Miao Zeng

Based on the panel data of listed Chinese manufacturing enterprises from 2007 to 2019, this study uses the difference-in-differences-based propensity score matching method (PSM-DID) to explore the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on green technology innovation in manufacturing from the perspective of independent innovation of enterprises. The conclusions of this study show that: (1) Carbon emissions trading has significantly improved the level of green technology innovation of manufacturing enterprises; (2) the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on the green patent application is more than twice as much as on green utility model patent application. Compared with green utility model patent, the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading has a more significant and greater policy effect on the green invention patent application; (3) the private enterprises are more sensitive to the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The carbon emissions trading in China effectively promotes low-carbon and green development of enterprises.

Groundwater protection is essential for global sustainable development. Due to the lack of motivation among farmers to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement, there is a huge challenge surrounding groundwater protection, which also threatens the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: “clean water and sanitation”. Aiming to improve the groundwater protection behavior (GPB) of farmers, this study involved the following approach: (1) the use of rural China as a case area; (2) an exploration of the theoretical mechanisms and quantitative impacts of cooperatives as a way to encourage farmers to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement; (3) a discussion about improvement strategies to increase the possibility of farmers building harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement. The study highlighted the following findings: (1) compared to farmers who did not participate in cooperatives, farmers who were in cooperatives were 1.18% more likely to build harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement; (2) compared to the basic scenario, the probability of farmers building harmless disposal facilities for livestock excrement could be increased by 50~1300%. The results of this study could help to provide a reference for the introduction of policies to protect groundwater, as well as an experiential reference for the achievement of the UN SDGs 3 and 6.

Agricultural modernisation is a way for China to implement its strategy of ‘Rural Revitalisation’ and comprehensively build a modern socialist country. Based on a two-sector theoretical model, this paper explores the factors restraining the transformation from traditional to modern agriculture and their relationship with economic growth. Using a sample of 31 provinces and cities in mainland China from 1990 to 2016, the results show that the relative price of industrial and agricultural products has a direct impact on the willingness of people to adopt modern technology. Specifically, the relative price of industrial and agricultural products forms a single combined threshold for agricultural modernisation, while the relative productivity of industry and agriculture form a double threshold for per capita GDP, these also show a significant nonlinear relationship. Moreover, the agricultural modernisation of the provinces and cities in the mainland of China is not randomly distributed. There are hot spots with high-value aggregations. The relative productivity has a significant spillover effect on per capita income, and has a negative impact on per capita income in neighbouring areas. Agricultural modernisation can breakthrough economic stagnation and become the driving force for the economy to enter a new round of growth.

At a time when COVID-19 is sweeping the world, farmland abandonment is obviously not conducive to solving food security problems. Since the formal institutions of local government in China have not been effective in the reduction of farmland abandonment, this study aims to explore whether informal institutions can help mitigate this problem. Based on big survey data from 8031 farmer households in 27 provinces in mainland China, this study uses an econometric model to investigate the quantitative impact of social capital on farmland abandonment, and to analyze the channels through which that impact manifests itself. The empirical results point to the following conclusions: (i) Social capital, as a key informal institution, can help reduce farmland abandonment. More specifically, after controlling for other variables, for every unit increase in social capital, the proportion of farmland abandonment can be predicted to drop by 7.17 percentage points. (ii) Both off-farm employment and farmland rent are channels for the impact of social capital on farmland abandonment. However, social capital’s effect on increasing farmland abandonment via the promotion of off-farm employment is small when compared with its effect on reducing farmland abandonment via the promotion of farmland rent. This study’s conclusions may help generate new ideas for reducing farmland abandonment. At the same time, the study may provide a sound, empirical basis for policies aimed at reducing the negative impact of COVID-19 on food security while also revitalizing rural areas.

Labor, land, and funds are keys to revitalizing rural areas around the world. Previous studies have focused on the impacts of funds on agricultural production, but placed little emphasis on its role in agricultural land-use transformation. Thus, this study explores the quantitative relationship between agricultural credit and farmland abandonment from the perspective of rural revitalization. Using data on 8031 households from 27 provinces obtained from China’s Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), this study uses a Tobit model to examine the quantitative impacts of informal and formal agricultural credit on farmland abandonment. The results indicate that: (1) Access to agricultural credit helps to reduce farmland abandonment. (2) Compared with formal agricultural credit (provided by institutions), informal agricultural credit (provided by family and friends) is more significant in reducing farmland abandonment. Thus, this study enhances our understanding of the relationship between agricultural credit and farmland use. It will also prompt policymakers to improve rural financial markets in order to reduce the misallocation of farmland resources, thereby improving food security and rural economies.

Prior studies have fully explored the impacts of rural labor migration on land use forms. In contrast to prior studies, this study focuses on the health status of rural households and its quantitative impacts on cropland abandonment (CA). More specifically, under the guidance of the theoretical mechanism of “household health affects CA by labor supply”, this study employs survey data from 8031 households collected in 27 Chinese provinces in 2014 to explore the quantitative impacts of household health on CA. The results are as follows. (1) The higher the level of household health is, the less CA there is. (2) Compared with males, the impact of female health status on CA is more obvious. Thus, the relationship between household health and CA matters, not only because it may help to theoretically enhance the understanding of the importance of health in peasant households, but also because it may help to practically provide references for effective policies of CA from the perspective of rural medical services.