Evaluation and Influencing Factors of Transportation Industry Energy Efficiency of Changjiang Economic Zone

Changjiang Economic Zone (CEZ) faces the urgent task to promote the energy conservation and emission reduction of the transportation industry. This study constructs an evaluation system for transportation industry energy efficiency (TIEE) and evaluates TIEEs of 11 CEZ provinces in 2000–2017, using the super-slack-based measure (Super-SBM) model containing undesired output. On this basis, the panel data model was adopted to explore the impactors of TIEE. The main results are as follows: CEZ provinces varied significantly in TIEE. In the sample period, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Sichuan, Shanghai, and Anhui achieved relatively satisfactory TIEEs; Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou performed generally on TIEE, calling for some improvement; Chongqing and Yunnan did not perform well, leaving a huge room for improvement. Judging by TIEE trends in the lower reaches, middle reaches, and upper reaches, TIEE of the lower reaches exhibited a U-shaped trend (first decrease and then increase) and TIEEs of the middle reaches and upper reaches did not fluctuate significantly, except for a few years. There was a marked difference between the three regions in TIEE: TIEE in the lower reaches was much higher than that in the middle reaches and upper reaches. In addition, the panel data model demonstrates that TIEE is significantly promoted by economic growth and transportation structure, obviously suppressed by industrial structure, opening-up, and transportation infrastructure, and not clearly affected by government influence or environmental regulation.