Does farmers' agricultural investment is impacted by green finance policies and financial constraint? From the perspective of farmers' heterogeneity in Northwest China

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2022 Sep;29(44):67242-67257. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-20502-9. Epub 2022 May 6.

Abstract

Green finance is a situation in which finance and environmental conservation are combined. Green credit management is a crucial green financial mechanism for achieving a win-win situation with economic development and environmental conservation through prudent credit resource allocation. Similarly, the continued involvement of farmers in green finance policies as micro-actors is critical to policy execution in rural regions. In current research, we utilized 2520 micro-surveys to measure the effects of green finance policies on agricultural investment of farmers in a difference-in-differences framework and developed a mediation effect model based on the degree of coupling coordination between financial development and environmental sustainability. It investigates the effects of heterogeneity in farmers' management on the mediating effect of financial restrictions. The study results show that, in comparison to the favorable effects of green finance policies on agricultural investment of farmers, the inclusion of a financial constraint variable reduces that benefit. Furthermore, farmers that engage in non-agricultural management practices are more likely to benefit from green finance policies and are impacted by the intermediate mechanism's financial restrictions. The construction of a rural green financial system should accomplish differentiated positioning and rapid development.

Keywords: Farmers’ agricultural investment; Farmers’ heterogeneity; Financial constraints; Green finance policies; Mediation effect.

MeSH terms

  • Agriculture* / methods
  • China
  • Economic Development
  • Farmers*
  • Humans
  • Policy