Increasing wage, mechanization, and agriculture production in China

As the population bonus disappeared, the wage rate has increased significantly since the early 2000s in China. Increasing wages have significantly affected export-oriented industries as well as agriculture. Mechanization is another factor affecting China's agriculture. This study shows the increasing wage and the mechanization have a negative impact on land area devoted to labor-intensive crops but a positive impact on land area devoted to labor-extensive crops. Based on nationally representative data, the empirical results conform well to the theoretical predictions.