Can Agricultural Productive Services Promote Agricultural Environmental Efficiency in China?

Yingyu Zhu, Junmiao Deng, Menghan Wang, Yuanchang Tan, Wei Yao and Yan Zhang
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Yingyu Zhu: College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Junmiao Deng: School of Economics and Trade, Henan University of Technology, Zhengzhou 450001, China
Menghan Wang: College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Yuanchang Tan: College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Wei Yao: College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China
Yan Zhang: College of Economics and Management, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Agricultural productive services are important paths to realize the development of green agriculture, while the effect of agricultural productive services on the agricultural environment and its influencing mechanism are not yet clear. With the panel data of agricultural production in China from 2004 to 2019, by using multi-output stochastic frontier analysis with an output-oriented distance function, this study investigates agricultural environmental efficiency based on net carbon sinks. Then, this study explores the effect of agricultural productive services on agricultural environmental efficiency and its mechanisms by adopting ordinary least squares regression with fixed-effect panel model, causal steps approach, and spatial econometric method. The main findings are as follows: Firstly, agricultural productive services enhance agricultural productivity and agricultural environment by optimizing inputs and increasing outputs, and thus improve agricultural environmental efficiency. This result holds steadily after using instrumental variables to deal with endogeneity, changing the measurement of the dependent and independent variables, and subdividing the sample. Secondly, the pathways of agricultural productive services affecting agricultural environmental efficiency are mainly reflected in technology progress, planting structure adjustment, factor allocation optimization, and spatial spillover. Thirdly, due to the law of diminishing marginal returns, the impact of agricultural productive services on agricultural environmental efficiency is more significant when the level of agricultural productive services is relatively low. To improve agricultural environmental efficiency, we suggest implementing different productive service strategies in different regions, strengthening information integration, and improving infrastructure.

Keywords: green agriculture; agricultural productive services; net carbon sinks; agricultural environmental efficiency (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

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