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Agricultural production outsourcing, a new means of agricultural production, can optimise the allocation of resources, reduce agricultural production costs, and improve agricultural productivity. However, farmers' outsourcing behaviours are strongly interfered with by many factors such as economics, technology and institutions. Using a farmer-level data set from 2014 to 2018 in China, we examine the effects of the minimum wage increase on rice farmers' production outsourcing behaviours. Our study relies on a Logit regression framework and uses the control function (C.F.) approach to address potential endogeneity concerns. Results show that the minimum wage increase significantly reduces the probability of farmers conducting production outsourcing. We also examine the heterogeneous effects of the minimum wage increase, and find that compared with other outsourcing services, the adverse effects on harvesting outsourcing are the strongest; the negative effects on production outsourcing are stronger for rice farmers with higher education. Our results provide new insights into understanding how labour regulation affects labour division in agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is moving toward the important goal of being a green and low-carbon country, and the current severity level of population aging is of particular concern to the government. Aging, renewable energy consumption, and technological progress are closely linked. In this research, a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model is employed to investigate the long-run equilibrium relationship between population aging, renewable energy consumption and agricultural green total factor productivity using panel data for 30 Chinese provinces (cities) from 2000 to 2019. The findings reveal that, in the long run, both population aging and renewable energy use have considerable positive impacts on agricultural green total factor productivity. In addition, in order to more intuitively understand the impact of population aging and renewable energy consumption on agricultural green total factor productivity, the analysis adopts the impulse response function and variance decomposition. The contributions of population aging and renewable energy consumption to agricultural green total factor productivity are 2.23% and 0.56%, respectively, when the lag period is chosen to be 15, which implies that population aging and renewable energy use will continuously contribute to agricultural green total factor productivity. The study results have significant theoretical implications for understanding China's aging population structure and current renewable energy use. Given the above results, this study puts forward countermeasures and suggestions from four aspects: improving agricultural infrastructure, increasing agricultural technology investment, increasing the stock of agricultural human capital and strengthening international cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mitigating pollution discharges from firms and strengthening environmental governance are key objectives for political leaders. A panel dataset comprising Chinese firms and officials' individual information is constructed to investigate the impact of female political leaders on firm pollution discharges. First, the estimation results show that female political leaders can significantly reduce firm pollution discharges by 12.3 % and this finding is robustly supported by a series of empirical strategies. Second, the heterogeneity analysis suggests that the impact of female leaders on reducing firm pollution discharges becomes more pronounced for larger-scale firms, those located in cities with older secretaries, a higher proportion of tertiary industries, and higher levels of economic growth. Moreover, the reduction effect on firm pollution discharges is found to be stronger for state-owned firms and those located in the eastern region. Third, mechanism analysis indicates that female political leaders effectively mitigate firm pollution discharges through the facilitation of technological innovation. These findings underscore the pivotal role of gender in environmental governance and offer valuable political insights for curbing firm pollution discharges. • The study examines the influence of female political leaders on firm pollution discharges. • Female political leaders significantly reduce firm pollution discharges. • The impact of female political leaders on firm pollution discharges is heterogeneous. • Female political leaders promote technological innovation to reduce firm pollution discharges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from the 2013 China Household Income Project (CHIP), this study investigates the effects of minimum wages on labour market returns for rural migrants in China and sheds light on the potential underlying mechanisms of these effects. An instrumental variable estimation is used to address the endogeneity problem of minimum wages on labour market returns. Our empirical findings indicate that minimum wages have positive effects on migrants' wages. Specifically, we observe higher effects for women and migrants who have higher education levels. Regarding the possible mechanisms through which minimum wages influence migrants' labour market returns, we find that minimum wages tend to increase rural migrants' working time but have no significant effects on allowances related to work. We could not obtain conclusive results for social insurance due to its potential endogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research on the protective effect of piped water on young children has been documented in developing countries. However, little is known about the effect of access to piped water (APW) on adolescent health. Based on China Education Panel Survey (CEPS) baseline data for 9,204 adolescents in rural China, we examine the causal effect of APW on adolescent health by employing a control function with ordered probit (CF‐oprobit) model. We find that the availability of piped water in rural households can significantly improve the adolescent health status and also that the effect of piped water on