Rising wages, mechanization, and the substitution between capital and labor: evidence from small scale farm system in China
利用1984-2012年省级面板数据，研究发现中国农业实际工资大幅上涨而机器价格相对稳定，导致机器相对价格加速下降，从而推动了农业机械化及机器对劳动的快速替代。
Abstract This article aims to investigate major factors that led to the observed pace of mechanization and the substitution between labor and machines in rural China. We used commodity‐wise province‐level panel data for more than a quarter of a century from 1984 to 2012. The analysis demonstrated a dramatic increase in real agricultural wages in recent years, especially after 2003, in contrast to a relatively stable real machine price. The relative price of machines against agricultural labor has declined in an accelerating way, which contributed to the observed rapid introduction of machines. The elasticity of substitution between labor and machines was large in some commodities, which contributed to a fast substitution of labor by machines.