The Impact Of Agricultural Insurance On Green Total Factor Productivity

The development of agriculture is crucial for national well-being,livelihood,and food security.Agriculture is a weak industry and is subject to uncertainties from various factors,such as market,nature,and technology.This exposes farmers to multiple risks.Agricultural insurance,as an effective risk transfer tool,can help farmers stabilize their income expectations,disperse operational risks,and promote the modernization of agricultural production.In recent years,there has been a significant and rapid growth in the agricultural insurance sector,with impressive growth in premium scales and rapid improvement in agricultural production levels,resulting in increasing yields year by year.The use of Green Total Factor Productivity(GTFP)to measure resource utilization efficiency under resource and environmental constraints has gradually gained widespread recognition among scholars both domestically and internationally,as the concept of sustainable development is implemented.In this context,we focus on the impact and mechanism of agricultural insurance on GTFP.Utilizing agricultural data from 31 provincial-level administrative units in China from 2007-2020,we employ the Slacks-based Measure(SBM)model and Global Malmquist-Luenberger(GML)index method to measure GTFP.The impact of agricultural insurance on GTFP and its decomposed items is investigated using empirical research methods such as mixed-effects,random-effects,and fixed-effects models.Furthermore,we use four methods to demonstrate the robustness of the conclusions: substituting the dependent variable,substituting the core explanatory variable,lagging one period control variable,and bilateral truncation.We also address endogeneity issues by constructing a dynamic panel system GMM model,and explore regional heterogeneity and crop structure heterogeneity of conclusions using subsample regression.Finally,we examine the three main mechanisms—agricultural production scale effect,planting structure optimization effect,and agricultural technology innovation effect—using the mediation effect model.We find that agricultural insurance can significantly promote the improvement of GTFP,and this conclusion exhibits regional heterogeneity and crop structure heterogeneity.In terms of regional heterogeneity,agricultural insurance has a significant positive effect on GTFP in the eastern region of China,a non-significant impact on the central region,and a significant negative effect on the western region.From the perspective of planting structure heterogeneity,agricultural insurance significantly improves the green total factor productivity in non-grain producing areas of China,while its impact on grainproducing areas is not significant.The main mechanisms through which agricultural insurance affects GTFP are the agricultural production scale effect,planting structure optimization effect,and agricultural technology innovation effect,with the influence of the three mechanisms decreasing in this order.Based on the conclusions,we propose future development recommendations for government departments,insurance companies,and agricultural producers.Government departments should increase investment in agricultural technology and cultivate more specialized talents;accelerate the implementation of land circulation systems,and promote large-scale agricultural production;improve agricultural insurance-related systems and increase fiscal support.Insurance companies should implement differentiated agricultural insurance plans according to local conditions;establish comprehensive disaster prevention and mitigation mechanisms.Farmers should enhance risk awareness,actively participate in agricultural insurance;break traditional concepts,actively learn advanced production technologies;and appropriately expand production scale and specialize in planting.