Integrating justice into the assessment of urban disaster resilience construction efficiency: considering the undesirable welfare losses of vulnerable groups.

Abstract

The combined effects of climate change and urbanization have intensified the need to enhance urban disaster resilience. Integrating efficiency and justice into the framework for resilient city construction is particularly critical. This study developed an evaluation framework for disaster resilience construction efficiency (DRCE) from a "resource input-resilience output" perspective, incorporating undesirable outputs associated with welfare losses among vulnerable populations. Specifically, a Super-efficiency Slack-Based Measure (Super-SBM) model with undesirable outputs and the Global Malmquist Luenberger (GML) index were integrated to examine the spatiotemporal distribution of DRCE across 31 Chinese provinces from 2010 to 2023, from both static and dynamic perspectives. Next, the disparities between disaster resilience levels and DRCE were analyzed using measured element slacks. Furthermore, provinces that experienced declines in DRCE rankings after accounting for undesirable outputs were identified, along with the contributing factors. Results indicate that China's average DRCE exhibited strong efficiency, with the GML index was 1.010. DRCE improvements in eastern China were primarily driven by changes in the best practice gap (BPC), while technical efficiency (EC) was the key driver in central and western regions. Engineering and technology inputs inefficiencies were the main reasons for high resilience levels but low DRCE. After considering the welfare losses of vulnerable groups, the DRCE rankings of Beijing, Guangxi and Jiangxi have declined significantly, mainly due to the imbalance of economic loss and education loss, respectively. These findings provided valuable insights for fostering efficient and justice disaster-resilient cities, promoting urban sustainability, and advancing shared global prosperity.