The Impact of the Digital Economy on Agricultural Green Development: Evidence from China

Abstract

Whether the digital economy can effectively promote agricultural green development is crucial to the realization of agricultural rural modernization. This study empirically analyzes the impact of the digital economy on agricultural green development and the mechanism of action based on panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020. The results reveal that (1) the digital economy can significantly improve the green development level of China’s agriculture; the dividends in the eastern region and central region are significantly higher than that in the western region, and there is regional heterogeneity. (2) The role of the digital economy in promoting agricultural green development has a nonlinear characteristic of increasing “marginal effect.” (3) The digital economy has a significant spatial spillover effect, which can have a positive impact on agricultural green development in the surrounding areas. (4) The construction of “Broadband Countryside” can improve the development of the rural digital economy and indirectly promote agricultural green development. This study deepens our understanding of the internal effect and interval relationship of how the digital economy enables agricultural green development and provides the theoretical basis and practical suggestions for optimizing digital facility construction and high-quality agricultural development.