Efficiency of Science and Technology Industrial Parks in China

This research investigates the efficiency of fifty-three Science and Technology Industrial Parks (STIPs) in China from 2004 to 2006. We apply the four-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach proposed by Fried et al. (1999), trying to eliminate the different operational conditions beyond STIPs’ control, so as to provide a fair understanding of their performances. Five environmental factors are taken into account in our assessment process. The major findings are as follows: Environmental factors do affect to the efficiency of the STIPs, in general, exhibiting that STIPs in China are under favorable environments for operation. Geographically, the performances of STIPs are east, central, and west in sequence of quality. However, the STIPs located in the west area are deeply impacted by the environment on average. After adjusting inputs to exclude influences of environmental factors, only Beijing, Shanghai, and Hangzhou remain at the best technical efficiency.