AUTHOR=Zhou Zhou , Duan Jianqiang , Geng Shaoqing , Li Ran 

TITLE=The role of highway construction in influencing agricultural green total factor productivity in China: agricultural industry structure transformation perspective

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems

VOLUME=Volume 7 - 2023

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2023.1315201

DOI=10.3389/fsufs.2023.1315201

ISSN=2571-581X

ABSTRACT=<p>Highway construction is vital in agricultural production, directly influencing food security and public health. This study utilized the Epsilon-based measurement-global-Malmquist-model (EBM-GML) and the spatial econometrics model with 31 Chinese provinces’ panel data from 2002 to 2020 to investigate the impacts and the mechanisms of low-grade and high-grade highways on the agricultural green total factor productivity (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula>). Research findings indicated that (1) low-grade and high-grade highway construction significantly promote the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> through technological progress, and the high-grade highway exerts a significant positive spillover effect on the adjacent areas’ <inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula>. (2) The mechanisms of low-grade and high-grade roads on the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> are heterogenous. Low-grade roads could improve the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M5" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> by encouraging the rationalization of the agricultural industry structure. High-grade highways promote the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M6" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> by upgrading the industry structure. And each-grade road could promote the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M7" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> by stimulating the integration of planting and breeding. (3) Both low-grade and high-grade highways improved the <inline-formula><mml:math id="M8" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">AGTFP</mml:mi></mml:math></inline-formula> in non-main-grain-producing areas but inhibited it in main-grain-producing areas. Therefore, this study provided practical policy recommendations for green development in China’s agricultural sector and valuable insights for other developing countries.</p>