Environmental Regulation, Rural Residents’ Health Investment, and Agricultural Eco-Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis Based on 31 Chinese Provinces

Abstract

This paper explores the effects of environmental regulation (ER) and rural residents’ health investment (RRHI) on agricultural eco-efficiency (AEE) to provide a reference for the Chinese Government and other developing countries for implementing environmental regulation policies and to provide new paths to further improve green development in agriculture. Using the panel data of 31 Chinese provinces from 2009–2018, the Super-SBM model was used to measure AEE. The role of ER on AEE was analyzed based on panel two-way fixed effects with endogeneity treatment and a robustness test, and this mediating effect analysis was conducted to analyze the role of RRHI in ER and AEE, examining the extent of the effect of ER on AEE in three regions of China—eastern, central and western—using a heterogeneity analysis. The results of the study show that: (1) from a national perspective, ER has a significant positive impact on AEE, showing that ER is effective at this stage; (2) when RRHI is used as a mediating variable, the rising ER’s intensity can promote AEE by increasing RRHI; and (3) the results of the heterogeneity analysis show that ER has the greatest impact on AEE in the economically developed eastern region; the western region with a weaker level of economic development is in second place. However, ER has a negative impact on AEE in the central region with a medium level of economic development. Thus, the impact of ER on AEE will show great differences depending on the stage of economic development.

Re-measurement and influencing factors of agricultural eco-efficiency under the ‘dual carbon’ target in China

“…[ 30 ] screened the influencing factors of AEE in terms of agriculture industry structure (AIS) using Chinese province panel data from 1978 to 2017, infrastructure conditions, development potential and input intensity, and then carried out an empirical analysis by using ordinary least squares as well as fixed and random effects model. Using panel data from 31 Chinese provinces from 2009 to 2018 [ 31 ], [ 31 ] examined the impact of environmental regulation on AEE using two-way fixed effects with endogeneity treatment and robustness testing. By using a two-stage double-bootstrap DEA technique [ 32 ], [ 32 ] experimentally evaluated the impact of climate change on AEE in China.…”

Environmental regulation and high-quality agricultural development

“…In the case of agricultural production, government power is reflected in the legal policies' development related to the protection of the environment. Environmental regulation thus means, specifically, government regulations that guide and constrain farmers in order to urge them to participate in the mitigation of rural environmental pollution and to use green technologies for production on their own initiative [33].…”

Government regulations, biosecurity awareness, and farmers' adoption of biosecurity measures: Evidence from pig farmers in Sichuan Province, China

“…If the cost of adopting biosecurity measures greatly exceeds the sales revenue of farmers, it is difficult for pig farmers to choose to focus on biosecurity issues. Therefore, the resulting negative externalities require government intervention (Zhou et al, 2022). To maximize utility in the decision-making process, the sum of utilities obtained by farmers adopting biosecurity measures, without considering external factors, is expressed as follows (1):…”