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The Impact of Migration on Farm Performance: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China

Author

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  • Guangcheng Ren

    (College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    Section Economics, Wageningen University, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Xueqin Zhu

    (Section Economics, Wageningen University, 6706 KN Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Shuyi Feng

    (China Resources & Environment and Development Academy, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

Abstract

Developing economies face challenges in improving the overall performance of farms. An essential challenge could be a substantial shift in the agricultural labor force to off-farm sectors during the process of economic transition. This paper estimates the causal impact of migration on the economic and environmental performance of rice farms, measured using technical efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency. A stochastic frontier analysis, based on the survey data collected in four regions of China, is applied, finding an average technical efficiency of 0.92, while the average fertilizer use efficiency is only 0.22. The results of propensity score matching suggest that migration has a marginally negative impact on both technical efficiency and fertilizer use efficiency of their rice production, while the impact is amplified for farmers who participated in migration more intensively. This would imply that the government policy on the migration of rural households might also need to consider this impact.

Suggested Citation

  • Guangcheng Ren & Xueqin Zhu & Shuyi Feng, 2023. "The Impact of Migration on Farm Performance: Evidence from Rice Farmers in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:708-:d:1101042
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