IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v138y2019icp573-584.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of conformity tendencies on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw: Evidence from biogas in rural China

Author

Listed:
  • Zeng, Yangmei
  • Zhang, Junbiao
  • He, Ke

Abstract

This paper examines the impacts of conformity tendencies (including conformity to rich villagers, conformity to relatives, conformity to neighbors and conformity to village cadres) on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw exampled by biogas in rural areas in China. Particularly, to address estimation errors caused by possible sample self-selection biases, propensity score matching is employed to further ensure the robustness of the regression results obtained by Binary Logistic model. The empirical results highlight that, in contrast to the significantly negative impact of conformity to rich villagers, conformity to relatives, neighbors and village cadres all have positive and statistically significant influences on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw exampled by biogas. These findings suggest the potential importance of providing households with quick and convenient access to the relatives’, neighbors’ and village cadres’ adoption information of energy utilization of crop straw exampled by biogas but carefully filtering out rich villagers’ adoption information in promoting energy utilization of crop straw exampled by biogas in rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Zeng, Yangmei & Zhang, Junbiao & He, Ke, 2019. "Effects of conformity tendencies on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw: Evidence from biogas in rural China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 573-584.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:138:y:2019:i:c:p:573-584
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2019.02.003
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148119301478
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2019.02.003?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. Liane Faltermeier & Awudu Abdulai, 2009. "The impact of water conservation and intensification technologies: empirical evidence for rice farmers in Ghana," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 40(3), pages 365-379, May.
    2. Marra, Michele & Pannell, David J. & Abadi Ghadim, Amir, 2003. "The economics of risk, uncertainty and learning in the adoption of new agricultural technologies: where are we on the learning curve?," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 75(2-3), pages 215-234.
    3. Timothy G. Conley & Christopher R. Udry, 2010. "Learning about a New Technology: Pineapple in Ghana," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 100(1), pages 35-69, March.
    4. Tigabu, Aschalew D. & Berkhout, Frans & van Beukering, Pieter, 2015. "Technology innovation systems and technology diffusion: Adoption of bio-digestion in an emerging innovation system in Rwanda," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 90(PA), pages 318-330.
    5. James J. Heckman & Xuesong Li, 2004. "Selection bias, comparative advantage and heterogeneous returns to education: evidence from China in 2000," Pacific Economic Review, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 155-171, October.
    6. Foster, Andrew D & Rosenzweig, Mark R, 1995. "Learning by Doing and Learning from Others: Human Capital and Technical Change in Agriculture," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(6), pages 1176-1209, December.
    7. Ziegler, Andreas, 2017. "Political orientation, environmental values, and climate change beliefs and attitudes: An empirical cross country analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 144-153.
    8. Song, Shizhong & Liu, Pei & Xu, Jing & Chong, Chinhao & Huang, Xianzheng & Ma, Linwei & Li, Zheng & Ni, Weidou, 2017. "Life cycle assessment and economic evaluation of pellet fuel from corn straw in China: A case study in Jilin Province," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 373-381.
    9. Shiferaw, Bekele & Kassie, Menale & Jaleta, Moti & Yirga, Chilot, 2014. "Adoption of improved wheat varieties and impacts on household food security in Ethiopia," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 272-284.
    10. Cecilia Vergari, 2005. "Herd Behaviour in Adoption of Network Technologies," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 86(2), pages 161-182, November.
    11. Borges Neto, M.R. & Carvalho, P.C.M. & Carioca, J.O.B. & Canafístula, F.J.F., 2010. "Biogas/photovoltaic hybrid power system for decentralized energy supply of rural areas," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4497-4506, August.
    12. Kassie, Menale & Jaleta, Moti & Shiferaw, Bekele & Mmbando, Frank & Mekuria, Mulugetta, 2013. "Adoption of interrelated sustainable agricultural practices in smallholder systems: Evidence from rural Tanzania," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 80(3), pages 525-540.
    13. Li, Changjiang & Liao, Yuncheng & Wen, Xiaoxia & Wang, Yangfeng & Yang, Fei, 2015. "The development and countermeasures of household biogas in northwest grain for green project areas of China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 835-846.
