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Impacts of Distance Education on Agricultural Performance and Household Income: Micro-Evidence from Peri-Urban Districts in Beijing

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  • Jianxin Guo

    (Institute of Agricultural Information and Economics, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China)

  • Songqing Jin

    (China Academy for Rural Development, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
    Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA)

  • Lei Chen

    (Institute of Agricultural Information and Economics, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China)

  • Jichun Zhao

    (Institute of Agricultural Information and Economics, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing 100097, China)

Abstract

Information communication technology (ICT) has changed the traditional agricultural extension service mode worldwide. This paper examines the effects of the Rural Distance Education Project (RDEP) on the household income, agricultural productivity, and off-farm employment of farmers in peri-urban areas in Beijing. Using the survey data of 783 randomly selected farm households from 54 villages in three Beijing peri-urban districts in 2014, and the propensity score matching method (PSM), we find that the RDEP has a significant and positive effect on agricultural productivity and input use. Meanwhile, the program’s effects are heterogeneous across districts and households. For example, the RDEP has significant impacts on several outcome indicators, such as agricultural labor productivity (at a 5% level of significance), agricultural land productivity (at a 10% level), and input use intensity (at a 1% level) in Tongzhou (an agriculturally more important district, with a more intensive RDEP usage), but none of these effects is significant in Pinggu district. Furthermore, the RDEP is found to have bigger, and statistically more significant effects, for households with junior high school education than for those with either lower or higher than junior high school education. Furthermore, the RDEP is more effective for households with more assets than those with fewer assets. These results point toward the importance of using a rural distance education program as an effective extension service, and the need to take community and individual characteristics into account in the implementation and design of future programs.

Suggested Citation

  • Jianxin Guo & Songqing Jin & Lei Chen & Jichun Zhao, 2018. "Impacts of Distance Education on Agricultural Performance and Household Income: Micro-Evidence from Peri-Urban Districts in Beijing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-19, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:11:p:3945-:d:179196
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