Impact Of E-Commerce Adoption On Productivity Of Family Farms

The revitalisation of the countryside and the modernisation of agriculture and rural areas attach great importance to new agricultural business entities,The impact of the digital economy on agriculture is becoming increasingly prominent.The government is committed to promoting the transformation and development of family farms through e-commerce,and has released a series of supporting policies such as the China Digital Rural Development Report(2022)and the Outline of Digital Rural Development Strategy(2019).Rural e-commerce has become an important way for family farms to digitally transform themselves and their businesses.The adoption of e-commerce by family farms is a trend in the context of the explosive growth of the digital economy.Taking Anhui Province as an example,this thesis explores the factors influencing the adoption of e-commerce by family farms and the impact of e-commerce adoption on the production efficiency of family farms,which is important for improving the production efficiency of family farms and promoting the transformation and upgrading of farms.The study is based on theories of information asymmetry,economies of scale,division of labour in agriculture,the smile curve and economies of scope,to clarify the mechanism of e-commerce adoption on the productivity of family farms.Based on this,an econometric model of e-commerce adoption in family farms is developed through empirical research,and the key factors of e-commerce adoption in family farms are analysed empirically.Secondly,a DEA model is applied to quantitatively assess the productivity of farms.Based on this,an econometric model is created to empirically investigate the influence of e-commerce adoption on the productivity of family farms and to look at the heterogeneity of family farms with various degrees of human capital.The main findings of this study are as follows:(1)E-commerce adoption in family farms can increase productivity by 6.8%.(2)Productivity was greatly boosted by family farms that used the Internet and adopted e-commerce but had low levels of human capital,whereas there was less of a gain in production from family farms that used the Internet and adopted e-commerce but had high levels of human capital.(3)Family farms may adopt e-commerce more readily if they have access to human capital,social capital,and household wealth capital.This thesis gives the following policy recommendations : the state should aggressively direct the comprehensive fusion of family farms with internet technologies;encourage internet technology to play a fundamental role in supporting family farmers;focus on the differences in the effects of e-commerce adoption on family farms with different levels of performance;on this basis,the government should give full play to its leading role in the overall,coordination.