Threshold effects of green technology application on sustainable grain production: Evidence from China

Sustainable production is considered as an important approach to solve the dilemma of food insecurity. Green technologies have made contributions to improving food production and reducing environmental pollution. Studying the effects of green technologies on sustainable food production has great significance. The paper started with the influence mechanism of green technology application on the green total factor productivity of grain (GTFPG). With the GTFPG, green technology efficiency change of grain (GECG) and green technical progress change of grain (GTCG) measured, threshold models were constructed to explore the nonlinear impacts of various green technologies on GTFPG and the influence paths. Results indicated that the differences of GTFPG among provinces in China were decreased mainly due to the changes of GTCG, while the regional differences of GECG remained small. The impacts of green technologies had threshold effects that depended on the ecological effects of green technologies in different application stages, and were significantly different in the major and non-major grain producing areas. Meanwhile, significant differences existed in the influence paths of green technologies. In the major grain producing areas, green technologies were more likely to improve GTFPG through the GTCG path; while in the non-major grain producing areas, the GECG path and the GTCG path were both important to improve GTFPG. The differences of green technologies’ threshold effects and influence paths in the major and non-major grain producing areas were caused by regional technology preference, resource endowment and technology compatibility. This study emphasizes that the development of green technologies should fully consider the resource endowment and economic development of different regions, as well as the applicability and adoption rate of green technologies.