The econometric analysis of voluntary environmental regulations and total factor productivity in agribusiness under digitization

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 18; no. 9; p. e0291637
• Main Authors: Chen, Min, Zhang, Lili
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: San Francisco Public Library of Science 14-09-2023; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Agribusiness; Agricultural industry; Agricultural production; Agricultural productivity; Agriculture; Biology and Life Sciences; Chemical oxygen demand; Computer and Information Sciences; Digitization; Ecology and Environmental Sciences; Econometrics; Economic aspects; Economic growth; Empirical analysis; Environmental aspects; Environmental attitudes; Environmental impact; Environmental law; Environmental perception; Environmental policy; Environmental protection; Environmental regulations; Green building (Construction); Green development; Human capital; International economic relations; Laws, regulations and rules; Literature reviews; Productivity; R&D; Regulation; Regulations; Research & development; Social Sciences; Sustainable development; China
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291637

Under the new development pattern, both "digital" and "low-carbon" development have entered the fast track, and digital transformation has become an important path to promote green development and enhance total factor productivity in agriculture. Based on the data of agricultural companies, this paper empirically verifies the impact of voluntary environmental regulations on total factor productivity. The empirical results show that voluntary environmental regulation has a significant positive impact on total factor productivity of agribusiness. In the mechanistic analysis, it is found that voluntary environmental regulations accelerate the digital transformation process of firms, which in turn increases their total factor productivity. In addition, the level of government environmental concern contributes to the increase of voluntary environmental regulations on firms’ total factor productivity. The findings have practical implications for the sustainable development of agribusiness, providing empirical evidence for policy formulation and adjustment, and helping the agricultural economy to achieve high-quality development.