Estimating regional coal resource efficiency in China using three-stage DEA and bootstrap DEA models

Based on three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model estimates of resource utilization efficiency of coal, we selected 29 provinces from China’s 2012 input–output data and used the bootstrap DEA model to correct the bias. The results show that the mean overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency was 0.833, 0.998, and 0.711 in 2012, respectively. Moreover, the comprehensive technical efficiency score indicates that the scale is invalid. Area utilization efficiencies for the eastern, central, and western regions were 0.917, 0.731, and 0.629, respectively. The results prove that there are significant differences in the distribution of coal resources utilization efficiency across regions.