Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2025, 71(10):550-563 | DOI: 10.17221/289/2024-AGRICECON

Rural e-commerce and agricultural total factor productivity: Evidence from ChinaOriginal Paper

Jialong Zheng1, Xintong Liang1, Junkai Ma2, Guangsi Li3,4
1 Institute of Food and Strategic Reserves, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China
2 School of International Trade, Shanxi University of Finance and Economics, Shanxi Province, P.R. China
3 School of Economics, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China
4 Modern Grain Circulation and Security of Collaborative Innovation Center, Jiangsu Province, P.R. China

Employing the Comprehensive Demonstration of E-commerce in Rural Areas (CDERA) policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper explores the impact of rural e-commerce development on agricultural total factor productivity (ATFP) and its underlying mechanisms, using a difference-in-differences model. The analysis utilises panel data from 1 495 counties in China from 2001 to 2021. The findings indicate that the CDERA policy implementation enhanced ATFP in treated counties by approximately 1.6 percentage points compared to control counties, other factors being equal. Mechanism analysis further reveals that the CDERA policy enhances ATFP by improving agricultural technological efficiency and fostering agricultural industrial development. This study highlights the significant role of CDERA policy in enhancing agricultural productivity in China and offers policy insights for advancing rural e-commerce and promoting sustainable agricultural development.

Keywords: agricultural production efficiency; counties; industrial policy; rural e-commerce

Received: August 13, 2024; Revised: May 24, 2025; Accepted: July 3, 2025; Prepublished online: October 27, 2025; Published: October 30, 2025  Show citation

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Zheng J, Liang X, Ma J, Li G. Rural e-commerce and agricultural total factor productivity: Evidence from China. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2025;71(10):550-563. doi: 10.17221/289/2024-AGRICECON.
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