IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/caa/jnlage/v71y2025i5id205-2024-agricecon.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the impact of China's National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy on agricultural carbon emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Yuqian Zhang

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Yixuan Wang

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Chenchen Su

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Jiahong Guo

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing, P.R. China)

  • Chen Xu

    (School of Economics, Minzu University of China, Beijing, P.R. China)

Abstract

The global focus on the relationship between digitisation and agricultural carbon emissions remains high. However, research on the systemic ramifications of comprehensive digital policy implementation remains limited. Against the backdrop of China's pursuit of carbon neutrality and carbon emission peaking targets, we employed the difference-in-differences method to investigate the impact of applying a digital policy on agricultural carbon emissions. Our findings indicated that the implementation of the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy could effectively mitigate agricultural carbon emissions, resulting in a sustained positive influence. The intermediary mechanism test results validated the beneficial effects of financial expenditures on science and technology, as well as the number of information practitioners. The regional heterogeneity analysis results revealed that the policy effect was obvious in the major grain-producing areas but not in the major grain-selling areas or production-marketing balance areas. Additionally, differences in policy effectiveness were observed across different crop types. This study not only offers valuable insights for agricultural carbon reduction in China but also provides robust case data and guidance for other developing countries worldwide in the formulation and execution of digital policies aimed at promoting agricultural carbon emission reduction.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuqian Zhang & Yixuan Wang & Chenchen Su & Jiahong Guo & Chen Xu, 2025. "Assessing the impact of China's National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy on agricultural carbon emissions," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 71(5), pages 242-253.
    • Handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:71:y:2025:i:5:id:205-2024-agricecon
    DOI: 10.17221/205/2024-AGRICECON
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/205/2024-AGRICECON.html
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: http://agricecon.agriculturejournals.cz/doi/10.17221/205/2024-AGRICECON.pdf
    Download Restriction: free of charge
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.17221/205/2024-AGRICECON?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yue Liu & Pierre Failler & Zhiying Liu, 2022. "Impact of Environmental Regulations on Energy Efficiency: A Case Study of China’s Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Doranova, Asel & Costa, Ionara & Duysters, Geert, 2010. "Knowledge base determinants of technology sourcing in clean development mechanism projects," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 5550-5559, October.
    3. Chuanhe Xiong & Shuang Chen & Liting Xu, 2020. "Driving factors analysis of agricultural carbon emissions based on extended STIRPAT model of Jiangsu Province, China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(3), pages 1401-1416, September.
    4. Keith H Coble & Ashok K Mishra & Shannon Ferrell & Terry Griffin, 2018. "Big Data in Agriculture: A Challenge for the Future," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 40(1), pages 79-96.
    5. Miguel A. Altieri & Clara I. Nicholls, 2017. "The adaptation and mitigation potential of traditional agriculture in a changing climate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 140(1), pages 33-45, January.
    6. Jian Hou & Mengyao Zhang & Ye Li, 2024. "Can digital economy truly improve agricultural ecological transformation? New insights from China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    7. Lijuan Zhao & Yan Liu & Junhong Shi, 2023. "The environmental performance of agricultural production trusteeship from the perspective of planting carbon emissions," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 853-870, October.
    8. Liqun Pan & Yu Zhang & Jing Li & Feng Lin, 2024. "Digital Economy and Urban Carbon Emissions: A Quasi-Natural Experiment of the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone in China," The Energy Journal, , vol. 45(6), pages 107-134, November.
    9. Yong Zhu & Xiongying Wang & Gong Zheng, 2023. "Blessing or Curse? The Impact of Digital Technologies on Carbon Efficiency in the Agricultural Sector of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-12, November.
    10. Dong, Gang & Mao, Xianqiang & Zhou, Ji & Zeng, An, 2013. "Carbon footprint accounting and dynamics and the driving forces of agricultural production in Zhejiang Province, China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 38-47.
    11. Kelly Sims Gallagher & Laura Diaz Anadon & Ruud Kempener & Charlie Wilson, 2011. "Trends in investments in global energy research, development, and demonstration," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 2(3), pages 373-396, May.
    12. Jun Yang & Xinxin Lyu & Xiaohui Xu & Mobing Jiang & Pin Lyu, 2025. "Does big data application improve Chinese firms’ innovation: the role of talent accessibility," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(3), pages 316-320, February.
    13. Braganza, Ashley & Brooks, Laurence & Nepelski, Daniel & Ali, Maged & Moro, Russ, 2017. "Resource management in big data initiatives: Processes and dynamic capabilities," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 328-337.
    14. Chien‐Chiang Lee & Ying Yuan & Huwei Wen, 2022. "Can digital economy alleviate CO2 emissions in the transport sector? Evidence from provincial panel data in China," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(3), pages 289-310, August.
