An Empirical Study on Industrial Ecological Efficiency in Arid Resource Exploitation Region of Northwest China

Abstract Located in the northwest of China, Xinjiang is a typical arid desert area and mineral resources development zone. Lacking water resources and a fragile ecological environment restricts the sustainable development of the region. Based on the industrial panel data of Xinjiang from 2001 to 2015, this paper uses the Undesirable Output SBM model, Malmquist index model, and Tobit regression model to comprehensively and systematically measure and evaluate the industrial eco-efficiency and its change characteristics from provincial, regional and prefectural levels. The results show that:(1) The level of industrial eco-efficiency in Xinjiang is generally low, lower than the national average, but it has been rising steadily over time, from 0.36 in 2001 to 1.00 in 2008, and from 0.41 in the "Tenth Five-Year Plan" period to 0.99 in the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period. (2) The industrial ecological efficiency of Xinjiang is not balanced in space. Northern Xinjiang is larger than that of eastern Xinjiang and southern Xinjiang. The prefectures have uneven and asynchronous development, which can be divided into two development modes: industrial region and agriculture and animal husbandry region. (3) Through the decomposition analysis of the Malmquist index, it is found that the technology progress index is the restriction factor of the changing trend of TFP, while the technical efficiency index and the pure technical efficiency index are the promoting factors. (4) The main factors causing the loss of ecological efficiency are industrial sulfur dioxide emissions, industrial nitrogen oxide emissions, total industrial water consumption, general industrial solid waste. It can be seen that the emission of air pollutants and excessive industrial water are the main problems in the region. (5) Industrial ecological efficiency is positively correlated with industrial development level, scientific and technological innovation, industrial structure, and environmental planning, and negatively correlated with opening up and industrial agglomeration degree. (6) Xinjiang is an extremely arid and water-scarce region. These are the key and prerequisite of saving water resources and strengthening the comprehensive utilization of water resources. Water- saving should be given top priority no matter in industrial areas, or agricultural and animal husbandry areas.