Industrial transfer and total factor productivity improvement of the bamboo industry in China

We investigated whether industrial transfer, an essential tool for optimizing factor allocation, contributed to the enhancement of total factor productivity (TFP) in China’s bamboo industry. To explore this relationship, we constructed a theoretical framework and employed a two-way fixed effects model. Industrial transfer was analyzed from two dimensions: changes in relative output value and changes in relative resource allocation. We found that: (1) The TFP of China’s bamboo industry was primarily driven by technological progress, with scale efficiency and technical efficiency playing a lesser role. (2) Industrial transfer, measured by relative output value change and relative resource change, significantly improved the TFP of the bamboo industry. This conclusion remained robust after accounting for endogeneity and conducting robustness tests. (3) The influence mechanism analysis revealed that in the transfer-in regions, industrial transfer boosted the TFP of the bamboo industry by optimizing the local industrial structure. However, in the transfer-out regions, it reduced land-use efficiency, hindering the development of the TFP in the bamboo industry. (4) The heterogeneity analysis revealed significant regional disparities in the effects of bamboo industry transfer on TFP. Specifically, the positive impact was more pronounced in central and western regions.