An Empirical Investigation of the “Mezzogiorno Trap” in China’s Agricultural Economy: Insights from Data Envelopment Analysis (2015–2021)

Abstract

Reducing regional inequality is one of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations. However, a persistent regional disparity known as the “Mezzogiorno Trap” presents a significant challenge. The underdeveloped regions that fall into the “Mezzogiorno Trap”, even though they can narrow the gap with other regions through substantial support, see the disparity widen again when the level of assistance starts to decline. This paper proposes a methodology for identifying the “Mezzogiorno Trap”. By employing this approach and combining panel data on Chinese agriculture from 2015 to 2021, it is discovered that despite the overall development of the Chinese agricultural economy during this period, the “Mezzogiorno Trap” still exists. The paper analyzes the reasons behind the “Mezzogiorno Trap” in the Chinese agricultural economy and presents constructive recommendations based on the research findings. The research process demonstrates that this methodology is better suited for studying regional disparities in specific economic sectors, and the obtained results are more stable and reliable.

Economic Strategies and Policy Suggestions of Agricultural Sustainable Food Production

“…A study carried out by Italian researchers [8] proposes a business model (BM) as a tool for scaling up irrigation advisory services (IASs) within a business perspective, with the aim of promoting the diffusion of this technology while enhancing the associated environmental and social benefits; BM provides a detailed revenue strategy that guarantees the financial sustainability of IASs. The Business Model Canvas © was adopted for the design and presentation of our BM.…”

“…The total factor productivity growth of tangerine was more stable than that of mandarin, and the pure technical efficiency index and scale efficiency change index of mandarin and tangerine were not stable. Services [8] This paper proposes a business model (BM) as a tool for scaling up IASs within a business perspective, with the aim of encouraging the diffusion of this technology while enhancing the associated environmental and social benefits.…”