Does Digital Transformation Promote Agricultural Carbon Productivity in China?

Ning Xu, Desen Zhao (), Wenjie Zhang, Ming Liu and He Zhang ()
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Ning Xu: School of Political Science and Public Administration, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, China
Desen Zhao: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Wenjie Zhang: School of Economics, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
Ming Liu: School of Business and Tourism Management, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, China
He Zhang: State Information Center, Beijing 100045, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-19

Abstract: Against the background of global climate change and the rapid rise of the digital economy, the digital transformation of agriculture is profoundly changing the agricultural production and operation mode with the help of digital technology, becoming a new driving force for low-carbon and sustainable development of agriculture. However, previous studies rarely examined the impact of agricultural digital transformation on agricultural low-carbon transformation from the perspective of carbon productivity. To fill this gap, this study attempts to build a theoretical analysis framework for the impact of agricultural digital transformation on agricultural carbon productivity (ACP). By using a set of panel data from 30 provinces (cities) in China from 2011 to 2019, this study explores the impact of agricultural digital transformation on ACP, as well as its conduction mechanism and the non-linear mechanism. Empirical results show that the transformation of agricultural digitalization is conducive to the promotion of ACP. A series of robustness analyses support this conclusion. The main transmission mechanisms for digital transformation to affect ACP include agricultural industrial structure upgrading, and the agricultural scale operation. In addition, with the improvement of urbanization level and rural human capital, the impact of agricultural digital transformation on ACP presents a “U” type non-linear feature of inhibition first and promotion later. Furtherly, heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of digital transformation on ACP will vary greatly depending on the levels of ACP, the geographical location of the studied area and whether it is a main grain-producing area. This study provides a theoretical and empirical basis for the improvement of China’s agricultural carbon productivity from the perspective of the digital economy.

Keywords: agricultural digital transformation; agricultural carbon productivity; conduction mechanism; non-linear characteristic; heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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