This article evaluates the impact of credit constraints on the performance of Chinese agricultural wholesalers. We estimate a stochastic frontier function using transaction and credit data of agricultural wholesalers from across China to estimate the efficiency and productivity impacts of credit constraints on sales of affected agricultural wholesalers. Empirical results show that micro- and smaller wholesalers are disproportionally impacted by credit constraints and that eliminating these constraints would increase the sales of affected agricultural wholesalers by approximately 15%. Thus, policies aimed at providing credit access for these wholesalers would significantly boost the performance of smaller agricultural wholesalers while improving the overall performance of the Chinese food supply chain without requiring additional non-credit inputs.

Following market reforms and economic growth since the late 1970s, agricultural wholesale markets in China have developed substantially and become increasingly important in food distribution. This paper investigates the determinants of credit constraints on agricultural wholesalers. A probit model with sample selection is estimated for credit constraints and demand using data collected via a nationwide survey of 1,422 agricultural wholesalers, of whom approximately 39% were designated as credit-constrained. Empirical results confirm that an absence of relatives in the business supports the notion of further discouraging potential borrowers from applying for credit in the first place. Moreover, the probability of being credit-constrained is significantly lower for legal corporations, wholesalers who have higher-value capital assets, larger-sized wholesalers, and those in a better micro-finance environment. Some policy implications are outlined.

The deep integration of digital technologies with agricultural production is reshaping how rural land is used and offers new opportunities for narrowing the urban–rural gap in land use efficiency. Building on theoretical analysis, this study uses panel data for 700 Chinese counties from 2010 to 2024, treats the Digital Agriculture Innovation and Application Base pilot program as a quasi-natural experiment, and applies a double machine learning model to examine the effect of smart agriculture construction on the urban–rural gap in land use efficiency. The results show the following: (1) Smart agriculture construction significantly narrows the urban–rural gap in land use efficiency, with channel evidence pointing to agricultural technological progress, improved capital allocation, and agricultural industrial upgrading. (2) The policy effect is statistically significant only in formerly poverty-stricken counties, counties with higher land-transfer rates, and counties with stronger digital foundations, while Fisher permutation tests do not establish statistically significant cross-group differences. (3) Decomposition results show that the program raises rural land use efficiency and the rural marginal returns to capital and labor while leaving the corresponding urban indicators statistically unchanged, so the observed convergence is driven primarily by rural catch-up rather than urban decline. From a factor allocation perspective, this study clarifies how smart agriculture construction can rebalance urban–rural land resource use while identifying the statistical limits of the heterogeneity and channel evidence.

The cultivation of patient capital is fundamental to understanding the dynamics of long-term development and overcoming the pitfalls of short-termism. Utilizing panel data from non-financial A-share listed companies spanning 2008 to 2024, this study examines the effects of market power, the business environment, and their interaction on patient capital from a dual perspective encompassing both governmental and market forces. The findings reveal that corporate market power significantly impedes the development of patient capital, whereas improvements in the business environment substantially alleviate this inhibitory influence. Mechanism analysis identifies key mediating factors: from the risk dilution standpoint, financing constraints, risk preferences, and corporate perceptions of uncertainty play critical roles in mediating the effects of market power and the business environment on patient capital; from the long-termism perspective, managerial myopia and long-term investment decisions also serve as important intermediaries. Regional heterogeneity analysis indicates that the adverse impact of market power and the moderating role of the business environment are more pronounced in the eastern region characterized by competitive monopolies and the western region dominated by resource-based monopolies, while these effects are negligible in the central region with moderate market concentration and the northeastern region with rigid monopoly structures. Further analysis based on firm characteristics demonstrates that these effects are especially significant among state-owned enterprises, manufacturing firms, and high-technology companies. An examination of economic consequences suggests that market power, the business environment, and their interaction collectively enhance corporate governance by fostering the growth of patient capital. The study provides empirical support for integrating efficient market mechanisms with effective government intervention, elucidates institutional strategies to rectify market distortions, and offers strategic insights for firms aiming to cultivate patient capital as well as for policymakers seeking to establish a business institutional framework conducive to its development.