IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/agiwat/v289y2023ics0378377423003840.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of socialized agricultural services on rural collective action in the irrigation commons: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Yahua
  • Huan, Meili

Abstract

Socialized agricultural services (SASs) have reshaped the smallholder agricultural system and promoted scale operations in rural China, but little is known about whether and how they affect rural collective action in the irrigation commons. Based on the social-ecological system framework, we apply an ordered probit model and a mediation model to examine the effects of SASs on rural collective action in the commons using a data set consisting of 7737 farm households from 448 villages in 14 provinces in China. We show that SASs have a positive effect on collective action for the governance of the irrigation commons and can slow down and mitigate the negative effect of rural labor migration. In particular, SASs can help improve collective action by enhancing village leadership, fostering agricultural resource dependency, and diminishing economic heterogeneity among villagers. We contribute to the literature by investigating the effects of SASs on rural collective action, which reveals a self-regulatory mechanism inside of the social ecological system enabling it to adapt and restore balance under external shocks. Our findings have implications for the reform of the farming system and governance of the commons.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yahua & Huan, Meili, 2023. "The effects of socialized agricultural services on rural collective action in the irrigation commons: Evidence from China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:289:y:2023:i:c:s0378377423003840
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108519
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378377423003840
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.agwat.2023.108519?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Agrawal, Arun, 2001. "Common Property Institutions and Sustainable Governance of Resources," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1649-1672, October.
    2. Masako Fujiie & Yujiro Hayami & Masao Kikuchi, 2005. "The conditions of collective action for local commons management: the case of irrigation in the Philippines," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 33(2), pages 179-189, September.
    3. Nagrah, Aatika & Chaudhry, Anita M. & Giordano, Mark, 2016. "Collective Action in Decentralized Irrigation Systems: Evidence from Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 282-298.
    4. Natalie Chun, 2014. "The Challenge of Collective Action for Irrigation Management in India," Asian Economic Papers, MIT Press, vol. 13(2), pages 88-111, Summer.
    5. Janssen, Marco A. & Anderies, John M., 2013. "A multi-method approach to study robustness of social–ecological systems: the case of small-scale irrigation systems," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(4), pages 427-447, December.
    6. Jin Yang & Hui Wang & Songqing Jin & Kevin Chen & Jeffrey Riedinger & Chao Peng, 2016. "Migration, local off-farm employment, and agricultural production efficiency: evidence from China," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 45(3), pages 247-259, June.
    7. Qiu, Tongwei & Shi, Xinjie & He, Qinying & Luo, Biliang, 2021. "The paradox of developing agricultural mechanization services in China: Supporting or kicking out smallholder farmers?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    8. Su, Yiqing & Araral, Eduardo & Wang, Yahua, 2020. "The effects of farmland use rights trading and labor outmigration on the governance of the irrigation commons: Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    9. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Chunliang & Araral, Eduardo, 2016. "The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-93.
    10. Elinor Ostrom, 2000. "Collective Action and the Evolution of Social Norms," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 14(3), pages 137-158, Summer.
    11. Elvira Cicognani & Claudia Pirini & Corey Keyes & Mohsen Joshanloo & Reza Rostami & Masoud Nosratabadi, 2008. "Social Participation, Sense of Community and Social Well Being: A Study on American, Italian and Iranian University Students," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 89(1), pages 97-112, October.
    12. Xiaobing Wang & Futoshi Yamauchi & Jikun Huang, 2016. "Rising wages, mechanization, and the substitution between capital and labor: evidence from small scale farm system in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(3), pages 309-317, May.
    13. Ricks, Jacob I., 2016. "Building Participatory Organizations for Common Pool Resource Management: Water User Group Promotion in Indonesia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 34-47.
    14. Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Raju, K. V. & Gulati, Ashok, 2002. "What Affects Organization and Collective Action for Managing Resources? Evidence from Canal Irrigation Systems in India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 30(4), pages 649-666, April.
    15. Meili Huan & Fengxia Dong & Liang Chi, 2022. "Mechanization services, factor allocation, and farm efficiency: Evidence from China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1618-1639, August.
    16. Runge, Carlisle Ford, 1986. "Common property and collective action in economic development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 14(5), pages 623-635, May.
    17. Andrzej Osuch & Ewa Osuch & Piotr Rybacki & Przemysław Przygodziński & Radosław Kozłowski & Andrzej Przybylak, 2020. "A Decision Support Method for Choosing an Agricultural Machinery Service Workshop Based on Fuzzy Logic," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-11, March.
