. Based on the perspective of carbon neutrality, this study analyzed the trend of net carbon emissions, carbon emissions and carbon sinks in the offshore fishing industry in China and 11 coastal provinces from 2010 to 2019 and decomposed the driving factors of the net carbon emissions of the offshore fishing industry with the LMDI decomposition method. The results show the following: (1) China’s offshore fishing industry is in a partially carbon-neutral state. Overall, the net carbon emissions have decreased, and the carbon neutrality capacity has improved. However, the net carbon emissions have increased since 2016. From 2010 to 2019, both the carbon emissions and carbon sinks of China’s offshore fishing industry declined. Carbon emissions fluctuated at first and then declined rapidly, while carbon sinks rose slowly and then showed a significant downward trend. (2) The offshore fishing industry in coastal provinces is also in a state of partial carbon neutrality, and the trends of carbon emissions, carbon sinks and net carbon emissions in most provinces are consistent with the national trends, but there are large differences between regions. (3) For the whole country, among the driving factors of net carbon emissions in the offshore fishing industry, industrial development is the main positive driving factor, and population size is the main negative driving factor. The net carbon coefficient and energy intensity also play a certain role in driving net carbon emissions. (4) Population size is an important inhibitory factor for the net carbon emissions of the offshore fishing industry in most coastal provinces, and the driving direction of the net carbon coefficient, energy intensity and industrial development is inconsistent. Based on the above research, relevant suggestions are put forward for the green development of the marine fishing industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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19 pages, 2512 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Financial Support, Technological Improvement and Marine Economic Development for China’s Coastal Regions

by Yingying Liang, Shuang Zhang, Jianlu Li and Liangliang Guo

Water 2022, 14(17), 2740; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14172740 - 02 Sep 2022

Viewed by 1776

Abstract

Financial support (capital) and technological improvement are the crucial factors in any industry, and they are also the major factors of marine economics. However, the government has supplied a great deal of capital and the marine economy has been deeply explored and researched using advanced technology. The marine industry is still not the mainstay industry in Chinese industry. Considering this, the issues of how to address financial support, technical improvement and marine economics are common foci within the government and society, especially regarding the economic growth of China. It is necessary to develop the marine economy. However, many scholars only pay attention to the aspects of marine financial support, marine technology and marine economic development separately, and no scholars have studied the relationship between the three at present. Therefore, this article establishes a model to conduct empirical tests regarding the relationship between financial support, technological improvement and marine economic development using panel data from 11 coastal regions in China. The results show that financial support has a negative impact on technological improvement, but it has a positive impact on marine economic efficiency. Technological improvement has a positive impact on financial support and marine economic efficiency. However, marine economic efficiency has a negative impact on financial support, and it has a positive impact on technological improvement. Through impulse response analysis, there is a significant correlation between them. This article calculates marine economic efficiency with the SBM-DEA model and analyzes relationships with the BVAR model, which is proposed to improve the development and efficiency of the marine economy. Financial support should be used in the rather important parts of the marine economy so that the marine economy can achieve returns in the short-term and attract more circulating funds to enter the marine economy, which impacts the long-term stable and sustainable growth of the marine economy. Moreover, financial support, financial liberalization, technological research and technological creation in the progress of marine economic construction should focus on effectively using circulating funds, which provides geo-advantages and aids in building a new marine economic ecological circle. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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17 pages, 887 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Ports’ Diversification-Driven Industrial Transformation on Operating Performance: Regulatory Effect of Port Cities’ Urban Economic Development Level

by Yanfang Sun, Shuhui Zhang and Shuang Wu

Water 2022, 14(8), 1243; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14081243 - 12 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2010

Abstract

Diversification-driven industrial transformation (DIT) has become a strategy for port enterprises dealing with the dual impacts of slowing economic growth and pressure from domestic competitors. Considering the interactive relationship between ports and port cities, the subjects of this study were publicly listed port-related enterprises in China and corresponding port cities. The main and regulatory effects were used to test and analyze the impact of port enterprises’ DIT and port cities’ urban economic development (UED) level on three aspects of enterprises’ operating performance: profitability, operating capacity, and development capability. The study found that the relationship between DIT and operating capacity is nonlinear and shaped like an inverted U, and exhibits an increasing negative impact on profitability and development capability. The UED level promotes those two aspects of port enterprises, has minimal impact on operating capacity, and has a positive regulatory effect on the relationship between port enterprises’ DIT and operating performance. The empirical test results can provide decision-making basis for port enterprises to formulate diversified transformation strategy reasonably and achieve performance improvement, which is conducive to promoting the interactive development and integration of port city in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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17 pages, 1773 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Forecasting Guangdong’s Marine Science and Technology, Marine Economy, and Employed Persons by Coastal Regions—Based on Rolling Grey MGM(1,m) Model

by Xin Shan and Yun Cao

Water 2022, 14(5), 824; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14050824 - 06 Mar 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1918

