Environmental Regulation, Financial Pressure and Industrial Ecological Efficiency of Resource-Based Cities in China: Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Impact Mechanism

A resource-based city is a type of city characterized by the exploitation and processing of natural resources as the leading industry in the region. Such cities provide essential resources for China’s economic development and support long-term rapid economic growth. However, resource-based cities (RBCs) face challenges, including resource depletion, economic recession, environmental pollution, and ecological damage, to which not enough attention has been paid. In the context of China’s increased focus on environmental protection and the economy, improving industrial ecological efficiency of RBCs has become ever more important. In the present study, the Super-SBM model was used to measure the industrial ecological efficiency of 114 RBCs in China from 2003 to 2016. The results show that during the study period, the industrial ecological efficiency of RBCs in China improved significantly, particularly in the central and western regions. The results from a Tobit model show that appropriate environmental regulation and financial pressure have a positive impact on the industrial ecological efficiency of RBCs. However, when faced with the dual pressures of environmental regulation and financial difficulty, improvement in industrial ecological efficiency was inhibited. The impact of environmental regulation and financial pressure on industrial ecological efficiency of cities in different regions and development stages and with different resource types shows heterogeneity. In accordance with the study findings, differentiated measures and suggestions are proposed to improve the industrial ecological efficiency of RBCs.