Is the process of urbanization good for efficiency in the construction industry: Applying the SBM-DEA model based on energy use and CO₂ emissions

This research employs the modified undesirable slack-based measure dynamic exogenous data envelopment analysis model to evaluate the construction industry efficiency in 30 provinces of China from 2006 to 2017. It considers the differences in urbanization levels in three (east, central, west) regions and evaluates the profitability, resource allocation, energy consumption, and carbon emission efficiency of the construction industry. The results are as follows. First, the construction industry efficiency is the best in the east, followed by the central region, and lowest in the west. Second, the changing trends in this industry's efficiency are widespread across the nation's regions. The highest point of efficiency in the east region is at the beginning of the research period, but it then declines. The efficiency value of the central region reaches its peak around 2012 and then falls. The west region experiences increasing efficiency year-by-year until peaking in 2017. Third, depending on the degree of urbanization, its effects are also diverse. Therefore, the China government must examine the degree of urbanization to avoid environmental problems brought by urbanization that can bring about a drop in efficiency of the construction industry.