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Can Agricultural Industry Integration Reduce the Rural–Urban Income Gap? Evidence from County-Level Data in China

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaoli Chen

    (Department of Management Science and Data Science, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)

  • Zhefeng Huang

    (Department of Management Science and Data Science, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)

  • Chaoguang Luo

    (Department of Management Science and Data Science, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)

  • Zhineng Hu

    (Department of Management Science and Data Science, Business School, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610064, China)

Abstract

The improvement in urban production efficiency has led to income distribution being skewed towards urban labor, thereby widening the urban–rural income gap. However, integration of the agricultural industry at the county level can accelerate the flow of production factors between industries. Therefore, this study evaluates the degree of agricultural industry integration at the county level using the entropy weight method and explores its impact on the urban–rural income gap, based on sample data from 1122 counties in China spanning from 2014 to 2021. The research findings reveal the following: (1) The fixed model demonstrates that enhancing agricultural industry integration can significantly narrow the urban–rural income gap; (2) The mediating model indicates that this narrowing effect can be achieved by improving the green total factor productivity of agriculture; (3) Regional heterogeneity analysis indicates that the impact of agricultural industry integration is more pronounced in the central region and main crop production areas; (4) The results of the spatial Durbin model demonstrate that agricultural industry integration also exhibits a significant positive spatial spillover effect on neighboring areas. The outcomes of this study contribute to enriching the research on agricultural industry integration for green and low-carbon agricultural development, further promoting the development of county-level agricultural industry integration, and providing valuable insights for other similar countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaoli Chen & Zhefeng Huang & Chaoguang Luo & Zhineng Hu, 2024. "Can Agricultural Industry Integration Reduce the Rural–Urban Income Gap? Evidence from County-Level Data in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-20, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:3:p:332-:d:1351858
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Zhijie Song & Shaopeng Zhang, 2025. "Regional Cooperation and the Urban–Rural Income Inequality: Evidence from China’s East–West Cooperation Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-25, October.
    2. Zhenyu Qi & Zixing Wu & Yuezhou You & Xiaoying Zhan, 2024. "Can Rural Industrial Convergence Alleviate Urban–Rural Income Inequality?: Empirical Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-30, December.
    3. Marius Angstmann & Kerstin Meyer & Stefan Gärtner & Leonard Can Stratmann, 2025. "Reviewing Environmental Benefits of Urban Manufacturing: Arguments and Evidence for Carbon, Resource, and Space Efficiency," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 10.

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