Agricultural geographical indications, industrial agglomeration, and farmers’ income: evidence from China

Abstract Intellectual property plays a vital role in industrial competitiveness and economic growth. However, the impact of agricultural intellectual property—particularly geographical indications (GIs)—on farmers’ income in developing countries remains underexplored. Using panel data from 278 Chinese cities from the period 2014–2022, this study examines how agricultural GIs influence farmers’ income and identifies its underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal that, even after accounting for endogeneity and other issues, GIs for agricultural products still exert a positive influence on farmers’ income, with stronger effects in eastern, northern, and highly marketised regions. Mechanism analysis indicates that promoting agricultural industrial agglomeration plays a mediating role in how GIs for agricultural products drive income growth for farmers. Finally, by employing threshold models and spatial econometric models, this study reveals that the positive effects of GIs for agricultural products exhibit nonlinear increasing ‘marginal effects’ and spatial spillover characteristics. The conclusions provide empirical evidence to formulate policies related to rural industrial development and improve farmers’ income in developing countries.