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Measurement and spatial convergence analysis of China’s agricultural green development index

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Abstract

Based on the comprehensive evaluation system of agricultural green development index (AGDI), this paper uses entropy weight method and linear weighted sum method to measure the agricultural green development level of 31 provinces in China from 2013 to 2018. We then incorporate spatial correlation into the traditional convergence test model, study the spatial convergence of AGDI, and explore the reasons for regional differences in AGDI. The results show that the level of AGDI in China showed an overall growth trend during the sample survey period, but there were significant differences in the rate of AGDI among different regions, mainly manifested as “eastern > western > central.” The AGDI shows a significant positive spatial correlation on the whole, and its overall spatial distribution is characterized by high-high agglomeration and low-low agglomeration. The provinces with higher and lower level of AGDI still maintain the original relatively concentrated distribution in geographical space. On this basis, the study examines the regional differences of AGDI and its evolution by Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition and spatial convergence. The results showed that the overall difference of AGDI showed a fluctuating downward trend. The intra-regional difference of AGDI in the western region was the largest, and that in the eastern region was the smallest. The contribution rate of intensity of transvariation among regions was the main source of the relative difference of AGDI. Meanwhile, the AGDI of the overall, eastern, central, and western regions present significant σ convergence and conditional β convergence. Except for the central region, the overall, eastern, and western regions present significant absolute β convergence. The low-level areas of AGDI have significant “catch-up effect” on the areas with high-level AGDI. Based on the above results, this paper also puts forward some policy suggestions from the perspective of cross-regional collaborative governance to improve China’s agricultural green development mode and narrow the regional differences of China’s agricultural green development.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Notes

  1. The eastern region includes Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian, Shandong, Guangdong and Hainan; the central region includes Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Jilin, Heilongjiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan and Guangxi; and the western region includes Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and Xinjiang.

  2. The formula for the rate of convergence is \( \theta =-\frac{1}{T}\ln \left(1-\left|\beta \right|\right) \), where, T is the length of the sample investigation period.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to two anonymous reviewers and editors for their insightful comments that helped us sufficiently improve the quality of this paper. The authors would like to express their gratitude to EditSprings (https://www.editsprings.com/) for the expert linguistic services provided.

Funding

This work is financially supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China (17BJY137), Shaanxi Soft Science Joint Project (2018KRLZ04), and Northwest A&F University basic scientific research operating expenses humanities and social sciences major cultivation project (2452020055).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China

    Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li & Xianli Xia

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  1. Zhe Chen
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  2. Xiaojing Li
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Contributions

Conceptualization: Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li; methodology: Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li; formal analysis and investigation: Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li; writing—original draft preparation: Zhe Chen; writing—review and editing: Zhe Chen, Xiaojing Li; funding acquisition: Xianli Xia; resources: Xianli Xia; supervision: Xianli Xia

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Correspondence to Xianli Xia.

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Chen, Z., Li, X. & Xia, X. Measurement and spatial convergence analysis of China’s agricultural green development index. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 19694–19709 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11953-z

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