Does Optimization of Industrial Structure Improve Green Efficiency of Industrial Land Use in China?

Improving the green efficiency of industrial land use (GEILU) is essential to promoting low-pollution and highly efficient development, and industrial structure is a key factor in this dynamic. This paper aims to reveal how the optimization of industrial structure (OIS) affects GEILU in China. First, an analytical framework was proposed to understand the effect mechanisms from the perspective of rationalization, upgrading, and ecologization of industrial structure. Second, the panel data of 31 provincial units collected from 2006 to 2020 were taken as cases for empirical study. The super-SBM model was adopted to measure GEILU, and some variables were used to evaluate OIS. Finally, the spatial effects of OIS on GEILU were analyzed based on the spatial Durbin model. The results show that the GEILU presented a wave change and kept increasing after 2016. From a global perspective, the rationalization of industrial structure helped improve GEILU; however, the upgrading and ecologization of industrial structure generated inhibiting effects. When integrating the three perspectives, optimization of industrial structure was considered to have negative effects on GEILU. The negative effects stemmed from an inefficient expansion of industrial land and pollution from heavy chemical industries. From a phased perspective, in the early period of this study, the outdated technology in traditional industries brought about the negative effects; however, with high-knowledge and high-tech industries forming a market scale, optimization of industrial structure gradually became conducive to the improvement of GEILU. This study suggests that eliminating the market segmentation between provinces and accelerating the development of high-knowledge and high-tech industries can help promote low-pollution and highly efficient industrial land use in China.