PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2012, Vol. 31 ›› Issue (6): 733-741.

• Original Articles •

### Research on the Evaluation and Spatiotemporal Changes of FDI Utilization Efficiency in China

LIWeiwei, YANG Yongchun, ZHAO Sidong

1. Lanzhou University College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory ofWestern China's Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), Lanzhou 730000, China
• Received:2011-09-01 Revised:2012-01-01 Online:2012-06-25 Published:2012-06-25

Abstract: Improving FDI utilization efficiency is the key way to transfer the mode of using FDI into a quality emphasized strategic one, which has important practical and theoretical significance. Based on this aim, this paper introduces DEA model, chooses labor, capital, capital input indexes and technology spillover, economic and social output to construct an evaluation index system, and analyzes empirically temporal-spatial variation characteristics of FDI utilization efficiency in China. The results show that: 1) FDI utilization efficiency is generally low, and the change range of FDI utilization efficiency is not wide in the past 10 years. The technology efficiency of FDI utilization is higher than scale efficiency of FDI utilization, and the scale efficiency of FDI utilization is higher than comprehensive efficiency of FDI utilization; 2) As for spatiotemporal variations, the change of FDI utilization efficiency in connection with the space differentiation is significant. The spatial distribution patterns of“big concentration-small dispersion”and“big dispersion-small concentration”coexisted in 2000, and the space differentiation changed into“big concentration-small dispersion”pattern in 2009. In the long term FDI utilization efficiency of western China is greater than that of eastern and central China. Thus the western region will be in a dominant position among the regions with diminishing and unchanged return to scale for a long time across the country; 3) The technology and scale efficiency of FDI utilization together determine comprehensive efficiency, and the technical efficiency has stronger decisive effects. The regions whose efficiency in the use of FDI needs to be optimized should pay attention to the first three factors and foreign management as well as monitor the directions of flows and the flow volume of FDI, so that FDI gradually flows out of the redundancy region.