The Effect of Industrial Agglomeration on Agricultural Green Production Efficiency: Evidence from China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The article needs to be improve especially for the methodology and analysis
Author Response
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Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
I have gone through the manuscript entitled "The Effect of Industrial Agglomeration on Agricultural Green Production Efficiency: Evidence from China" and found it interesting. The manuscript is covering well "the Aim & Scope" of the journal. However before reaching to the decision below listed modifications/clarification need to be included.
1. Abstract need to be enrich further with quantitative output of the investigation.
2. Line 85-86 need to be clear.
3. The H2 ": Industrial agglomeration can improve agricultural green production efficiency by promoting land transfer" seems confusing with the "Industrial green production" need to clarify more about "how the agricultural green production efficiency will improve with the Industrial agglomeration.
4. The manuscript need to be supported with the recent literature especially when providing the research gap/ scientific argument.
5. The manuscript need to be revise by braking the long sentences to the 2-3 small sentences. For example line 145-149; 161-168; 173-178. This is creating trouble to keep the understanding on track.
6. It is also suggested that author should revised the Introduction, research gap, and research hypothesis. It will be better to merge the section 1 & 2.
7. Author should follow the standard author guideline. This will help to early carrier scientist, researcher to understand the investigation. It is suggested that the result and discussion need to be write individually. (related to section 4 &5)
8. In the same way, author should provide the conclusion and policy recommendation in separately. The policy recommendation need to be stated directly provided the modification in existing policy or required new policy.
Author Response
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Reviewer 3 Report
Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to review this paper. The authors have empirically explored an important research topic, and overall, the paper is well presented. I have a few questions and suggestions that I believe can help improve the article further.
Firstly, in the abstract, it is essential to provide the full form of the abbreviation EBM-GML, as readers expect to understand all abbreviations used.
In the introduction, the first paragraph seems somewhat irrelevant to the topic the paper is investigating. In the initial paragraph, readers should get a clear sense of the main motivation behind the paper and probably the primary research question. The second paragraph could contain institutional and policy background information. Here, the authors should provide more details on the specific policies or initiatives implemented in China to promote agricultural green production. Additionally, it would be helpful to explain how these policies relate to industrial agglomeration and land transfer.
The third and fourth paragraphs should highlight any existing studies or literature that have explored the link between industrial agglomeration, land transfer, and agricultural green production efficiency in other regions or countries. It would be beneficial to clarify how this study contributes to the existing knowledge.
Within the literature review, it would be valuable to identify any conflicting findings or areas of debate regarding the impact of industrial agglomeration on agricultural green production efficiency. Furthermore, the paper should clearly outline how this study aims to address these gaps or resolve any conflicting evidence.
The authors should explain how the existing literature has addressed the mediating role of land transfer in the relationship between industrial agglomeration and agricultural green production efficiency. Additionally, they should discuss the limitations or gaps in the current understanding of this mediating mechanism.
It is essential to explicitly mention the limitations of fixed effect estimation.
Regarding the instrumental variable used, the paper should elaborate on how it was identified and its suitability in meeting the assumptions of exogeneity, relevance, and exclusion restriction. Were any robustness checks performed to assess the validity of the instrumental variable?
In the analysis of regional heterogeneity, it would be helpful to explore potential factors or characteristics of the western, central, and eastern regions that could explain the varying effects of industrial agglomeration on agricultural green production efficiency. Additionally, the paper should mention any additional control variables considered to account for these regional differences.
The study should also disclose any additional sensitivity tests conducted to verify the robustness of the findings. Policymakers and stakeholders may benefit from understanding how to apply these findings to optimize land transfer and industrial agglomeration practices for promoting agricultural green production efficiency.
In the conclusion, it is important to clearly indicate limitations or potential confounding factors in the analysis that may have influenced the effect of industrial agglomeration on agricultural green production efficiency. Additionally, the paper should provide limitations of the instrumental variable used in the study, especially concerning its exogeneity.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 4 Report
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
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Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
ok. Accepted
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Author Response
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Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript has been improved significantly. However, the shortening of the sentences is still required even in the revised version. It is suggested that kindly provide the information in concise way (if possible) and/or break the long sentences into smaller one.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Thank you for resubmitting the revised paper. It has been significantly improved. Please consider the following comments:
There is no need to provide sub-sections in the introduction. Please combine the introduction as one section from 1.1 to 1.2 followed by the roadmap para.
"Theoretical Analysis and Research Hypothesis" This can be section 2.
The justification for IV exogeneity is not satisfactory. It's essential to ensure that the instrumental variable satisfies the three key assumptions of exogeneity, relevance, and exclusion restriction.
Please mention the limitations of the study with relation to causal claims, particularly related to the instrumental variable and potential biases in fixed-effects due to time-variant confounders.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