    15. Mohammad Amiri-Zarandi & Mehdi Hazrati Fard & Samira Yousefinaghani & Mitra Kaviani & Rozita Dara, 2022. "A Platform Approach to Smart Farm Information Processing," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, June.
    16. Jiaxing Pang & Xiang Li & Xue Li & Xingpeng Chen & Huiyu Wang, 2021. "Research on the Relationship between Prices of Agricultural Production Factors, Food Consumption Prices, and Agricultural Carbon Emissions: Evidence from China’s Provincial Panel Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-11, May.
    17. Yi, Ming & Liu, Yafen & Sheng, Mingyue Selena & Wen, Le, 2022. "Effects of digital economy on carbon emission reduction: New evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    18. Pamuk, Haki & Bulte, Erwin & Adekunle, Adewale A., 2014. "Do decentralized innovation systems promote agricultural technology adoption? Experimental evidence from Africa," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 227-236.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mohammad Amiri-Zarandi & Rozita A. Dara & Emily Duncan & Evan D. G. Fraser, 2022. "Big Data Privacy in Smart Farming: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-18, July.
    2. Zhang, Weike & Fan, Hongxia & Zhao, Qiwei, 2023. "Seeing green: How does digital infrastructure affect carbon emission intensity?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PB).
    3. Lyu, Yanwei & Zhang, Jinning & Wang, Wenqiang & Li, Yutao & Geng, Yong, 2024. "Toward low carbon development through digital economy: A new perspective of factor market distortion," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    4. Hongpeng Guo & Sidong Xie & Chulin Pan, 2021. "The Impact of Planting Industry Structural Changes on Carbon Emissions in the Three Northeast Provinces of China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-20, January.
    5. Shi-jie Jiang & Lilin Wang & Feiyun Xiang, 2023. "The Effect of Agriculture Insurance on Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China: The Mediation Role of Low-Carbon Technology Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, March.
    6. Cao, Dongqin & Peng, Can & Yang, Guanglei & Zhang, Wei, 2022. "How does the pressure of political promotion affect renewable energy technological innovation? Evidence from 30 Chinese provinces," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    7. Ning Xu & Desen Zhao & Wenjie Zhang & Ming Liu & He Zhang, 2022. "Does Digital Transformation Promote Agricultural Carbon Productivity in China?," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-19, November.
    8. Xu, Ru-Yu & Wang, Ke-Liang & Miao, Zhuang, 2024. "The impact of digital technology innovation on green total-factor energy efficiency in China: Does economic development matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    9. Tianchu Feng & Andrea Appolloni & Jiayu Chen, 2024. "How does corporate digital transformation affect carbon productivity? Evidence from Chinese listed companies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(12), pages 31425-31445, December.
    10. Dongqing Han & Dayong Zhang & Peng Yue & Zhengxu Cao, 2024. "Toward Sustainable Development: Can Digital Transformation of Industrial Enterprise Drive Carbon Reduction?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Chen, Zeyu & Tang, Yuhong & Shen, Hebin & Liu, Jiali & Hu, Zheng, 2024. "Threshold effects of Government digital development and land resource disparity on Urban carbon efficiency in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    12. Mindy Jewell Price & Alex Latta & Andrew Spring & Jennifer Temmer & Carla Johnston & Lloyd Chicot & Jessica Jumbo & Margaret Leishman, 2022. "Agroecology in the North: Centering Indigenous food sovereignty and land stewardship in agriculture “frontiers”," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(4), pages 1191-1206, December.
    13. Shixiong Song & Siyuan Zhao & Ye Zhang & Yongxi Ma, 2023. "Carbon Emissions from Agricultural Inputs in China over the Past Three Decades," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-12, April.
    14. Ran, Qiying & Yang, Xiaodong & Yan, Hongchuan & Xu, Yang & Cao, Jianhong, 2023. "Natural resource consumption and industrial green transformation: Does the digital economy matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    15. Xi Liu & Yugang He & Renhong Wu, 2024. "Revolutionizing Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption and Environmental Technologies in OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-21, January.
    16. Baccar, Mariem & Raynal, Hélène & Sekhar, Muddu & Bergez, Jacques-Eric & Willaume, Magali & Casel, Pierre & Giriraj, P. & Murthy, Sanjeeva & Ruiz, Laurent, 2023. "Dynamics of crop category choices reveal strategies and tactics used by smallholder farmers in India to cope with unreliable water availability," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    17. Martina Šestak & Daniel Copot, 2023. "Towards Trusted Data Sharing and Exchange in Agro-Food Supply Chains: Design Principles for Agricultural Data Spaces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-20, September.
    18. de Camargo Fiorini, Paula & Roman Pais Seles, Bruno Michel & Chiappetta Jabbour, Charbel Jose & Barberio Mariano, Enzo & de Sousa Jabbour, Ana Beatriz Lopes, 2018. "Management theory and big data literature: From a review to a research agenda," International Journal of Information Management, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 112-129.
    19. Islam, Zeenatul & Sabiha, Noor E & Salim, Ruhul, 2022. "Integrated environment-smart agricultural practices: A strategy towards climate-resilient agriculture," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 59-72.
    20. Senhua Huang & Lingming Chen, 2023. "The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Urban Total-Factor Energy Efficiency: Evidence from 275 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:caa:jnlage:v:71:y:2025:i:5:id:205-2024-agricecon. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Ivo Andrle (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.cazv.cz/en/home/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.