Internet use and agricultural productivity in rural Vietnam

verfasst von

Trung Thanh Nguyen, Ulrike Grote

Abstract

The use of the internet is growing rapidly and has become an engine for economic development. However, few studies have examined the impact of internet use on agricultural production, and the results are not yet conclusive. Employing a dataset of more than 2000 observations in rural Vietnam, our study analyses the impact of internet use on agricultural productivity using the heteroscedasticity-based instrument approach suggested by Lewbel, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 2012, 30, 67–80 and examines the heterogeneity and distribution of the impact using quantile regressions. Our results show that internet use has significant and positive effects on agricultural productivity. However, these effects are heterogeneous across population groups. The positive effects of internet use are stronger for households with a lower level of education, with a young and female head, and from ethnic minorities. The benefits are also found to be skewed towards the group of farmers at the bottom of the productivity distribution. Therefore, we propose facilitating the diffusion of the internet, since it not only boosts agricultural productivity, but also reduces productivity inequality. In addition, we recommend promoting rural education, supporting local markets, investing more in irrigation systems, and facilitating farm mechanisation as these factors are found to contribute to increasing agricultural productivity.

Organisationseinheit(en)

Institut für Umweltökonomik und Welthandel

Typ

Artikel

Journal

Review of development economics

Band

27

Seiten

1309-1326

Anzahl der Seiten

18

ISSN

1363-6669

Publikationsdatum

11.07.2023

Publikationsstatus

Veröffentlicht

Peer-reviewed

Ja

ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete

Geografie, Planung und Entwicklung, Entwicklung

Ziele für nachhaltige Entwicklung

SDG 2 – Kein Hunger, SDG 8 – Anständige Arbeitsbedingungen und wirtschaftliches Wachstum, SDG 10 – Weniger Ungleichheiten

Elektronische Version(en)

https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12990 (Zugang: Offen)