THE IMPACT OF CHINA'S DIGITAL VILLAGE ON AGRICULTURAL GREEN TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

The research uses panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2022 and relying on endogenous growth theory, innovation theory, and resource and environmental economics, the study looks at how digital village development affects AGTFP. The EBM-GML model is used to estimate AGTFP, and mediation and heterogeneity analyses are performed to study the reasons behind the transmission. In summary, AGTFP continued to increase over the years, and many provinces achieved their best results in 2018. In particular, Tianjin and Beijing in the eastern coastal regions had the highest AGTFP index values, which were 0.994 and 1.129 respectively. On the other hand, the western region showed more change, as Qinghai Province’s AGTFP changed from 0.915 to 1.047. (2) Building digital villages greatly supports AGTFP by encouraging green technological progress (coefficient = 0.105, statistically significant at the 5% level), but it does not influence green technology efficiency. (3) Digital village initiatives are seen to work through agricultural informatization (p < 0.05) and rural human capital (p < 0.05) to increase AGTFP. It is shown through the regional heterogeneity analysis that eastern provinces (coefficient = 0.151, p < 0.05) and southern regions (coefficient = 0.170, p < 0.01) experienced a stronger impact from digital village development. In the same way, major agricultural areas benefit from digital village construction, which has a positive effect on AGTFP (coefficient = 0.113, p < 0.01). Thus, the study suggests increasing the use of digital technologies in rural areas, updating the way land is transferred, creating combined agricultural information systems, investing in rural education, and adopting local strategies to support sustainable and inclusive growth in agriculture.