Does the construction of rural multifunctional community in China improve agricultural green total factor productivity?

Abstract

China’s Rural Multifunctional Community (RMC) construction is an effective means to achieve economic growth and environmental sustainability in agriculture. Therefore, we measure the agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP) in China considering carbon emissions and non-point source pollution and examine the impact of China’s pilot RMC policy on AGTFP using the difference-in-difference (DID) model based on panel data for 30 of China’s provincial-level regions during 2010–2020. Further, we analyze the regional heterogeneity and internal transmission channel. The main findings are as follows. First, the implementation of China’s pilot RMC policy significantly increases AGTFP. Second, the effects have a downward trend from eastern to western China which may be caused by the different levels in the economy, infrastructure, environmental resources, labor size and quality, transportation, innovation capability, etc. Finally, China’s pilot RMC policy can improve AGTFP through the channels of rural industrial convergence, agricultural green technology innovation and urban-rural income gap reduction.