Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project
Water scarcity is a critical constraint on agricultural productivity, particularly in northern China. The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project, launched in 2014, aims to alleviate this constraint by reallocating water resources across regions. This study evaluates the long-term impact of th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Agricultural Water Management |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002252 |
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| author | Zehui Wang Jianhui Xie |
| author_facet | Zehui Wang Jianhui Xie |
| author_sort | Zehui Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Water scarcity is a critical constraint on agricultural productivity, particularly in northern China. The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project, launched in 2014, aims to alleviate this constraint by reallocating water resources across regions. This study evaluates the long-term impact of the SNWD project on regional Agricultural Total Factor Productivity (ATFP) by employing a two-step approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and a Difference-in-Differences (DID) framework. First, we construct a comprehensive efficiency indicator based on DEA methodology to measure ATFP. Second, we exploit the opening of the middle route of the SNWD project as a quasi-natural experiment and estimate its impact on ATFP through a DID model. The results show that the SNWD project has increased the ATFP in the traversed counties by 0.412 (13.55 %). Moreover, the SNWD project has a stronger effect on enhancing ATFP in counties with lower precipitation and non-rice-producing counties, which indicates that the SNWD project can significantly improve ATFP by mitigating water scarcity. Additionally, the SNWD project has a more significant impact on improving ATFP in regions with a higher proportion of grain crops, revealing the crucial role of structural adjustments in enhancing agricultural productivity. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3c84ba0842df4d7c85d711bd9ff2e5b9 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1873-2283 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agricultural Water Management |
| spelling | doaj-art-3c84ba0842df4d7c85d711bd9ff2e5b92025-08-20T03:13:08ZengElsevierAgricultural Water Management1873-22832025-06-0131410951110.1016/j.agwat.2025.109511Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion ProjectZehui Wang0Jianhui Xie1Business School, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China; Center for Innovation and Development Studies (Zhuhai), Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, ChinaInternational School of Business & Finance, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai 519082, China; Corresponding author.Water scarcity is a critical constraint on agricultural productivity, particularly in northern China. The South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project, launched in 2014, aims to alleviate this constraint by reallocating water resources across regions. This study evaluates the long-term impact of the SNWD project on regional Agricultural Total Factor Productivity (ATFP) by employing a two-step approach based on Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and a Difference-in-Differences (DID) framework. First, we construct a comprehensive efficiency indicator based on DEA methodology to measure ATFP. Second, we exploit the opening of the middle route of the SNWD project as a quasi-natural experiment and estimate its impact on ATFP through a DID model. The results show that the SNWD project has increased the ATFP in the traversed counties by 0.412 (13.55 %). Moreover, the SNWD project has a stronger effect on enhancing ATFP in counties with lower precipitation and non-rice-producing counties, which indicates that the SNWD project can significantly improve ATFP by mitigating water scarcity. Additionally, the SNWD project has a more significant impact on improving ATFP in regions with a higher proportion of grain crops, revealing the crucial role of structural adjustments in enhancing agricultural productivity.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002252South-to-North Water Diversion ProjectData envelopment analysisAgricultural total factors productivityDifference-in-differences model |
| spellingShingle | Zehui Wang Jianhui Xie Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project Agricultural Water Management South-to-North Water Diversion Project Data envelopment analysis Agricultural total factors productivity Difference-in-differences model |
| title | Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project |
| title_full | Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project |
| title_fullStr | Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project |
| title_short | Water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity: Evidence from the China’s South-to-North Water Diversion Project |
| title_sort | water constraint mitigation and agricultural productivity evidence from the china s south to north water diversion project |
| topic | South-to-North Water Diversion Project Data envelopment analysis Agricultural total factors productivity Difference-in-differences model |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377425002252 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zehuiwang waterconstraintmitigationandagriculturalproductivityevidencefromthechinassouthtonorthwaterdiversionproject AT jianhuixie waterconstraintmitigationandagriculturalproductivityevidencefromthechinassouthtonorthwaterdiversionproject |