The performance and influencing factors of high-quality development of resource-based cities in the Yellow River basin under reducing pollution and carbon emissions constraints

It is important to clarify the high-quality development performance (HQDP) of resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and its influencing factors under reducing pollution and carbon emissions constraints, in order to encourage ecological protection and high-quality development in the YRB. In this paper, we measured the HQDP of 36 resource-based cities in the YRB under reducing pollution and carbon emissions constraints from 2006 to 2020 using the super-efficient SBM model, and explored the factors that impacted HQDP by a bidirectional fixed-effect model. The findings showed that: (1) The HQDP of resource-based cities presented an obvious distribution feature of "higher upstream and downstream, lower middle reaches", and the regenerative cities had the highest HQDP, followed by the growing, mature and declining cities. (2) Economic growth level and environmental regulation had a remarkable positive impact on HQDP, energy intensity had a considerable negative impact on HQDP, and industrial structure, openness and financial growth level had a marked heterogeneity on HQDP of various kinds of cities. On the basis of this, suggestions were proposed to increase the HQDP of resource-based cities in the YRB.