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Can Migrant Workers Returning Home for Entrepreneurship Increase Agricultural Labor Productivity: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China

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  • Lulin Shen

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Fang Wang

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

Abstract

One of the effective ways to crack the “Three Rural Issues” and promote rural revitalization is to improve agricultural labor productivity (ALP). However, at this stage, improving China’s ALP is still facing many obstacles and bottlenecks. Promoting migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship is an important breakthrough point for solving this problem. This paper regards the pilot policy of migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship as a quasi-natural experiment and empirically investigates the influence of migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship on ALP and explores its potential mechanism and heterogeneity using county area panel data from 2011–2019. It found the following: Firstly, the policy of migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship significantly increases ALP. Secondly, migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship indirectly leads to a rise in ALP through the promotion of agricultural mechanization production. Thirdly, the heterogeneity test demonstrates that migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship purposes have a significant influence in enhancing ALP in the eastern areas, plains areas and non-agricultural strong areas. The findings of this paper not only provide an important real-world basis for the government to further support migrant workers returning home for entrepreneurship but also provide useful policy insights for the modernization and development of agriculture and rural areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Lulin Shen & Fang Wang, 2024. "Can Migrant Workers Returning Home for Entrepreneurship Increase Agricultural Labor Productivity: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jagris:v:14:y:2024:i:6:p:905-:d:1410813
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Shao, Shiping & Dong, Caisheng, 2025. "Can migrant workers return home to start businesses enhance the vitality of county economy?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. Rui Li & Duanyang Gao, 2025. "The impact of the reform of rural collective property rights system on villagers’ public participation: An empirical study based on CRRS 2020 data," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-18, January.
    3. Yuan Sun & Yiwei Ren, 2025. "Impact of the Pilot Policy for Migrant Workers’ Return Entrepreneurship on High-Quality Agricultural Development in the Context of Rural Revitalization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(7), pages 1-19, April.
    4. Yang, Ming & Peng, HuaTao & Yue, Shunli, 2025. "How returning home for entrepreneurship affects rural common prosperity," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).

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