State-owned forestry enterprises (SOFEs) play an important role in the forestry economy in China. Understanding the eco-efficiency of their production is beneficial for the development of sustainable forestry and for achieving Goal 8 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Decent Work and Economic Growth. This paper assesses SOFEs’ overall eco-efficiency by analyzing various undesirable outputs using the Slacks-Based Measure of efficiency in Data Envelopment Analysis (SBM-DEA) model. Using basic data from 87 SOFEs in Northeast China from 2003 to 2016, this paper evaluated the eco-efficiency development level and spatial patterns of that region. The results show that SOFEs’ low eco-efficiency was caused by low pure-technical efficiency. Regional differences in eco-efficiency were very significant and became larger, but a market-oriented reform might help to improve such efficiency. The eco-efficiency of SOFEs was in decline from 2003 to 2016 due to the implementation of the Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP). However, due to a relative lack of production factor inputs, most SOFEs’ scale returns are now increasing. In the future, efforts should be made to promote market-oriented reforms and take the path of large-scale development.

Widespread use of digital information technology is having a significant impact on economic growth and people’s well-being. This paper assesses the mediating role of social capital in the impact of digital information technology on multidimensional poverty. Due to differences in regional, industrial structure and other factors, digital information technology has different impacts on urban and rural residents. In this paper, the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database is used for data, and a mediating effect model is used to study the problem. The digital information technology use was found to enhance social capital from social network, social participation and social trust, and subsequently alleviates multidimensional poverty. The results indicate that social trust plays a more significant mediating role than social capital and social participation on the impact of digital information technology on multidimensional poverty. Furthermore, the results reveal that the use of digital information technology has varying effects on poverty reduction among different income groups, with a much higher effect on low-income groups. However, the mediating effect of social capital in high-income groups is higher than that in low-income groups. In particular, social capital in the top 25% of income groups has the highest mediating effect. In the heterogeneity analysis between urban and rural areas, it is found that the multidimensional poverty situation in urban areas is significantly better than that in rural areas, because urban residents have a higher use of digital information, and at the same time, the quality of social capital in urban and rural groups is different, leading to the difference in the effect of digital information technology on poverty reduction of multidimensional poverty. Based on the results of the study, we believe that the use of digital information technology has actually improved the multi-dimensional poverty status of all groups, and social capital plays a key mediating role in it. Relying on the progress of digital information technology, we can build more convenient social network. Establish more adequate channels of information communication, enhance social trust and social participation, and alleviate multidimensional poverty.

Background: Despite the growing literature on the efficiency and productivity of the Chinese healthcare system, less attention has been given to examining the undesirable outputs linked to healthcare services, including environmental pollution. Taking the atmospheric environmental pollution resulting from the incineration of medical waste as an undesirable output of the healthcare system, this study analyzed the growth and decomposition of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) of healthcare services across 31 Chinese provinces during the period 2005–2016. Methods: The Meta-frontier undesirable super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model and the Global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) Index were employed to analyze the growth and decomposition of TFP using the Max DEA software. Results: The results revealed that the years 2009 and 2015 marked significant changes in TFP of healthcare services in Chinese provinces. During the study period, the rate of technological change (TC) slowly declined, whereas the rate of efficiency change (EC) steadily increased. With the national average being the benchmark, the results indicated that: the TFP of 17 provinces and cities exceeded the average, the EC of 16 provinces and cities exceeded the average, the TC of 9 provinces and cities exceeded the average, and the value in the Technology Gap Ratio (TGR) changes of 13 provinces and cities were above the national average. Conclusions: (1) The TFP of the healthcare services across China continued to decline slowly during the study period. (2) The effect of technical catch-up in the eastern, central, and western regions of China was significant across the three regions, whereas the effect of technical innovation was negative. (3) The TFP varied considerably among the Chinese provinces. These findings suggest that, under existing environmental constraints, relevant government departments should improve technical innovation in the supply of healthcare services and medical waste treatment, increase technical efficiency in the factor of healthcare production, strengthen regional health planning, and balance the development of regional healthcare.