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What Role(s) Do Village Committees Play in the Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads? Evidence from Sichuan Province in Western China

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  • Peng Tang

    (Department of Land Resource and Real Estate Management, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
    Center for Social Development and Social Risk Control of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
    Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Radboud University, 6525 Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Jing Chen

    (Department of Land Resource and Real Estate Management, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

  • Jinlong Gao

    (Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
    Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA)

  • Min Li

    (Department of Land Resource and Real Estate Management, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China)

  • Jinshuo Wang

    (Department of Geography, Planning and Environment, Radboud University, 6525 Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

Abstract

Village committees, as grassroots spontaneously formed by rural collective members in China’s hierarchy system, play an irreplaceable role in the management of rural public affairs. Based on the filed survey dataset taken from three pilot counties/districts in Sichuan province, we explored the significant role that village committees played in farmers’ withdrawal from rural homesteads (WRH). Our empirical results, according to binary logistic regression (BLR) modelling, indicated that the WRH was significantly affected by the triple roles of village committees, among which information intermediary was the most effective followed by the trust builder and then the coordinated manager. Firstly, village committees’ involvement facilitated the WRH by improving policy transparency and decreasing information cost. Secondly, the depth of village committees’ participation (i.e., being involved in multiple phases) positively affected the WRH given its signification of the participation of farmers. Whereas the breadth of participation (i.e., considering various demands of different participants) negatively affected the process of WRH by reducing the decision-making efficiency. Thirdly, farmers’ trust in institutions played a positive role in the WRH, but their confidence in village cadres had limited impact. We therefore argue that promising village committees should act as “all-round stewards” in the decision-making of rural households, which not only includes the transmit of information between those above and those below, but also needs to actively strive for farmers’ trust by letting their voice heard. Based on our empirical findings, this paper finally proposed some policy suggestions, such as strengthening mutual communication, empowerment of rural grassroots, encouraging farmers’ participation and improving formal institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Peng Tang & Jing Chen & Jinlong Gao & Min Li & Jinshuo Wang, 2020. "What Role(s) Do Village Committees Play in the Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads? Evidence from Sichuan Province in Western China," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-15, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:12:p:477-:d:452353
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    Cited by:

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    2. Diandian Hao & Ziyi Yan & Yanan Wang & Bowen Wang, 2022. "Effect of Village Informal Institutions and Cadre-Mass Relationship for Farmers’ Participation in Rural Residential Environment Governance in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-16, December.
    3. Hualou Long & Xiangbin Kong & Shougeng Hu & Yurui Li, 2021. "Land Use Transitions under Rapid Urbanization: A Perspective from Developing China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-9, September.
    4. Yutong He & Peng Tang, 2023. "Understanding the Role(s) of Social Networks in the Transition from Farmers’ Willingness to Behavior Regarding Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads: A Research Study Based on Typical Regions of Sichuan Pr," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-16, July.
    5. Fachao Liang & Zehua Wang & Sheng-Hau Lin, 2022. "Can Land Policy Promote Farmers’ Subjective Well-Being? A Study on Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads in Jinjiang, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-17, June.
    6. Ting Zhang & Jia Li & Yan Wang, 2023. "Effects of Livelihood Capital on the Farmers’ Behavioral Intention of Rural Residential Land Development Right Transfer: Evidence from Wujin District, Changzhou City, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-16, June.
    7. Xinyue Lu & Ge Wang & Chang Zhu & Xinyang Chi, 2021. "Mapping the Challenges to the Sustainable Operation of Suburban Villages in a Metropolis: A Comparative Case Study from the Lens of Three Stakeholder-Led Approaches," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, August.
    8. Jing Wang & Kai Zhao & Yue Cui & Hui Cao, 2022. "Formal and Informal Institutions in Farmers’ Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads in China: Heterogeneity Analysis Based on the Village Location," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-19, October.

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