    18. Zang, Liangzhen & Araral, Eduardo & Wang, Yahua, 2019. "Effects of land fragmentation on the governance of the commons: Theory and evidence from 284 villages and 17 provinces in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 518-527.
    19. Biliang Luo, 2018. "40-year reform of farmland institution in China: target, effort and the future," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 16-35, February.
    20. Wang, Yahua & Wang, Huan, 2022. "Effects of farmland use rights transfer on collective action in the commons: Evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    21. Biliang Luo, 2018. "40-year reform of farmland institution in China: target, effort and the future," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 10(1), pages 16-35, February.
    22. Liangzhen Zang & Yahua Wang & Jinkai Ke & Yiqing Su, 2022. "What Drives Smallholders to Utilize Socialized Agricultural Services for Farmland Scale Management? Insights from the Perspective of Collective Action," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Su, Yiqing & Araral, Eduardo & Wang, Yahua, 2020. "The effects of farmland use rights trading and labor outmigration on the governance of the irrigation commons: Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Liangzhen Zang & Yahua Wang & Yiqing Su, 2021. "Does Farmland Scale Management Promote Rural Collective Action? An Empirical Study of Canal Irrigation Systems in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-25, November.
    3. Zang, Liangzhen, 2021. "How Does Farmland Fragmentation Affect Collective Action in Rural Areas of China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 314962, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    4. Wang, Yahua & Wang, Huan, 2022. "Effects of farmland use rights transfer on collective action in the commons: Evidence from rural China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Chunliang & Araral, Eduardo, 2016. "The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 79-93.
    6. Wang, Yahua & Chen, Sicheng & Araral, Eduardo, 2021. "The mediated effects of urban proximity on collective action in the commons: Theory and evidence from China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    7. Takayama, Taisuke & Matsuda, Hirotaka & Nakatani, Tomoaki, 2018. "The determinants of collective action in irrigation management systems: Evidence from rural communities in Japan," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 113-123.
    8. Ahmed Soliman & Andreas Thiel & Matteo Roggero, 2021. "Institutional Performance of Collective Irrigation Systems: A Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis in the Nile Delta of Egypt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-29, January.
    9. Leroy, David, 2023. "An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 276(C).
    10. Margaret Atosina Akuriba & Rein Haagsma & Nico Heerink, 2022. "Do Governance Perceptions Affect Cooperativeness? Evidence from Small-Scale Irrigation Schemes in Northern Ghana," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    11. Danqiu Cao & Yahua Wang & Liangzhen Zang, 2023. "The Effects of Land Reallocation on Irrigation Collective Action: Moderating Effects of Informal Organizations and Leadership," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, July.
    12. Zang, Liangzhen & Araral, Eduardo & Wang, Yahua, 2019. "Effects of land fragmentation on the governance of the commons: Theory and evidence from 284 villages and 17 provinces in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 518-527.
    13. Liangzhen Zang & Yahua Wang & Jinkai Ke & Yiqing Su, 2022. "What Drives Smallholders to Utilize Socialized Agricultural Services for Farmland Scale Management? Insights from the Perspective of Collective Action," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-25, June.
    14. Soumya Balasubramanya & Joseph P. G. Price & Theodore M. Horbulyk, 2018. "Impacts Assessments without True Baselines: Assessing the Relative Effects of Training on the Performance of Water User Associations in Southern Tajikistan," Water Economics and Policy (WEP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(03), pages 1-28, July.
    15. Xiang Li & Xiaoqin Guo, 2023. "Can Policy Promote Agricultural Service Outsourcing? Quasi-Natural Experimental Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-18, January.
    16. Okumu, Boscow & Muchapondwa, Edwin, 2020. "Determinants of successful collective management of forest resources: Evidence from Kenyan Community Forest Associations," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    17. Meili Huan & Fengxia Dong & Liang Chi, 2022. "Mechanization services, factor allocation, and farm efficiency: Evidence from China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1618-1639, August.
    18. Fekadu Beyene, 2009. "Collective action in water‐point management: The case of pastoral and agropastoral communities in eastern Ethiopia," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 33(3), pages 175-188, August.
    19. Akuriba, M. & Haagsma, R. & Heerink, N. & Dittoh, S., 2018. "Sustaining small scale irrigation systems: the role of users," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277280, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    20. Yuanyuan Chen & Mu Li & Zemin Zhang, 2023. "Does the Rural Land Transfer Promote the Non-Grain Production of Cultivated Land in China?," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-16, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:289:y:2023:i:c:s0378377423003840. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/agwat .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.