Specialized Agricultural Geographical Indications Can Activate Chinese Farmland Rental Markets

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Abstract
Inefficiencies in farmland rental markets remain an important constraint to agricultural modernization and efficient land allocation in developing economies, where participation in land rental transactions remains limited despite ongoing institutional reforms. Although existing studies have emphasized tangible economic factors such as land rents, credit access, and agricultural subsidies, considerably less attention has been given to whether intangible assets, such as geographical indication‐based branding, influence farmland rental market participation. This study examines the relationship between Specialized Agricultural Geographical Indication (SAGI) certification and farmers' decisions to rent farmland in or out in rural China. Using data from the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey and an Endogenous Switching Probit model to account for nonrandom selection into SAGI areas, the study estimates the treatment effects of SAGI certification on farmland rental participation. The results show that SAGI certification increases the estimated probability of renting farmland in by 4.36% and renting farmland out by 9.18% among treated households. The larger effect on farmland rental out suggests heterogeneous responses to SAGI certification, with resource‐constrained smallholders more likely to lease out farmland while better‐endowed producers are better positioned to expand their operations. Mechanism analysis indicates that these effects are associated with both economic and political channels, including higher farmland‐related revenues and production costs, improved information provision, and greater access to agricultural subsidies. The effects also vary according to contracted landholding, credit access, e‐commerce training, market distance, and village governance conditions. Overall, the findings suggest that geographical indication policies may contribute not only to agricultural product branding but also to farmland reallocation and changes in rural production structures.

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