Lu Shen, Zhuang Jincai, Sun Zenan, Huang Man
School of Management, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212000, China.
Heliyon. 2024 Jul 26;10(15):e35296. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e35296. eCollection 2024 Aug 15.
Against the backdrop of escalating environmental pollution and resource depletion induced by traditional agricultural industry development, the imperative for agricultural efficiency and ecologically friendly practices has become pivotal for global agricultural sustainability. In the digital era, rural digitalization has substantially amplified agricultural production efficiency while notably reducing environmental pollution. This study is based on panel data from 1602 counties in China spanning from 2011 to 2020, measuring the levels of rural digitalization and agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) across these counties, empirically examining their dynamic correlation. The research findings reveal: (1) A significant enhancement of AGTFP with the elevation of rural digitalization; for every 1 % increase in rural digitalization, AGTFP increases by 1.78 %. Robustness checks, including instrumental variables and quasi-natural experiments, affirm the validity of these conclusions. Furthermore, by comparing regional differences in China, it can be observed that the impact of rural digitalization on AGTFP varies across different areas: in the eastern, central, and western regions, for every 1 % increase in rural digitalization, the AGTFP increases by 2.65 %, 1.53 %, and 0.82 %, respectively. (2) Rural digitalization fosters an increase in AGTFP by stimulating rural entrepreneurial activity, with the mediation effect of rural entrepreneurial activity accounting for 3.34 % of the total effect. (3) Utilizing a threshold model, observations indicate that when rural digitalization surpasses the first threshold of 0.3200, the AGTFP coefficient escalates from 0.0462 to 0.7519. However, when rural digitalization exceeds the second threshold of 0.7118, this coefficient declines to 0.2429, signifying a nonlinear trend in the marginal effect of rural digitalization on AGTFP-initial enhancement followed by attenuation. (4) In the spatial model analysis, the study confirms spatial spillover effects of rural digitalization on AGTFP, indicating variations in spatial effects among different matrices. However, the indirect effects of rural digitalization on AGTFP, mainly influenced by the neighboring counties' digitalization levels, contribute more significantly than the direct effects. Based on these conclusions, this paper proposes augmenting investments in rural digitalization, implementing diversified rural digitalization schemes, invigorating rural entrepreneurial activity, and harmonizing regional digital development as novel approaches to enhance AGTFP, thereby fostering rural economic development.
在传统农业产业发展导致环境污染加剧和资源枯竭的背景下，提高农业效率和践行生态友好型做法对于全球农业可持续发展至关重要。在数字时代，农村数字化大幅提高了农业生产效率，同时显著减少了环境污染。本研究基于2011年至2020年中国1602个县的面板数据，测度了这些县的农村数字化水平和农业绿色全要素生产率（AGTFP），并对它们之间的动态相关性进行了实证检验。研究结果表明：（1）随着农村数字化水平的提高，AGTFP显著提升；农村数字化每提高1%，AGTFP增长1.78%。包括工具变量和准自然实验在内的稳健性检验证实了这些结论的有效性。此外，通过比较中国的区域差异可以发现，农村数字化对AGTFP的影响在不同地区存在差异：在东部、中部和西部地区，农村数字化每提高1%，AGTFP分别增长2.65%、1.53%和0.82%。（2）农村数字化通过刺激农村创业活动促进了AGTFP的增长，农村创业活动的中介效应占总效应的3.34%。（3）利用门槛模型观察发现，当农村数字化超过第一个门槛值0.3200时，AGTFP系数从0.0462升至0.7519。然而，当农村数字化超过第二个门槛值0.7118时，该系数降至0.2429，这表明农村数字化对AGTFP的边际效应呈非线性趋势——先增强后减弱。（4）在空间模型分析中，该研究证实了农村数字化对AGTFP的空间溢出效应，表明不同矩阵的空间效应存在差异。然而，农村数字化对AGTFP的间接效应主要受邻县数字化水平的影响，其贡献比直接效应更为显著。基于这些结论，本文提出加大对农村数字化的投资、实施多样化的农村数字化方案、激发农村创业活动以及协调区域数字发展，作为提高AGTFP从而促进农村经济发展的新途径。
