Dynamic linkages among economic development, environmental pollution and human health in Chinese

• Published in: Cost effectiveness and resource allocation 2020-09, Vol.18 (1), p.32-19, Article 32
• Main Authors: Li, Ying, Lin, Tai-Yu, Chiu, Yung-Ho
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Air pollutant; Air pollution; Air pollution control; Analysis; Carbon dioxide; China; Data envelopment analysis; Disease; Economic aspects; Economic development; Economic efficiency; Economic growth; Emissions; Energy consumption; Energy efficiency; Expenditures; GDP; Gross Domestic Product; Health care costs; Health care reform; Healthcare resource utilization efficiency; Literature reviews; Mortality; Nitrogen dioxide; Outdoor air quality; Pollutants; Regions; Research methodology; Respiratory tract diseases; Stroke; Urbanization
• ISSN: 1478-7547; 1478-7547
• DOI: 10.1186/s12962-020-00228-6

Research on the relationships between economic development, energy consumption, environmental pollution, and human health has tended to focus on the relationships between economic growth and air pollution, energy and air pollution, or the impact of air pollution on human health. However, there has been little past research focused on all the above associations. The few studies that have examined the interconnections between the economy, energy consumption, environmental pollution and health have tended to employ regression analyses, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis), or DEA efficiency analyses; however, as these are static analysis tools, the analyses did not fully reveal the sustainable economic, energy, environmental or health developments over time, did not consider the regional differences, and most often ignored community health factors. To go some way to filling this gap, this paper developed a modified two stage Undesirable Meta Dynamic Network model to jointly analyze energy consumption, economic growth, air pollution and health treatment data in 31 Chinese high-income and upper-middle income cities from 2013-2016, for which the overall efficiency, production efficiency, healthcare resource utilization efficiency and technology gap ratio (TGR) for all input and output variables were calculated. It was found that: (1) the annual average overall efficiency in China's eastern region was the highest; (2) the production stage efficiencies were higher than the healthcare resource utilization stage efficiencies in most cities; (3) the high-income cities had lower TGRs than the upper-middle income cities; (4) the high-income cities had higher average energy consumption efficiencies than the upper-middle income cities; (5) the health expenditure efficiencies were the lowest of all inputs; (6) the high-income cities' respiratory disease and mortality rate efficiencies were higher than in the upper-middle income cities, which had improving mortality rate efficiencies; and (7) there were significant regional differences in the annual average input and output indicator efficiencies. First, the high-income cities had higher average efficiencies than the upper-middle income cities. Of the ten eastern region high-income cities, Guangzhou and Shanghai had average efficiencies of 1, with the least efficient being Shijiazhuang. In the other regions, the upper-middle income cities required greater technology and health treatment investments. Second, Guangzhou, Lhasa, Na