To investigate the effects and underlying mechanisms of low-carbon city pilot programs on the agricultural green total factor productivity, a theoretical framework was developed based on urban-rural integration development theory. The impacts of low-carbon city pilot policies on agricultural green total factor productivity were analyzed from three perspectives: factor integration, industry integration and technology integration. An panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region, covering the period from 2001 to 2022, were utilized in this study. The multi-phase Difference-in-Differences model was utilized to empirically evaluate the effects of low-carbon city pilot policies on agricultural green total factor productivity. The findings indicate that: 1) Compared to non-pilot cities, the agricultural green total factor productivity of cities designated as low-carbon pilot areas displayed a notable increase of 6.6%. The above conclusion remains robust even after conducting a thorough robustness analysis. 2) In the context of mechanism analysis, the low-carbon city pilot projects primarily influence agricultural green total factor productivity through the integration of urban and rural elements, industrial convergence, and technological advancement. 3) Based on the heterogeneity analysis concerning geographical location and resource endowment in the Yangtze River Delta region, the impact of low-carbon city pilot programs on agricultural green total factor productivity is more pronounced in peripheral cities and non-resource-based cities. Therefore, it is essential to expedite the integration of urban and rural elements, advance pilot initiatives for low-carbon cities, and foster the green development of agriculture.
。新质生产力本身就是绿色生产力[2]。传统经济学研究计算TFP时只考虑经济维度的投入和产出,忽略了绿色生产力的重要性。在国家提出“双碳”目标和新质生产力的背景下,更有必要以绿色全要素生产率替代传统全要素生产率开展研究。农业绿色低碳转型的关键在于提升农业绿色全要素生产率,这也是新质生产力的本质要求[2-4]。相较于传统农业全要素生产率,农业绿色全要素生产率充分考量农业发展过程中所面临的各类环境约束条件,将碳排放、农业面源污染等非期望产出纳入核算体系之中,从而能够测量“考虑资源环境代价的真实生产效率”,反映区域绿色农业发展实际水平,能够更为精准地刻画资源、经济与环境三者之间的关系[5]。鉴于农业绿色全要素生产率的重要性,已有研究探究农业绿色全要素生产率地区差异和提升路径[6]。影响农业绿色全要素生产率的因素主要包括农业科技创新[7]、农作物保险[8]、气候变化[9]等。政策层面上,来自政府财政的补贴[10]、与碳排放相关的环境规制[11-12]、一个国家的农产品贸易政策[13]以及绿色贸易壁垒[14]等也会显著影响农业绿色全要素生产率(Green Total Factor Productivity,GTFP)。此外,研究表明农业绿色全要素生产率也具有明显的区域相关性和空间关联性[15-16]。
双重差分法(Difference in difference, DID)是研究准自然实验的最为常用方法之一,在政策效果评估类的实证研究领域中应用广泛。该方法凭借其独特优势,能够精准识别实验组与对照组在政策执行前后的差异,以此实现对政策效果的科学评估[22,36]。鉴于不同城市在政策实施时间上存在明显差异,本研究以长三角地区为例采用多期双重差分(DID)模型实证分析低碳城市试点对农业绿色全要素生产率产生的影响及其内在逻辑。多期DID模型是普通DID模型的扩展,允许在多个时间点上观察因果效应的变化,模型构建如下:
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