adolescent health is heterogeneous in different subgroups. The protective effect is more pronounced among minorities (rather than Han nationalities), the only‐child families, and left‐behind children during the preschool years. Consequently, piped water programs have irreplaceable significance in improving adolescent health in rural China. Furthermore, policy‐makers should pay more attention to households of ethnic minorities, left‐behind children, and other vulnerable groups in their implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article constructs a dataset of Chinese industrial firms between 2005 and 2010 to investigate the influence of fintech developments on the coal consumption of Chinese firms. Results reveal a significant negative correlation between Fintech and firms' coal consumption. By addressing the potential endogeneity, controlling city-level variables and interactive fixed effects, and testing the unobservable bias, the benchmark results are robust to the above alternative identification strategies. Furthermore, this article investigates the potential mechanisms and finds that Fintech can be negatively connected with coal consumption at firms by elevating export and innovation performance. Finally, this article examines the heterogeneous effects of fintech development and discovers the reduction effect of fintech development on the coal consumption of firms, which is greater for young firms located in the central and eastern regions as well as for those located in regions with lower GDP growth, lower development of the tertiary sector, and a higher level of financial development. The results may contribute to China's carbon neutrality goal by 2060 and help policymakers make policies in the energy sector. • We use big data to identity the causal relationship between fintech development and energy transition. • Fintech development has a significant reduction effect on coal consumption of firms. • We find that our results are robust to many additional checks. • Firm export and innovation are the main mechanisms of fintech development on energy transition. • The reduction effects of fintech development on energy transition is heterogenous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides play a significant role in increasing agricultural yields. However, the overuse of chemical pesticides on crops is a major challenge faced by China, which damages human health, threatens food security, and increases production costs. This paper provides empirical evidence on the relationship between crop insurance and pesticide use. Based on micro-survey data collected from 3410 households, we estimate a control function (CF) approach and find that farmers who purchase crop insurance use 33.30% lower pesticides than those who do not. A series of robustness tests confirm these findings. The results of the moderating effect analysis suggest that rice cultivation training, experience, schooling years, and agricultural laborers can negatively moderate the effect of crop insurance on pesticide use. Furthermore, we also find that the treatment effect of crop insurance is stronger for farmers who are most inclined to purchase crop insurance. • We examine the effect of crop insurance on pesticide use using control function approach. • Crop insurance is a crucial way to reduce pesticide use. • We built the theoretical framework of the effect of crop insurance on pesticide use. • We revealed the heterogenous effect of crop insurance on pesticide use. • The treatment effect of crop insurance is stronger for farmers who are most inclined to purchase insurance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural subsidies lead to changes in the use of chemical fertilizer by farmers. Using data from a household survey conducted annually by the Rural Economy Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of China from 2014 to 2018, Control Function (CF) approach and Heteroskedasticity-based identification strategy were employed to analyze the impact of agricultural subsidies on chemical fertilizer use by rice farmers. After addressing the problem of endogeneity, we found that agricultural subsidies have a significantly negative impact on the use of chemical fertilizer. Precisely, every 100% increase in agricultural subsidies would result in an average decrease of 3.4% in chemical fertilizer use. In addition, results of heterogeneity analysis showed that agricultural subsidies had a stronger negative impact on fertilizer use as rice-planting experience increases. But the ability of rice-planting management and off-farm labor within household could reduce this negative impact. We also found that the effect of arable land productivity conservation subsidies policy was short-lived. Furthermore, based on the frame of structural equation model (SEM), the results of mediation analysis showed that agricultural machine and rice-planting area had partial mediation of 5.3% and 41%, respectively. It implied that agricultural subsidies reduced fertilizer use by promoting the adoption of agricultural techniques and expanding the planting area. In brief, agricultural subsidies had both technical effect and scale effect. But the mediating effect of household income was not significant. This study is intended to assist the concerned authority and agriculture sector to understand the positive role of agricultural subsidies in sustainable production, and provides some feasible policy proposals. • Higher agricultural subsidies in China reduce chemical fertilizer use. • We study the heterogeneous effects of agricultural subsidies on fertilizer use. • Agricultural subsidies have both technical effect and scale effect, but not income effect. • The effect of agricultural subsidies policy is short-lived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Chinese political context, local government officials have substantial influence over the implementation of policies. The approach to urban environmental management varies significantly between female and male officials, which in turn affects governance outcomes differently. Consequently, the gender of local officials plays a crucial role in shaping urban environmental conditions. This study investigates