Search

The development of specialized agricultural product insurance is crucial for perfecting China’s agricultural insurance system and promoting rural revitalization. Currently, specialized agricultural product insurance in China faces numerous challenges in key areas such as rate determination, risk assessment, and loss adjustment, which have become bottlenecks restricting its sustainable development. This paper explores how insurance technology (InsurTech) can enhance the ecological system of specialized agricultural product insurance through technological innovation and overcome these industry pain points. It elaborates on how InsurTech can enhance farmers’ interactive experience and satisfaction, improve the management efficiency of insurance companies, strengthen government regulation, and promote the sustainable development of the insurance business. Moreover, this study deeply analyzes the practical barriers in implementing InsurTech and proposes corresponding strategies, including establishing innovative incentive mechanisms, improving relevant policies and regulations, building a multidimensional data platform to achieve data interoperability, and strengthening the construction of digital rural infrastructure to enhance farmers’ technological literacy, thereby advancing the sustainable development of InsurTech in specialized agricultural product insurance.

IntroductionChina is the world’s largest producer and consumer of vegetables, with all provinces, cities, and autonomous regions cultivating vegetables. The main production areas for winter and spring vegetables have higher accumulated temperatures, allowing for multiple planting seasons throughout the year. Therefore, this article examines the competitiveness of vegetable production in China’s main winter and spring vegetable producing areas from the perspective of the dynamic evolution of comparative advantages.MethodsDrawing on statistical data from 2000 to 2018 on the development of the vegetable industry in these key provinces, our analysis incorporates methods such as the Resource Endowment Coefficient, the Comprehensive Comparative Advantage Index, the entropy method, and systematic cluster analysis to explore the evolution of competitive advantages in vegetable production across various provinces and cities.Results and discussionThe findings reveal significant regional disparities in resource endowments and overall advantages in vegetable production during the winter and spring seasons. Notably, Chongqing, Hubei Province, and Shanghai exhibit a Resource Endowment Factor (EF) averaging above 1, indicating a relative abundance of production resources and a comparative advantage. Similarly, Hainan Province, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangdong Province, Fujian Province, Shanghai, and Zhejiang Province each demonstrate an average Comprehensive Advantage Index (AAI) exceeding 1, affirming their comprehensive comparative strengths. Overall, the competitiveness of vegetable production in these regions exhibits a fluctuating yet ascending trend, with notable disparities in competitive strengths across different areas. The ranking of annual average competitiveness scores in vegetable production is as follows: Shanghai > Zhejiang > Hubei > Hunan > Guangdong > Sichuan > Chongqing > Fujian > Guangxi > Jiangxi > Hainan > Yunnan. Based on these outcomes, the study proposes tailored strategic recommendations for provinces and cities according to their unique resource endowments and comparative advantages, aiming to enhance the sector’s productivity and competitive stance.

Abstract Based on the panel data of 31 provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) in China from 2012 to 2019, this paper constructs the evaluation index system of basic medical and health services in China from seven dimensions: medical and health facilities, health expenditure, medical services, traditional Chinese medicine hospital services, maternal and child health care, people’s health and medical security, disease control and public health. The entropy method was used to measure the level of basic medical and health services in China, and its spatial differences and convergence characteristics were further investigated. In this study, we employ the entropy weight method, σ convergence, and β convergence as our primary methodologies. The entropy weight method is used to evaluate the variability of each indicator, determine the weights of indicators, and quantify the information content of the data. σ convergence illustrates the process by which the variance of a sample decreases over time. β convergence refers to the gradual approach of variables within an economic system towards their long-term equilibrium level over time. The results show that: (1) The scores of basic medical and health services in China’s four major regions (including Northeast, East, Central and West) remain in a relatively stable state, with small fluctuations and great room for improvement; (2) There are significant regional differences in the level of basic medical and health services in China, and the intra-regional differences are much greater than the inter-regional differences; (3) There is no significant σ convergence observed in China and its four major regions; however, there is a notable presence of β convergence.