Abstract

The development of marine scientific and technological innovation is an important force for realizing the high-quality development of the marine economy. The purpose of this paper is to predict the development trend of marine science and technology development, marine economy, and employed persons by coastal regions in Guangdong Province, and to give policy suggestions for the future direction of the development of marine technology in Guangdong. Considering the new information priority principle, this paper uses the data from 2011 to 2016 to predict the development trend of marine science and technology, marine economy, and employed persons by coastal regions in Guangdong Province from 2017 to 2022 with the rolling RMGM(1,m) model. It is found that the level of marine science and technology and marine economy in Guangdong maintains stable growth, but marine science and technology capabilities still need to be strengthened. On the one hand, the research reveals the development trend of Guangdong’s marine science and technology innovation and marine economy, and it provides a direction for the high-quality development of Guangdong’s marine economy. On the other hand, the research confirms the validity of the MGM(1,m) model and enriches the research field of grey forecasting models. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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19 pages, 2734 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Has Technological Progress Contributed to the Bias of Green Output in China’s Marine Economy?

by Jianyue Ji, Jinglin Zhou and Xingmin Yin

Water 2022, 14(3), 443; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14030443 - 01 Feb 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1572

Abstract

At present, the destruction of the marine ecological environment and the imbalance of economic structure have put forward urgent requirements for the green development of the marine economy. Based on the input and output data of China’s coastal provinces from 2006 to 2018, the RDM (range directional model) direction distance function was used to measure the output bias technology progress (OBTC) index of each region, and its influence on China’s marine economy green total factor productivity (GTFP) was judged accordingly. Furthermore, the rationality of the current OBTC index was studied. The results show that there is obvious output-biased technological progress in China’s marine economy, and it has led to the improvement of the GTFP. Although most coastal areas still tend to pursue the improvement of the total output value of the marine economy at the expense of environmental damage, the green bias of China’s marine economy has improved significantly since 2015, driven by relevant marine environmental protection policies. From the perspective of different areas, the imbalance of regional development in the process of China’s marine economic development is significant. The green bias of the marine economy is highest in the East China Sea area and lowest in the Bohai rim area. However, the coordination between the development of the green marine economy and environmental protection in the South China Sea area needs to be improved. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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22 pages, 6363 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Spatio-Temporal Disparities of Mariculture Area Production Efficiency Considering Undesirable Output: A Case Study of China’s East Coast

by Jianyue Ji, Luping Liu, Yao Xu and Ningning Zhang

Water 2022, 14(3), 324; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14030324 - 22 Jan 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2402

Abstract

Mariculture areas are an important non-renewable natural resource and continuously improving their efficiency is important for increasing mariculture output and adjusting its structure. The aim of this study was to measure the mariculture area production efficiency (MAPE) considering undesirable outputs, further analyze its spatiotemporal disparities, and analyze the reasons for the differences observed during the period from 2008 to 2019. The super-efficiency Engel–Blackwell–Miniard (S-EBM) model and global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index was selected to analyze the technical efficiency and productivity of MAPE from both the static and dynamic aspects, and the Theil index was used to decompose the regional differences. The results showed that the MAPE showed fluctuation and an increasing trend overall; the production efficiency and technical progress showed a fluctuating rising trend, and technical progress had a significant driving effect on the production efficiency; and intra-regional differences were the main factors that cause the differences in MAPE. The findings suggest the increase of scientific and technological investment in mariculture, changes in mariculture methods, the establishment of environmental monitoring centers in mariculture areas, and the sharing of information technology between regions to achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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16 pages, 554 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Trade Facilitation on Cross-Border E-Commerce Transactions: Analysis Based on the Marine and Land Cross-Border Logistical Practices between China and Countries along the “Belt and Road”

by Yingying Liang, Liangliang Guo, Jianlu Li, Shuang Zhang and Xiangyun Fei

Water 2021, 13(24), 3567; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13243567 - 13 Dec 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 7300

