Abstract:
Enhancing the total factor productivity (TFP) of rice cultivation is of great significance for addressing the challenges of high-quality agricultural development and ensuring grain security in China. This study examines the factor-biased characteristics of China's rice production and their impacts on TFP growth from 2004 to 2022 by the three-factor augmented CES production function that incorporates capital, labor, and land. The study also employs the kernel density estimation method to depict the dynamic evolution of rice TFP growth. Results show that: 1) China's rice production exhibits capital-biased, labor-biased, and land-saving technological progress; 2) factor-augmenting technological progress is the main driver of rice TFP growth, the synergistic effect between biased technological progress and level of factor deeping promotes the growth of rice TFP. While the mismatch in factor efficiency levels leads to losses in TFP growth rates; and 3) from a dynamic evolution perspective, regional disparities in China's rice TFP generally exhibit a convergence trend, though some regions still demonstrate bipolar or multipolar characteristics. Based on these findings and to improve high-quality rice production, this study suggests: optimizing the direction of technological progress, strengthening the development of capital-intensive technologies, improving the factor market system to enhance the free flow and optimal allocation of factors, leveraging digital means to improve factor utilization efficiency, and implementing region-specific policies to strengthen agricultural infrastructure, promote technical exchanges, and share resources.