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E-commerce Adoption and Technical Efficiency of Wheat Production in China

Author

Listed:
  • Dongshi Chen

    (China Academy of Rural Development (CARD), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Hongdong Guo

    (China Academy of Rural Development (CARD), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Qianqian Zhang

    (China Academy of Rural Development (CARD), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Songqing Jin

    (Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1039, USA)

Abstract

Improving technical efficiency (TE) is crucial for the sustainable growth of smallholder agriculture in developing countries. While there has been a large literature investigating the determinants of smallholders’ agricultural technical efficiency, little is known about the effect of e-commerce on agriculture and crop production efficiency despite the growing importance of rural e-commerce in developing countries. This study, therefore, bridges the research gap by examining the impact of e-commerce adoption on TE using household survey data of wheat farmers in China. We employ the combination of propensity score matching (PSM) and a selectivity-corrected stochastic production frontier model to address the possible selection biases stemming from both observable and unobservable factors. We found that e-commerce adoption would lead to a 2.75 per cent increase in the technical efficiency of wheat production. Our study also complements the existing research of rural e-commerce, which mainly focuses on the benefits of e-commerce from the perspective of market opportunity and farmers’ welfare.

Suggested Citation

  • Dongshi Chen & Hongdong Guo & Qianqian Zhang & Songqing Jin, 2022. "E-commerce Adoption and Technical Efficiency of Wheat Production in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:3:p:1197-:d:729931
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