Assessment of the efficiency of coupling sustainable well-being in
mountain villages: A case study of Qinba Mountain Areas in China
Abstract
Under the global Sustainable Development Goals initiative, the pursuit
of well-being is gradually shifting from wealth to sustainable
development. Re-examining the contribution of regional economic,
ecological, and social development to the common creation of well-being,
analyzing their deep connections, will help us understand the
multidimensional concepts and processes of development, and provide
ideas for further promoting the construction of a more equitable and
sustainable world. China is moving from comprehensive prosperity to
common prosperity, and the continuous improvement of sustainable
well-being provides effective samples for our research. This study
focuses on 46 counties in the Qinba Mountains region of China, and
constructs a coupled performance indicator system for sustainable
well-being in mountain villages. The Super SBM model is used to evaluate
the matching performance of input and output factors, with Economic
capital, Ecological capital, and Social capital as explanatory variables
and Sustainable Happiness Index as the expected output. Research has
found that: (1) There is a mismatch between the input and output factors
of sustainable well-being in the Qinba Mountain area, and management
techniques are a key factor hindering the improvement of the coupling
performance level of sustainable well-being in the Qinba Mountain area;
(2) The coupling performance level of sustainable happiness in the Qinba
Mountain area is showing a downward trend, and only adjusting the
input-output relationship by about 1.02% can achieve optimization and
growth in performance level; (3) There is a significant shortage of
input factors, with 87% of counties experiencing insufficient economic
capital, about 76% experiencing insufficient arable land, and 41%
experiencing insufficient social capital. To solve these problems, it is
necessary to strengthen the sustainable management level of each county
in terms of ecology, economy, and social integration, continue to
promote capital investment in mountainous areas to improve economic
level, strictly use arable land, optimize land use structure, strengthen
social governance level, improve residents’ satisfaction level, and thus
enhance sustainable happiness level. This will provide useful reference
for achieving sustainable development goals in similar regions of the
world.