Geographical indication adoption and county employment dynamics in China: stacked DID evidence on rural-urban and regional heterogeneity

Abstract

Geographical indications (GIs) are widely promoted as place-based institutions that can strengthen rural economies. Yet existing evidence is mixed on whether GI benefits translate into broad-based local employment gains, and whether impacts differ across regions with unequal market access and factor mobility. Using a county-year panel for China spanning 2000–2023 and three overlapping GI channels (protected products, agricultural GI registration, and trademark registration), we estimate dynamic employment responses to GI adoption with stacked difference-in-differences designs that address staggered treatment timing. Rural employment rates rise following GI adoption and remain higher several years after designation, whereas urban employment effects are smaller and more heterogeneous. Macro-regional analyses indicate that rural gains are concentrated in Western China, while Central China exhibits weak or negative rural responses at longer horizons. For urban employment, estimates are imprecise in the East and Central regions and turn negative in the West at 5-year horizons. Province-level results reinforce substantial heterogeneity but are sensitive to treated support and inference limitations. The findings clarify when and where GIs function as effective rural development instruments and motivate more place-sensitive GI governance that complements certification with market access, processing capacity, and local labor demand.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2026 · DOI ↗