Efficiency analysis of the regional railway in China: an application of DEA-Tobit approach

This paper analyzes the railway system in all Chinese regions, firstly evaluates the railway efficiency by DEA and MPI from both static and dynamic viewpoints, and then identifies the key factors affecting railway efficiency by Tobit regression. The empirical study reveals: Chinese railway was still at a low level in overall technical efficiency caused by pure technical inefficiency; Chinese railway development was imbalance, Eastern region ranked the highest; Western region had the largest growth potential in railway output; Chinese railway was getting better and better mainly benefited from technology progress; regional economy development, population, railway density and highway density affected the railway inefficiency.