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March 7, 2026Open Access

The Impact of Agricultural Land Property Rights System Reform on Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity

XGXiaoli GongGuizhou University of Finance and Economics TSTong ShenGuizhou University of Finance and Economics

Key Points

The research aims to assess the effects of land property rights system reform on Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity (AGTFP).
Used provincial panel data from 2011 to 2023
Applied the Super-SBM model to measure AGTFP
Employed a multi-period Difference-in-Differences framework to identify causal effects
Conducted heterogeneity analyses based on regional and economic factors
The reform significantly enhances AGTFP by an average of 0.112 units
Improvements are achieved through labor-saving technological progress, efficient factor allocation, and green transformation
Positive effects are stronger in plains regions and in areas with lower rural income
Findings remained stable through robustness checks and endogeneity tests

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the impact of agricultural land property rights system reform on Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity (AGTFP) and to uncover its underlying mechanisms. Treating the nationwide rollout of the Three Rights Separation Reform (TRSR) as a quasi-natural experiment, we employ provincial panel data from 2011 to 2023. The Super-SBM model is applied to measure AGTFP, followed by a multi-period Difference-in-Differences framework to identify the causal effects. The results indicate that the TRSR significantly enhances AGTFP, yielding an average improvement of 0.112 units. Mechanism analyses reveal that this gain is achieved through three distinct channels: promoting labor-saving technological progress, optimizing factor allocation efficiency, and facilitating agricultural green transformation. Heterogeneity analyses further demonstrate that the positive effects are more pronounced in plains regions, areas with lower rural per capita income, and jurisdictions with higher agricultural fiscal expenditure. These findings remain robust after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. This study provides novel institutional evidence on the drivers of AGTFP and offers policy-relevant insights for advancing sustainable agricultural transformation in developing economies.

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