Title: The impact of environmental regulation on agricultural green total factor productivity: evidence from China

Authors: Tian-Le Sun; Yi-Cheng Zhang

Addresses: College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 610000, China ' School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China, 96 JinZhai Road, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230026, China; Quality Education Research Center of Anhui Xinhua University, 555 Wangjiang West Road, Hefei, Anhui Province, 230088, China

Abstract: By utilising the unit survey assessment method, this study examines the emission of agriculture contamination from surface sources and quantifies agricultural GTFP throughout 30 provinces in China between 1998 and 2017. The relaxed directional distance function and the GML index were utilised to evaluate the correlation between environmental regulations, green innovative technologies, and agricultural GTFP. A cyclically fluctuating growth trend was observed in the agricultural GTFP, with a 3.001% yearly growth rate on average from 1998 to 2017. We discovered that stricter environmental regulation positively impacts agricultural GTFP, leading to higher productivity levels in regions with more stringent regulations. The confirmation of the 'Potter effect' in our study underlines the vital part played by green innovative technologies in the connection between environmental regulation and agricultural GTFP. Furthermore, our research uncovered significant spatial heterogeneity in China's GTFP for agriculture, with the central and eastern regions significantly surpassing the western regions.

Keywords: environmental regulation; total factor productivity; green total factor productivity; innovative green technology; sustainable development.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEP.2021.132025

International Journal of Environment and Pollution, 2021 Vol.70 No.3/4, pp.203 - 222

Received: 04 Nov 2022
Received in revised form: 24 Apr 2023
Accepted: 02 May 2023
Published online: 06 Jul 2023 *

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