the impact of female officials on urban environmental pollution in China over the period from 2003 to 2018. Utilizing data from the China Urban Statistical Yearbook combined with individual profiles of officials at the prefecture level, the analysis reveals a notable decrease in urban environmental pollution associated with female leadership. Notably, the effect is more pronounced among younger female officials compared to their older counterparts, and those with higher education levels are particularly effective in curbing pollution emissions. The pollution abatement effect of female officials is found to be stronger in the central regions compared to the eastern and western regions. The robustness of these findings is confirmed through checks against alternative explanatory variables, permutation tests, and treatment effect analyses. Overall, this research contributes new perspectives on management strategies that can sisgnificantly improve urban environmental quality in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical fertilizer overuse poses a significant challenge for sustainable agriculture and food safety. Against this background, land transfers that raise farmers' resource allocation efficiency and achieve scale agricultural operation are especially valuable. Based on survey data from 12 rice-producing provinces in the south of China during the period between 2018 and 2019, this paper employs the control function approach to explore the impact of land renting-in on chemical fertilizer use. The results show that land renting-in reduces the usage of chemical fertilizers by 50.34%. The fertilizer-reduction effect is weakened with farmers who have received cultivated training but enhanced with farmers who have purchased crop insurance and farmers who hold more household assets. It is interesting to note that the reduction effect of land renting-in remains stable with an increase in household head age. Furthermore, the marginal treatment effects suggest that the reduction effect of land renting-in is significant for those rice farmers with high resistance to rent in cultivated land. Finally, we find that both land scale and land fragmentation play a mediating role between land renting-in and chemical fertilizer use. Our analysis emphasizes the importance of land transfer in fertilizer reduction and the need for policies that improve the willingness to land transfer to reduce environmental pollution and ensure food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines the influence of political system changes, particularly official turnover, on pollution reduction in Chinese industrial firms—a response to the environmental challenges posed by China's economic growth. Utilizing micro-panel data from 2000 to 2014 and an official turnover database, this study assesses how these turnovers affect firm-level pollution. The analysis confirms that official turnovers significantly reduce emissions, with the effect more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises, under officials who are male, hold PhDs, and are older. This impact is also stronger in areas with a larger tertiary sectors and higher economic growth. A detailed comparison reveals that mayoral turnovers have a greater abatement effect than those of municipal secretaries, especially in cases of abnormal turnovers. Crucially, this study demonstrates that mayoral turnovers lead to pollution reduction by promoting corporate exports and innovation. The baseline regression results, confirmed as robust after extensive robustness checks, underscore the significance of these findings. This paper sheds light on the political dynamics of environmental governance in China, advocating bureaucratic reforms to reduce emissions and providing strategic recommendations to improve national environmental sustainability. • Political turnover in China leads to significant pollution reduction in industrial firms. • The effect of official turnovers on reducing emissions is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises. • Turnover effects are stronger under older, male officials with PhDs. • Mayoral changes have a greater impact on pollution reduction than municipal secretaries, particularly in abnormal turnovers. • Mayor turnovers contribute to pollution reduction by promoting exports and innovation in firms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The persistent issue of industrial pollution in China's environment has prompted industrial firms to explore new opportunities for addressing this problem through the rapid growth of financial technology (fintech). In this study, we construct a city-level fintech index using Baidu News Advanced Search and combine it with Chinese industrial firm data from 2004 to 2014, along with other city-level data, to empirically explore how fintech affects firm pollution. Our baseline results show that fintech can significantly reduce firm pollution discharges, more precisely, a 1% increase in fintech is associated with a reduction in firm pollution by 0.062%. The robustness of our findings has been confirmed through various strategies. We have identified the underlying mechanisms of fintech's impact on firm pollution discharges and confirmed that it significantly reduces such discharges through export competitiveness, environmental protection investment, and technological innovation. Furthermore, we investigate the heterogeneous effects of fintech development and find that it leads to more pronounced reductions in pollution discharges for firms with older age, for firms with larger scale, for non-state-owned firms, for firms located in both the eastern and western regions, for firms located in the areas with a higher level of competition among banks and those located in the areas with a higher level of economic growth. However, the development of the tertiary sector significantly weakens the reduction effect of fintech on firm pollution discharges. Our research provides theoretical support for exploring emerging and viable approaches to mitigating firm pollution from a financial perspective and offers promising implications for harnessing the positive externalities of fintech. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]