Regional differences and threshold effects of labor transfer affecting the technical efficiency of China’s agricultural industry: A case study of the apple industry

Apples, as a typical agricultural product with high added value, play a significant role in increasing farmers’ income and promoting regional economic growth. They have become one of the main ways for farmers to develop agricultural and sideline products in China’s Loess Plateau and Bohai Rim region. Based on panel data for provinces from 2007 to 2020, this study used stochastic frontier analysis to calculate the technical efficiency of apple production in China’s major apple-producing areas and then introduced urbanization rate as the threshold variable. Based on the quantity, quality, and structure of the rural labor force, the threshold model was used to empirically analyze the effect of labor transfer at different stages of urbanization on industrial technical efficiency in the main apple-producing areas. The results showed that labor transfer had an obvious negative effect on apple production. The labor transfer at the national level has had an obvious negative impact on the output of the apple industry, and the impact of labor transfer on the technical efficiency of China’s apple industry is significantly different; that is, the impact of labor outflow on the technical efficiency of apple production is different in different regions. In some areas, the technical efficiency of production in the main apple-producing areas can be significantly improved. Finally, the proportion of the labor force showed significant differences in its effect on technical efficiency in different stages of urbanization.