Digital Infrastructure and Agricultural Global Value Chain Participation: Impacts on Export Value-Added

[Objective] Digital infrastructure, with its fundamental and public good characteristics, can have a significant impact on export trade. This paper aims to analyze the impact and mechanism of digital infrastructure construction on the added value of agricultural exports by combining theory and empirical analysis. [Methodology] Based on the construction of the theoretical framework and the panel data of 61 economies from 2007 to 2021, the fixed effect model was used to explore the impact of the level of digital infrastructure on the added value of agricultural trade exports and the moderating effect of participation in the global agricultural value chain. [Results] (1) The construction of digital infrastructure is conducive to increasing the added value of agricultural exports. Specifically, a 1% increase in the level of digital infrastructure will promote a 0.159% increase in the added value of agricultural exports. (2) The construction of digital infrastructure affects the added value of agricultural exports through three mechanisms: enhancing labor productivity, optimizing the business environment, and promoting technological innovation. (3) Digital infrastructure has a more significant effect on enhancing the added value of agricultural exports in developed economies and those with higher levels of digital infrastructure. (4) Participation in the global value chain of agriculture has a moderating effect on the impact of digital infrastructure on the added value of agricultural exports.