    14. Krishnan, Pramila & Patnam, Manasa, 2013. "Neighbours and Extension Agents in Ethiopia: Who matters more for technology diffusion?," CEPR Discussion Papers 9539, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    15. Ashourian, M.H. & Cherati, S.M. & Mohd Zin, A.A. & Niknam, N. & Mokhtar, A.S. & Anwari, M., 2013. "Optimal green energy management for island resorts in Malaysia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 36-45.
    16. Hassan, Md. Kamrul & Pelkonen, Paavo & Pappinen, Ari, 2014. "Rural households’ knowledge and perceptions of renewables with special attention on bioenergy resources development – Results from a field study in Bangladesh," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 454-464.
    17. Case, Anne, 1992. "Neighborhood influence and technological change," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 491-508, September.
    18. Kelebe, Haftu Etsay & Ayimut, Kiros Meles & Berhe, Gebresilasse Hailu & Hintsa, Kidane, 2017. "Determinants for adoption decision of small scale biogas technology by rural households in Tigray, Ethiopia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 272-278.
    19. Abhijit V. Banerjee, 1992. "A Simple Model of Herd Behavior," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 107(3), pages 797-817.
    20. Isabel Vanslembrouck & Guido Van Huylenbroeck & Wim Verbeke, 2002. "Determinants of the Willingness of Belgian Farmers to Participate in Agri‐environmental Measures," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(3), pages 489-511, November.
    21. Shi, Tian & Gill, Roderic, 2005. "Developing effective policies for the sustainable development of ecological agriculture in China: the case study of Jinshan County with a systems dynamics model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 53(2), pages 223-246, April.
    22. Katuwal, Hari & Bohara, Alok K., 2009. "Biogas: A promising renewable technology and its impact on rural households in Nepal," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 13(9), pages 2668-2674, December.
    23. Scarlat, Nicolae & Dallemand, Jean-François & Fahl, Fernando, 2018. "Biogas: Developments and perspectives in Europe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 129(PA), pages 457-472.
    24. Chen, Yu & Yang, Gaihe & Sweeney, Sandra & Feng, Yongzhong, 2010. "Household biogas use in rural China: A study of opportunities and constraints," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 14(1), pages 545-549, January.
    25. Xiao-Liang Shen & Kem Z.K. Zhang & Sesia J. Zhao, 2016. "Herd behavior in consumers’ adoption of online reviews," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 67(11), pages 2754-2765, November.
    26. Zeng, Xianyang & Ma, Yitai & Ma, Lirong, 2007. "Utilization of straw in biomass energy in China," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 976-987, June.
    27. He, Pan & Veronesi, Marcella, 2017. "Personality traits and renewable energy technology adoption: A policy case study from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 472-479.
    28. Kabir, Humayun & Yegbemey, Rosaine N. & Bauer, Siegfried, 2013. "Factors determinant of biogas adoption in Bangladesh," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 881-889.
    29. Annemie Maertens, 2017. "Who Cares What Others Think (or Do)? Social Learning and Social Pressures in Cotton Farming in India," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 99(4), pages 988-1007.
    30. Stone, Glenn Davis & Flachs, Andrew & Diepenbrock, Christine, 2014. "Rhythms of the herd: Long term dynamics in seed choice by Indian farmers," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 26-38.
    31. Yasar, Abdullah & Nazir, Saba & Tabinda, Amtul Bari & Nazar, Masooma & Rasheed, Rizwan & Afzaal, Muhammad, 2017. "Socio-economic, health and agriculture benefits of rural household biogas plants in energy scarce developing countries: A case study from Pakistan," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 19-25.
    32. Hamid, R.G. & Blanchard, R.E., 2018. "An assessment of biogas as a domestic energy source in rural Kenya: Developing a sustainable business model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 368-376.
    33. Abadi, Nigussie & Gebrehiwot, Kindeya & Techane, Ataklti & Nerea, Hailish, 2017. "Links between biogas technology adoption and health status of households in rural Tigray, Northern Ethiopia," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 284-292.
