How and When Factors of Agricultural Contribution Influence Urbanization: A Historical Analysis of Tibet

Song Liu,Fangzhou Ni,Ying Liu,Ming Li,Chunshan Zhou,Benjamin Miranda Tabak

doi:10.1155/2021/7255274

Abstract

Agriculture Powers Urbanization. How and when agriculture influences urbanization in underdeveloped regions remain poorly understood from an agricultural contribution perspective, specifically the food contribution (FDC), raw materials contribution (MLC), labor contribution (LRC), and market contribution (MTC). This study investigated this issue in the context of Tibet. A Granger causality test (GCT), the impulse response function (IRF), and variance decomposition (VD) were used. The GCT results demonstrated that agricultural contribution factors (ACFs), Granger-cause urbanization, and the IRF and VD results demonstrated that the influences of ACFs on urbanization were various and asynchronous. Both MTC and LRC quickly and positively respond to urbanization; however, LRC currently influences urbanization, whereas MTC influences urbanization currently and in the future. Both MLC and FDC negatively and slowly respond to urbanization; however, MLC currently influences urbanization, whereas FDC will influence urbanization in the future. This study’s findings depict changing trajectories of the role of ACFs in urbanization, elucidating urban–rural transformation.

Highlights

Urbanization or rural-to-urban transition, an important issue in the urban–rural dual system, is a long-standing topic of research
Research on the mechanisms of urbanization has theoretically recognized the roles of agriculture [1]; vertical disintegration [2, 3]; producer service expansion [4]; economic growth [5]; rural-to-urban migration in accordance with the Ranis–Fei model [6] and the push–pull hypothesis [7]; income expectations [8, 9]; capital accumulation [10]; spatial production [11]; and network society [12]
With consideration of advances in urbanization, this study investigated the roles played by agricultural contribution factors (ACFs; i.e., food contribution (FDC), materials contribution (MLC), labor contribution (LRC), and market contribution (MTC)) in the urbanization process in Tibet, an underdeveloped region of China

Summary

Introduction

Urbanization or rural-to-urban transition, an important issue in the urban–rural dual system, is a long-standing topic of research. In 2019, Tibet’s agricultural gross output value reached 21.3 billion RMB (2 billion RMB in 1990), and the region’s grain yield reached 1.05 million t (0.61 million t in 1990). Together with such growth in agricultural production, Tibet’s total population has grown from 2.18 million people in 1990 to 3.51 million people in 2019, and the urbanization rate in Tibet, which reached 31.54% in 2019, is continually increasing. Agricultural modernization makes agriculture less labor intensive, which in turn frees up people who would otherwise work in agriculture to work in the city,

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