Do geographical indications of agricultural products promote county-level economic growth?

PurposeIntellectual property right constitutes play a forceful role to promote economic growth and create a fortune. However, it is not yet clear to what extent the agricultural intellectual property rights represented by geographical indications of agricultural products (AGIs) can affect the development of regional economy. The purpose of this paper is to analyze this impact and its mechanism as well as to draw policy implications from this empirical analysis.Design/methodology/approachUsing county-level panel data from 2006 to 2020, this paper employed the difference-in-differences (DID) model.FindingsThe authors find that AGIs can significantly improve economic development at the county level. The AGIs can stimulate the flow of commercial and industrial capital to the countryside, thus fueling county-level economic development. Unlike AGIs for cereals and cash crops, AGIs for aquatic products and animal products cannot influence or have a negative impact on county-level economic. Compared with Eastern regions, the acquisition of AGIs in Western regions can more significantly boost county-level economic development. Therefore, AGIs can pronouncedly narrow down the gap of cross-county economic growth.Originality/valueConclusions of this paper can provide references for building the county-level countryside into a main ground of agricultural economic development and brand construction, continuously promoting the agricultural supply-front structural reform and boosting realization of all-around rural revitalization.