Abstract

In the post-epidemic era, cross-border e-commerce has become a new growth point for global foreign trade. Unlike traditional trade, which is dominated by marine transport, cross-border e-commerce transactions have high requirements for both marine and land transport, and the scale of their trade is accordingly limited by the level of trade facilitation i.e., the convenience of cross-border logistics in bilateral trading countries. Based on transaction cost theory, this article takes cross-border e-commerce transactions between China and countries along “The Belt and Road” as the core of the study. From the perspective of marine and land transport timeliness, the theoretical framework is constructed using the marine and land logistics infrastructure, customs clearance environment, government–governance environment, and cross-border logistics services as the main influencing paths; the GMM method is then applied in order to conduct a study on the impact of trade facilitation on the scale effect of cross-border e-commerce. The study finds that marine and land transport infrastructure has the strongest impact, with customs clearance environment and government–governance environment having the second strongest and comparable impact. The findings of the study further clarify the differences in the application of different cross-border logistics facilitation measures, and provide a theoretical basis for improving the timeliness of cross-border e-commerce transactions and reducing trade costs as well as a reference for the realization of land–sea integration and land–sea interconnection under “The Belt and Road” initiative. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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20 pages, 2042 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Coevolution of Economic and Industrial Linkages within the Land-Sea Industrial Structure of China

by Xue Jin, Shiwei Zhou, Ussif Rashid Sumaila, Kedong Yin and Xinman Lv

Water 2021, 13(23), 3452; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13233452 - 05 Dec 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1948

Abstract

The joint development of continental and marine economies has become an important driving force for the upgrading of industrial structures. However, because of the differences in resource endowment and development potential, developing industrial structures and the quality of economic development are uneven among regions. In this study, the added values of three land-sea industries in the three marine economic circles of northern, eastern, and southern China, were employed to clarify the evolutionary behavior of the industrial structure of these three circles on the land and sea; the synchronization, lag, equilibrium, and dislocation of developing the industrial structure were also explored which a gray relational model based on convex judgment and gray time difference analyses were used to construct a relational model from the static and dynamic aspects of the system, and the internal and external linkages of the industrial structure of the three circles were analyzed from the perspective of industrial correlation. The results show that: (1) Correlations among the linkages of the three economic circles in the marine industrial structure, both including and without temporal and spatial differences, and the marine feedback driver, differ markedly. (2) The effects of feedback for marine industrial development from the Eastern Marine Economic Circle were stronger, whereas those of the Southern Marine Economic Circle were weak and those of the Northern Marine Economic Circle were ambiguous. (3) A significant difference was observed in the degree of coevolution among the land-sea industrial structures of these areas. The Northern Marine Economic Circle exhibited a slightly higher degree of coevolution than the other two economic circles, showing a stable trend of coevolution and wide spatial development. The eastern and southern circles displayed high degrees of coordination in developing their industrial structures. The research results provide a reference for regional adjustment and optimization of industrial structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

20 pages, 303 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperReview

A Review on Marine Economics and Management: How to Exploit the Ocean Well

by Shuhong Wang, Weiyao Li and Lu Xing

Water 2022, 14(17), 2626; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14172626 - 26 Aug 2022

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3570

Abstract

With the objective of establishing methods for high-quality marine development and effective marine management, this review focuses on four dimensions of marine development: marine economy, marine resources, marine ecology, and marine accounting. The focus of marine economy research is the marine industry, with the marine circular economy being the latest research frontier. Marine resources are the foundation of the marine economy. To use different types of marine resources more efficiently, it is necessary to apply the property right system of natural resources to marine fields. The healthy development of the marine economy is guaranteed by marine ecology. How to scientifically measure marine ecological loss and evaluate the marine ecological environment carrying capacity and marine ecological security is key to the sustainable development of the marine economy. The development of the marine economy is based on successful marine accounting. The lack of marine data globally has made marine accounting controversial. The study aims to review the development history and latest research frontiers for various marine-related fields and identify existing problems in the processes of marine economic development and marine management, with a view to finding a breakthrough for transforming and upgrading marine development, improving the marine economic governance system, and strengthening the modernization of marine governance capacity, so as to better develop and utilize the oceans. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Economic Development and Conservation)

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