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Journal of Integrative Agriculture  2022, Vol. 21 Issue (10): 3067-3081    DOI: 10.1016/j.jia.2022.07.053
Special Issue: 农业经济与管理合辑Agricultural Economics and Management
Agricultural Economics and Management Advanced Online Publication | Current Issue | Archive | Adv Search |
The mechanism and heterogeneity of environmental regulations’ impact on the technological progress of dairy farming
LIU Hao, PENG Hua, LI Li-wang, DONG Xiao-xia
Agricultural Information Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, P.R.China
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摘要  

奶牛是污染物产生较多畜禽,一头600 kg的成年奶牛,每天可产生30~50 kg粪便,废水0.4 m3,是同等条件下生猪、肉鸡和蛋鸡的数倍,已成为农业源污染的主要来源之一,随着奶牛养殖业开始向集约化、规模化和产业化转变,由此带来的环境负外部效应问题日益突出。环境规制是解决畜禽养殖过程中要素过度使用和环境污染外部性问题最直接有效的措施之一,但也是养殖场成本增加和结构调整的重要影响因素之一,当前环境规制与不同规模奶牛养殖效率以及技术进步的关系尚不清楚。该研究基于中国十个省份(自治区)2009—2019年不同规模牧场投入产出数据和环境规制政策规章文件数量,运用动态面板数据模型研究了环境规制对奶牛养殖技术进步的影响特征与异质性,并考察了规模经营与环境规制的协同互补效应。结果表明,环境规制对奶牛养殖技术进步的影响呈U”型特征,环境规制加速了养殖集约化发展、促进了资源的优化配置,形成了从污染治理带来的高成本、低技术进步逐步过渡到养殖结构优化产生的高收益、高创新投入的发展规律。不同规模牧场中,大规模和中规模全要素生产率高于小规模,环境规制对小规模牧场和大规模牧场技术进步具有正向促进作用,而对中规模牧场技术进步影响呈“U”型曲线,不同规模养殖的调节效应分析表明,中规模牧场奶牛存栏比重增加一定程度上缓解了环境规制初期给牧场带来技术进步下降的压力,但不能过度追求大规模养殖,大规模奶牛存栏比重增加带来更高的污染物处理成本迫使牧场减少对技术创新的投入,反而会削弱环境规制对奶牛养殖技术进步的促进作用。研究认为在推进适度规模养殖的基础上,在确保环境规制有效的情况下,要进一步加强环境规制,注重环境规制形式,使奶牛养殖技术尽快突破“U”型曲线拐点,为实现环境保护及经济增长“双赢”提供了理论支持。



Abstract  The study analyses the theoretical mechanism through which environmental regulation affects the dairy industry’s technological progress, with a particular focus on how the effect is conditional on farm size.  Using the input–output data of dairy farms of different sizes from 2009 to 2019 in 10 Chinese provinces/autonomous regions in China and the quantitative measurement index of environmental regulation, the study estimates environmental regulation’s heterogeneous influences on the dairy industry’s technological progress by dynamic panel data models.  The empirical results suggest that, first, environmental regulation has a U-type influence on the technological progress of dairy farming.  The U-type influence means moving from pollution control’s high cost and low technology progress to the high profit and high innovation input generated by optimizing the breeding structure.  Second, the promotion of dairy farming technology depends on farm size.  The effect of environmental regulation on technological progress in moderately large-farms showed a U-type relationship.  In contrast, the effect in free-range and large-size dairy farms showed a linear and positive relationship.  The government should further strengthen environmental regulation based on advancing moderately large-farms in compliance with market mechanisms in the long run.  Particular attention should be paid to the forms of environmental regulation so that dairy cattle breeding technology can break through the inflection point of the “U” curve as soon as possible and ensure the significance of the rising stage.  Along the way, technical support should be provided for realizing environmental protection and economic growth.
Keywords:  environmental regulation       technological progress       dairy farming       farm size       system generalized method of moments estimation (SYS-GMM)  
Received: 16 March 2022   Accepted: 08 June 2022
Fund: This work was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, China (125D0301).
About author:  Correspondence DONG Xiao-xia, E-mail: dongxiaoxia@caas.cn

Cite this article: 

LIU Hao, PENG Hua, LI Li-wang, DONG Xiao-xia. 2022. The mechanism and heterogeneity of environmental regulations’ impact on the technological progress of dairy farming. Journal of Integrative Agriculture, 21(10): 3067-3081.

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