China's Rural Industrialization and Agricultural Mechanization

Abstract

Rural industrialization provides nonfarm employment opportunities and financial support for farmers and may be a non-negligible cause of agricultural mechanization in China. However, there is a lack of empirical studies on this topic due to challenges in obtaining data and identifying causal relationships. In this paper, we use multiple data sources and construct an instrumental variable based on the number of handicraft production cooperatives in 1957 to test empirically the causal effect of rural industrialization on agricultural mechanization. The results show that rural industrialization contributes signifi cantly and robustly to agricultural mechanization. A 10 percent increase in the average number of industrial enterprises per township was associated with a 1.05 percent increase in the agricultural machinery power per unit area of arable land. Both the demand eff ect and income eff ect played crucial roles in the interaction between these two phenomena.

The Mechanism of Socio-Spatial Evolution in Rural Areas Driven by the Development of the Planting Industry—A Case Study of Yuezhuang Village in Shandong Province, China

“…Many scholars analysed the relationship between rural industrialisation and floating populations, job opportunities, and economic increases using statistical data and questionnaires [27][28][29], indicating the urban-rural socio-economic linkage and the flow of factors in the urbanisation process [30]. Scholars discussed the relationship between rural industrialization and rural enterprises, focusing on employment opportunities and financial support for farmers in China [31,32]. Scholars also studied the relationship between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and rural development, analysed the characteristics of rural firms compared to their counterparts in urban England, and contributed to the discussion on policies [33].…”

Analysis of the Causes of Inflation in China and Policy Solutions

“…Inflation has enormously effects on several sectors of the Chinese economy. Firstly, it decreases consumers' purchasing power, leading to declined consumption and decreased standard of living for households [3]. Secondly, inflation puts pressure on businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, by increasing their production costs, which may lead in decreased profitability and potential job losses [4].…”

“…The Chinese economy is heavily influenced in a variety of sectors due to inflation. Households' living standards will be lowered and there will be reduced consumption as a result of the reduction in consumers' purchasing power [3]. Production costs will increase, putting added pressure on small and medium-sized businesses, which may suffer financially and have to cut jobs [4].…”