18 pages, Based on panel data from the Rural Fixed Point Survey of the Ministry of
Agriculture over the period 2004-2016 and supplementary survey data on information
and communications technology (ICT) applications in the countryside, this paper employs
the difference in differences (DID) method to analyze the effects of ICT applications on
rural households’ agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) with mobile phone signal,
internet and 3G mobile network connections as indicators, and decomposes and evaluates
the constituent factors. Our findings reveal a positive effect of ICTs on rural households’
TFP, which primarily stemmed from rising agricultural technical efficiency. However, ICTs
exerted no significant effect on agricultural technical progress during this paper’s data
period due to limited rural human capital. These findings are consistent with robustness test
results based on counterfactual and matching methods.
Online from publication. 3 pages., "As we find evermore convenient ways to serve customers and work smarter, let's not lose the human touch. We all need it, no matter our age or location."
UI Library subscription., Update on progress and activities of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting (NAFB) Foundation, including student internships and scholarships, as well as fund-raising efforts.