    34. Mengistu, Mulu Getachew & Simane, Belay & Eshete, Getachew & Workneh, Tilahun Seyoum, 2016. "Factors affecting households' decisions in biogas technology adoption, the case of Ofla and Mecha Districts, northern Ethiopia," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 215-227.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wang, Anbang & He, Ke & Zhang, Junbiao & Zeng, Yangmei, 2021. "Green Production Technologies and Technical Efficiency of Rice Farmers in China: A Case Study of Straw-Derived Biochar," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315026, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    2. Xueling Bao & Fengwan Zhang & Shili Guo & Xin Deng & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2022. "Peer Effects on Farmers’ Purchases of Policy-Based Planting Farming Agricultural Insurance: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Gao, Yang & Liu, Bei & Yu, Lili & Yang, Haoran & Yin, Shijiu, 2019. "Social capital, land tenure and the adoption of green control techniques by family farms: Evidence from Shandong and Henan Provinces of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. He, Ke & Zhang, Junbiao & Wang, Anbang & Chang, Huayi, 2020. "Rural households’ perceived value of energy utilization of crop residues: A case study from China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 286-295.
    5. Han, Jiashi & Zhang, Lei & Li, Yang, 2022. "Spatiotemporal analysis of rural energy transition and upgrading in developing countries: The case of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    6. Junqiao Ma & Wenfeng Zhou & Shili Guo & Xin Deng & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2022. "Effects of Conformity Tendencies on Farmers’ Willingness to Take Measures to Respond to Climate Change: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    7. Qianhui Ma & Shaofeng Zheng & Peng Deng, 2022. "Impact of Internet Use on Farmers’ Organic Fertilizer Application Behavior under the Climate Change Context: The Role of Social Network," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, September.
    8. Jinhua Xie & Gangqiao Yang & Ge Wang & Yaying Zhu & Zhaoxia Guo, 2023. "Substitutes or complements? Exploring the impact of environmental regulations and informal institutions on the clean energy utilization behaviors of farmers," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 3893-3922, May.
    9. Junqiao Ma & Wenfeng Zhou & Shili Guo & Xin Deng & Jiahao Song & Dingde Xu, 2022. "The influence of peer effects on farmers’ response to climate change: evidence from Sichuan Province, China," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 1-23, November.
    10. Widha Kusumaningdyah & Tetsuo Tezuka & Benjamin C. McLellan, 2021. "Investigating Preconditions for Sustainable Renewable Energy Product–Service Systems in Retail Electricity Markets," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    11. Wang, Yi-Jia & Wang, Qi & Wang, Naihui, 2023. "The role of rationality and altruism in rural households' acceptance of straw energy utilization: Evidence from Northeast China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    12. Xinyue Qu & Wenfeng Zhou & Jia He & Dingde Xu, 2023. "Land Certification, Adjustment Experience, and Green Production Technology Acceptance of Farmers: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Li, Yanjiao & Qing, Chen & Guo, Shili & Deng, Xin & Song, Jiahao & Xu, Dingde, 2023. "When my friends and relatives go solar, should I go solar too? —— Evidence from rural Sichuan province, China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 753-762.
    14. Wenfeng Zhou & Jia He & Shaoquan Liu & Dingde Xu, 2023. "How Does Trust Influence Farmers’ Low-Carbon Agricultural Technology Adoption? Evidence from Rural Southwest, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-14, February.
    15. Ahmad, Munir & Khan, Irfan & Shahzad Khan, Muhammad Qaiser & Jabeen, Gul & Jabeen, Hafiza Samra & Işık, Cem, 2023. "Households' perception-based factors influencing biogas adoption: Innovation diffusion framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    16. Han, Jiashi & Hou, Xiaochao & Zhang, Lei, 2022. "Policy implications of China's rural household coal governance from the perspective of the spillover effect," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    17. Chen, Xin & Jiang, Li & Zhang, Guoliang & Meng, Lijun & Pan, Zhihua & Lun, Fei & An, Pingli, 2021. "Green-depressing cropping system: A referential land use practice for fallow to ensure a harmonious human-land relationship in the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    18. Fan Chen & Can Zhang & Wenna Wang, 2022. "Study on the Impact of Internet Use on Farmers’ Straw Returning to the Field: A Micro Survey Data from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    19. Qiang Wang & Thomas Dogot & Guosheng Wu & Xianlei Huang & Changbin Yin, 2019. "Residents’ Willingness for Centralized Biogas Production in Hebei and Shandong Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-16, December.
    20. Ji-Qin Ren & Ya-Wen Yang & Yuan-Ying Chi, 2022. "Research on Straw-Based High-Quality Energy in China under the Background of Carbon Neutrality," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-14, February.

