Environmental regulation and agricultural green productivity growth in China: A retest based on ‘Porter Hypothesis’

Abstract

ABSTRACT Based on the panel data of provincial units in China from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses the entropy method to calculate agricultural environmental regulation level in China from the perspectives of afforestation projects, water conservancy projects and environmental protection projects. Then, this paper calculates agricultural non-point source pollutant emissions in China by using the unit survey and evaluation method, and calculates agricultural green productivity growth in China by using the SBM directional distance function and Luenberger productivity index. On this basis, the influence of environmental regulation on agricultural green productivity growth in China and its mechanism are empirically analysed. The results show that:(1) During the sample period, agricultural environmental regulation level and agricultural green productivity growth increased significantly, while the emission density of agricultural non-point source pollution decreased significantly; (2) On the whole, environmental regulation significantly promoted agricultural green productivity growth in China, which was mainly reflected in the promotion of agricultural green technology progress change; (3) Environmental regulation can significantly promote agricultural green productivity growth in China through the channel of agricultural innovation investment. The innovation of this paper lies in the measurement of agricultural environmental regulation, and the analysis of the moderating effect of agricultural innovation investment on the impact of environmental regulation on agricultural green productivity growth in China. The research conclusions of this paper verify the ‘Porter Hypothesis’ theory in the field of agriculture, and have guiding significance for China to promote agricultural green productivity growth by relying on environmental regulation.