Land market distortion and agricultural green total factor productivity: provincial-level evidence from China

Based on provincial-level agricultural input and output data in China from 2000 to 2019, this study estimates the Luenberger-Hicks-Moorsteen index using the nonparametric method of the directional distance function to obtain agricultural green total factor productivity (AGTFP). The results show that AGTFP in China has increased significantly over the past 20 years, with significant differences between provinces and among the eastern, central, and western regions. Land market distortion has had a significant negative impact on AGTFP. The results suggest that the government needs to promote the market-oriented reform of land factors, solve the price distortion caused by land finance, promote the intensification and modernization of agricultural management, and realize the potential of green agricultural production.