The Impact of Information and Communication Technology on the Technical Efficiency of Smallholder Vegetable Farms in Shandong of China
Kang, Shijia; Sidhoum, Amer Ait; Frick, Fabian; Sauer, Johannes; Zheng, Shaofeng (2023)
Kang, Shijia
Sidhoum, Amer Ait
Frick, Fabian
Sauer, Johannes
Zheng, Shaofeng
Julkaisusarja
Q Open
Oxford University Press (OUP)
2023
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023051744822
http://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2023051744822
Tiivistelmä
Farmers have started to adopt Information and Communication Technology (ICT), which has considerable potential to impact farm performance. This study uses data from a 2018 survey of 763 vegetable smallholder farms in China to estimate the impact of ICT on technical efficiency (TE). We adopt propensity score matching to create a balanced sample of ICT users and non-users, and a stochastic frontier model with sample selection correction to compare the two groups’ TE. After accounting for self-selection bias from both observables and unobservables, the study finds a positive effect of ICT use on TE. On average, the TE score of ICT users is 0.64, whereas ICT non-users have a lower score of 0.57. A quantile regression analysis further reveals a heterogeneous impact of ICT on TE, with the largest effects among less efficient farms. These results suggest that vegetable farmers’ performance could be fostered by the widespread use of ICT.
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