The Multi-Dimensional Impact of Agricultural Regional Public Brands on the Income of Rural Residents: Evidence from County-Level Panel Data for 2651 Counties in China

Agricultural Regional Public Brands (ARPB) have become a powerful tool for promoting rural industrial revitalization. This study employs a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model based on county-level panel data from 2651 counties nationwide to empirically examine the effects, transmission channels, and heterogeneity characteristics of Agricultural Regional Public Brands (ARPB) on per capita disposable income of rural residents. The results indicate that Agricultural Regional Public Brands exert a significant positive impact on per capita disposable income of rural residents, and that the association operates through three complementary channels rather than through the brand premium alone. The channels examined are synergistic sharing, industrial agglomeration, and efficiency upgrading; a brand premium is part of the theoretical mechanism through which certification is expected to raise returns in the market for certified products, but it is not separately observed in these data, because the study does not measure agricultural product prices or unit values. First, synergistic sharing effects drive non-agricultural industry integration; second, industrial agglomeration effects promote scaled operations; third, efficiency upgrade effects enhance total factor productivity in agriculture. The income-increasing effect also exhibits significant endowment heterogeneity, with particularly pronounced regional effects in Western Regions and high-impact brand areas. Therefore, future policies should strengthen collaborative sharing, industrial clustering, and efficiency-enhancing mechanisms to deepen industrial integration and maximize economies of scale for Agricultural Regional Public Brands. Tailored policy approaches should be adopted based on local resource endowments—prioritizing brand creation in the West while mitigating transitional friction and upgrading product quality in the Central and Eastern Regions. Policy incentives must transition from quantitative brand registration to long-term brand equity building, ensuring that Agricultural Regional Public Brands deliver larger industry scales, higher productivity, and broader socio-economic spillover effects.