This study aims to investigate the influence of agricultural insurance on the development of the agricultural industry. Employing the functional decomposition approach in systems engineering, we analyze the mechanisms by which agricultural insurance affects the development of rural industries. Additionally, we conduct an empirical analysis using panel data from Chinese provinces between 2011 and 2019, employing a two-way fixed effects model. The findings reveal a substantial and positive impact of agricultural insurance on the development of rural industries. Furthermore, we identify regional heterogeneity in the influence of agricultural insurance on rural industry development. Specifically, in major grain-producing provinces, the effect of agricultural insurance on rural industry development is not statistically significant. In contrast, non-grain-producing provinces experience a significantly positive impact on rural industry development from agricultural insurance. The outcomes of this study offer valuable insights for policymakers to promote rural industry development through the effective utilization of agricultural insurance.

This study is dedicated to exploring and establishing a theoretical framework for the impact of agricultural insurance on farmers’ green lifestyles. By thoroughly analyzing existing literature, this paper reveals the dual pathways through which agricultural insurance influences farmers’ behavior: one affects production activities, and the other affects lifestyle choices. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, the study elaborates in detail the incentive mechanisms of agricultural insurance, farmers’ cognition of green practices, and how these elements work together to guide a transformation in farmer behavior. This process systematically demonstrates the theoretical logic and pathways through which agricultural insurance promotes the transition to green lifestyles among farmers. Additionally, the study provides a preliminary description of the questionnaire design and its role in supplying foundational data for empirical analysis. The paper posits that agricultural insurance harbors an intrinsic mechanism to induce farmers toward greener lifestyles. We anticipate that this research will bring new perspectives to the field of agricultural insurance and contribute new dimensions to the theoretical framework of behavioral insurance.

Based on China's provincial panel data from 2007 to 2019, this article discusses the impact of agricultural insurance on agricultural green development, and discusses the issue of regional heterogeneity. This article first studies the impact mechanism of agricultural insurance on agricultural green development, calculates the agricultural green development index, and empirically analyzes the impact of agricultural insurance on agricultural green development. The empirical results show that agricultural insurance has an inhibitory effect on agricultural green development, and that the impact of agricultural insurance on agricultural green development in the three functional areas is heterogeneous. Finally, it puts forward countermeasures and suggestions to build a low-carbon subsidy mechanism for agricultural insurance, enrich agricultural insurance products, improve the coverage of agricultural insurance, and build an agricultural production mode of internal planting and breeding combined with recycling through policy incentives.

This paper offers an evaluation index system of agricultural green development level based on the Rural Vitalization Strategy. The evaluation index system includes four dimensions: agricultural development, ecological resource protection, environment-friendly, and industrial extension and integration. Then, the paper calculates the level of agricultural green development in the three provinces of Northeast China using the entropy-gray correlation method from 2009 to 2019. The calculation results show that between 2009 and 2019, the level of agricultural green development in the three northeastern provinces of China fluctuates and increases, and there is some variation between them: in terms of the overall level of agricultural green development Heilongjiang Province > Liaoning Province > Jilin Province, in terms of the average change speed of agricultural green development level, Heilongjiang Province > Liaoning Province > Jilin Province; in terms of each dimension, the average level of correlation degree of agricultural development dimension is Liaoning Province > Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province, the average level of correlation degree of ecological resource protection dimension is Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province > Liaoning Province, the average level of correlation degree of environment-friendly dimension is Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province > Liaoning Province, and the average level of correlation degree of industrial extension and integration is Liaoning Province > Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province. Finally, the basis of the calculation results, combined with the actual situation of agricultural development in the three provinces, the countermeasures, and suggestions for promoting the green development of agriculture are put forward. Specifically, it includes the establishment of an evaluation system for agricultural green development; strengthening the protection of agricultural ecological resources; increasing rural environmental governance; promoting the integrated development of rural tertiary industries; vigorously supporting agricultural scientific and technological innovation; and strengthening regional cooperation and other suggestions.