Impact of Access to Irrigation on Rural Incomes and Diversification: Evidence from China

摘要: PurposeThe objective of this study is to estimate the impacts of access to irrigation on farm income, household income and income diversification.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs an endogenous switching regression (ESR) model to address the selection bias arising from both observed and unobserved factors and analyze cross-sectional data collected from Fujian, Henan and Sichuan provinces in China. The authors use the Simpson index to measure household income diversification. The propensity score matching (PSM) model and control function approach are also used for comparison purpose.FindingsAfter controlling for the selection bias, the authors find that access to irrigation has a positive and statistically significant impact on rural incomes and diversification. The treatment effects of access to irrigation are to increase farm income, household income and income diversification by around …