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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (8): 1385-1395.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.542

• Ecology and Disasters • Previous Articles     Next Articles

How does agricultural socialization service affect grain eco-efficiency: A case study of 71 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin

ZHONG Jiawei(), ZHENG Jun(), ZHANG Mingyue   

  1. School of Economics and Management, Shandong Agricultural University, Tai’an 271018, Shandong, China
  • Received:2024-09-10 Revised:2024-12-09 Online:2025-08-25 Published:2025-08-21
  • Contact: ZHENG Jun E-mail:zhongjiawei1222@163.com;zhengjun9200@126.com

Abstract:

The development of agricultural socialized services is a critical component of agricultural modernization. Assessing their contribution to grain ecological efficiency under the “dual-security” framework of grain and ecology is essential for achieving sustainable agricultural development. This study employs panel data from 71 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2020 to examine the spatial spillover and nonlinear effects of agricultural socialized services on grain ecological efficiency. The results reveal that: (1) During the study period, grain ecological efficiency in urban agglomerations within the Yellow River Basin exhibited a clear upward trend. Spatially, efficiency levels were unevenly distributed, with cities rated as excellent or above primarily located in the midstream and downstream regions, while moderate- and low-efficiency areas were concentrated upstream. (2) Agricultural socialized services exert a significant positive spatial spillover effect on grain ecological efficiency, enhancing not only local performance but also positively influencing adjacent regions. This finding remains robust across multiple tests. (3) The effect of agricultural socialized services on grain ecological efficiency exhibits a complex dual-threshold behavior related to the development of per capita planting scale. Specifically, as planting scale increases, the positive impact of agricultural socialized services follows a nonlinear diminishing trend.

Key words: agricultural socialization service, grain ecological efficiency, spatial Durbin model, threshold effect model, Yellow River Basin