Spatio-temporal evolution of total factor structural efficiency in China based on the multiple demands of high-quality economic development

Optimizing factor allocation structure and improving total factor efficiency is crucial for narrowing regional development disparities and promoting high-quality economic development. Therefore, this paper considers the multiple demands of high-quality economic development and incorporates the dual constraints of input structure optimization and non-decreasing environmental welfare into the research framework of total factor structure efficiency (TFSE). It establishes a progressive research path from total factor efficiencies to TFSE, conducts a dynamic measurement from total factor efficiencies to TFSE, and investigates their spatio-temporal evolution. The main conclusions are: China’s TFSE exhibits a stable fluctuating trend with a decreasing regional distribution from the Southeast to the Northwest under the ‘Hu Huanyong Line’. The total factor efficiencies exhibit a decreasing trend of ‘clean energy–capital–environmental construction–labour - non-clean energy’. Significant spatial correlation effects exist for TFSE and total factor efficiencies in China, with a slight decline over time. TFSE exhibits significant conditional convergence, with a convergence speed of 2.03%. The convergence speeds of total factor efficiencies decrease in the following order: ‘non-clean energy–environmental construction–labour - capital–clean energy’. Moreover, regional TFSE and total factor efficiencies exhibit club convergence with positive spatial spillover effects.