An analysis of energy efficiency of the Pearl River Delta of China based on super-efficiency SBM model and Malmquist index

With the rapid growth rate of China’s economy, the extensive pattern of economic growth of “high energy consumption and low output” has magnified the constraints of energy issues on China’s economic development and environmental protection, which highlights the importance of improving energy efficiency. As one of the three major economic zones in China, the Pearl River Delta region also faces high energy consumption and pollution emissions while developing at a high speed. Hence, improving the energy efficiency of the Pearl River Delta region is needed, as it not only is conducive to driving its development of the surrounding green economy, but also promotes the subsequent sustainable economic development. However, there are few literatures on the calculation and analysis of energy efficiency in the Pearl River Delta, and lacking a systematic analysis of input–output index system of energy efficiency measurement. Therefore, this paper calculates the energy efficiencies and the Malmquist indexes based on the panel data of the nine cities in the Pearl River Delta from 2005 to 2019 through super-efficiency SBM model and Malmquist index method by using MAXDEA and MATLAB software. The result illustrates that all regions in the Pearl River Delta except Guangzhou and Shenzhen show obvious energy inefficiency, which is mainly caused by the imbalance between technical efficiency and scale efficiency. Based on the calculation results, this paper gives some relevant suggestions for the further approach of energy reform in the Pearl River Delta according to the calculation results.