IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i21p9639-d1782741.html

The Agricultural Ecological Effects of Rural Labor Migration: A Perspective Based on Green Total Factor Productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Xiaobao Mao

    (Rural Development Research Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China)

  • Aizhi Li

    (Rural Development Research Institute, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China)

Abstract

In the context of promoting sustainable and low-carbon agricultural development, this study investigates the effects of rural labor migration (RLM) on agricultural ecological efficiency from the perspective of green total factor productivity (GTFP). Using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) over 2011–2022, agricultural GTFP is calculated via the SBM–Global Malmquist–Luenberger (SBM–GML) index. Baseline regressions and the spatial Durbin model (SDM) are employed to examine the impacts of labor migration. The research results show that: (1) Agricultural ecological efficiency exhibits significant spatial clustering, demonstrating “high–high” and “low–low” aggregation patterns. (2) RLM significantly enhances local agricultural ecological efficiency while also generating a positive spatial spillover effect. (3) The effects are heterogeneous: northern regions and highly urbanized areas experience stronger positive impacts, whereas southern regions and less urbanized areas show weaker effects. The findings highlight the pivotal role of RLM in promoting agricultural modernization and provide insights for enhancing regional coordination and ecological efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiaobao Mao & Aizhi Li, 2025. "The Agricultural Ecological Effects of Rural Labor Migration: A Perspective Based on Green Total Factor Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-24, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9639-:d:1782741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9639/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9639/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9639-:d:1782741. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.