Land Use Efficiency and Total Factor Productivity—Distribution Dynamic Evolution of Rural Living Space in Chongqing, China

Research on the land use efficiency of rural living spaces is at the core of conflicts about current rural land use and ecological environment construction in China. It can be effectively dealt with through the rational and healthy use of rural land, by promoting sustainable development and urban and rural coordination. Building on the foundation of ecosystem metabolism and sustainable development theories, this paper utilizes the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) Malmquist productivity index to divide the land use efficiency total factor productivity (LUTFP) into Malmquist–Luenberger technical change (MLTECH) and Malmquist–Luenberger efficiency change (MLEFFCH) from the perspective of scale change, and uses Kernel Function to measure and study the distribution characteristics of the dynamic evolution and land use efficiency (LUE) in different functional and productive areas and living space subsystem. The results show that, in the process of land use, desirable output growth in the Chongqing city rural living space is lower than the undesirable output reduction rate. Rural human settlement and construction management appears to damage the environment. The LUE in the obtained results showcases an obvious agglomeration effect in Chongqing. Also, there is a very significant “match-up” effect between the LUE and economic development level. In addition, the paper also finds that the technical change index and efficiency change index work together in rural living space LUTFP. The results presented in this paper can provide a basis for the optimization of regional development strategies and rural land utilization.