How does agricultural global value chain affect ecological footprint? The moderating role of environmental regulation

Abstract With the deepening of the global division of labor, it is of great practical significance to study the impact of agricultural global value chain (GVC) on the ecological footprint. Based on the data of trade in value added provided by the OECD, this study adopts the dynamic panel model and moderating effect model to systematically examine the impact of agricultural GVC on ecological footprint and the moderating effect of environmental regulation. Empirical results show that upgrading the position of agricultural GVC significantly reduces the ecological footprint. Further, the effect of agricultural GVC on ecological footprint is more pronounced in middle‐ and low‐income countries than in high‐income countries. The mechanism test using the moderating effect model proves that there is a positive moderating effect of environmental regulation on the relationship between agricultural GVC and ecological footprint. The findings disclose the environmental effect behind upgrading the position of agricultural GVC and offer certain enlightenment from the perspective of environmental regulation for a country to participate in the agricultural GVC, alleviate the pressure on the ecological footprint and ultimately achieve sustainable development.