    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. Yasmin, Nazia & Grundmann, Philipp, 2019. "Adoption and diffusion of renewable energy – The case of biogas as alternative fuel for cooking in Pakistan," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 255-264.
    2. He, Pan & Lovo, Stefania & Veronesi, Marcella, 2022. "Social networks and renewable energy technology adoption: Empirical evidence from biogas adoption in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    3. Li, Yanjiao & Qing, Chen & Guo, Shili & Deng, Xin & Song, Jiahao & Xu, Dingde, 2023. "When my friends and relatives go solar, should I go solar too? —— Evidence from rural Sichuan province, China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 753-762.
    4. Mukeshimana, Marie Claire & Zhao, Zhen-Yu & Ahmad, Munir & Irfan, Muhammad, 2021. "Analysis on barriers to biogas dissemination in Rwanda: AHP approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 1127-1137.
    5. Nicholas Magnan & David J Spielman & Travis J. Lybbert & Kajal Gulati, 2013. "Leveling with Friends: Social Networks and Indian Farmers’ Demand for Agricultural Custom Hire Services," Working Papers id:5591, eSocialSciences.
    6. Bonan, Jacopo & Battiston, Pietro & Bleck, Jaimie & LeMay-Boucher, Philippe & Pareglio, Stefano & Sarr, Bassirou & Tavoni, Massimo, 2021. "Social interaction and technology adoption: Experimental evidence from improved cookstoves in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).
    7. Leonardo Bursztyn & Florian Ederer & Bruno Ferman & Noam Yuchtman, 2012. "Understanding Peer Effects in Financial Decisions: Evidence from a Field Experiment," NBER Working Papers 18241, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Syed M Amir & Yonggong Liu & Ashfaq A Shah & Umer Khayyam & Zafar Mahmood, 2020. "Empirical study on influencing factors of biogas technology adoption in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(2), pages 308-329, March.
    9. Islam, Asadul & Ushchev, Philip & Zenou, Yves & Zhang, Xin, 2019. "The Value of Information in Technology Adoption," IZA Discussion Papers 12672, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Wagner, Peter A. & Klein, Nicolas, 2022. "Strategic investment and learning with private information," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    11. Kazushi Takahashi & Rie Muraoka & Keijiro Otsuka, 2020. "Technology adoption, impact, and extension in developing countries’ agriculture: A review of the recent literature," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 31-45, January.
    12. Wakeel, Muhammad & Hayat, Tasawer & Shah, Noor Samad & Iqbal, Jibran & Haq Khan, Zia Ul & Shah, Ghulam Mustafa & Rasool, Atta, 2023. "Biogas Energy Resources in Pakistan Status, Potential, and Barriers," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    13. Garbero, A. & Marion, P., 2018. "IFAD RESEARCH SERIES 28 - Understanding the dynamics of adoption decisions and their poverty impacts: the case of improved maize seeds in Uganda," IFAD Research Series 280077, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    14. Jean‐Paul Chavas & Céline Nauges, 2020. "Uncertainty, Learning, and Technology Adoption in Agriculture," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(1), pages 42-53, March.
    15. Nakano, Yuko & Tsusaka, Takuji W. & Aida, Takeshi & Pede, Valerien O., 2018. "Is farmer-to-farmer extension effective? The impact of training on technology adoption and rice farming productivity in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 336-351.
    16. Novice Patrick Bakehe, 2021. "What drives biogas adoption in rural Lesotho?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(2), pages 357-367, June.
    17. Anna Folke Larsen, 2015. "The network at work: Diffusion of banana cultivation in Tanzania," CAM Working Papers camwp2015_01, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics.
    18. Mekonnen, Daniel Ayalew & Gerber, Nicolas & Matz, Julia Anna, 2018. "Gendered Social Networks, Agricultural Innovations, and Farm Productivity in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 321-335.
    19. Giuseppe Maggio & Marina Mastrorillo & Nicholas J. Sitko, 2022. "Adapting to High Temperatures: Effect of Farm Practices and Their Adoption Duration on Total Value of Crop Production in Uganda," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 104(1), pages 385-403, January.
    20. Fishman, Arthur & Fishman, Ram & Gneezy, Uri, 2019. "A tale of two food stands: Observational learning in the field," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 101-108.

    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:eee:renene:v:138:y:2019:i:c:p:573-584. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    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.