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Rural Labor Migration and Households' Land Rental Behavior: Evidence from China

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  • Xianqing Ji
  • Zhonghao Qian
  • Linxiu Zhang
  • Tonglong Zhang

Abstract

There has been growing debate about whether the changing demographic composition due to rural labor migration could potentially threaten China's agricultural productivity. The Chinese Government is promoting the “three rights separation system†to consolidate agricultural land through the land rental market with the explicit intention of fostering new agricultural management subjects and improving agricultural productivity. The present paper estimates the effect of rural labor migration on households' participation in land renting in and renting out activities based on a unique dataset from three rounds of nationally representative surveys. Our results indicate that rural labor migration has a significant negative effect on households renting in land and has a positive effect on households renting out land in rural China. Therefore, the government should adopt targeted policies to effectively encourage farmers with higher agricultural capacity to rent in land to alleviate the negative effect of rural migration on households renting in land. Supporting policies should guarantee that rural migrants enjoy the same welfare services as urban residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Xianqing Ji & Zhonghao Qian & Linxiu Zhang & Tonglong Zhang, 2018. "Rural Labor Migration and Households' Land Rental Behavior: Evidence from China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 26(1), pages 66-85, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:chinae:v:26:y:2018:i:1:p:66-85
    DOI: 10.1111/cwe.12229
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    Cited by:

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    6. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Ma, Xianlei, 2023. "Mechanism of Chinese farmers’ land rental participation: The role of invisible markets and public intervention," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    7. Tan, Jing & Cai, Dongliang & Han, Kefei & Zhou, Kui, 2022. "Understanding peasant household’s land transfer decision-making: A perspective of financial literacy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
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    10. Wen, Le & Paudel, Krishna P. & He, Qinying, 2023. "Temporary migration and land renting behavior," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 1372-1391.
    11. Deng, Xin & Xu, Dingde & Zeng, Miao & Qi, Yanbin, 2019. "Does early-life famine experience impact rural land transfer? Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 58-67.
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    14. Xiqiang Xia & Junhu Ruan, 2020. "Analyzing Barriers for Developing a Sustainable Circular Economy in Agriculture in China Using Grey-DEMATEL Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-25, August.
    15. Zhe Chen & Apurbo Sarkar & Md. Shakhawat Hossain & Xiaojing Li & Xianli Xia, 2021. "Household Labour Migration and Farmers’ Access to Productive Agricultural Services: A Case Study from Chinese Provinces," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Zou, Baoling & Mishra, Ashok K. & Luo, Biliang, 2020. "Grain subsidy, off-farm labor supply and farmland leasing: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    17. Yali Zhang & Yihan Wang & Yunli Bai, 2019. "Knowing and Doing: The Perception of Subsidy Policy and Farmland Transfer," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.
    18. Xin Deng & Dingde Xu & Yanbin Qi & Miao Zeng, 2018. "Labor Off-Farm Employment and Cropland Abandonment in Rural China: Spatial Distribution and Empirical Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, August.
    19. Chaozhu Li & Xiaoliang Li & Jiaxu Wang & Tianchu Feng, 2023. "Impacts of Aging Agricultural Labor Force on Land Transfer: An Empirical Analysis Based on the China Family Panel Studies," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, January.
    20. Kai Huang & Xin Deng & Yi Liu & Zhuolin Yong & Dingde Xu, 2020. "Does off-Farm Migration of Female Laborers Inhibit Land Transfer? Evidence from Sichuan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-14, January.
    21. Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "Neighborhood Does Matter: Farmers’ Local Social Interactions and Land Rental Behaviors in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-17, January.
    22. Xing Ji & Jingwen Xu & Hongxiao Zhang, 2022. "How Does China’s New Rural Pension Scheme Affect Agricultural Production?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-23, July.
    23. Wang, Qian & Li, Fan & Heerink, Nico & Yu, Jin & Fleskens, Luuk & Ritsema, Coen J., 2023. "Land Rental Markets, Specialization and Rural Household Income: Evidence from the North China Plain," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 48(3), September.
    24. Lishan Li & Xin Luo & Yanshan Liu & Yuan Liu & Xiaojin Liu, 2024. "The Impact of Location of Labor Migration on Rural Households’ Income: Evidence from Jiangxi Province in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-19, August.
    25. Qiang Jin & Yanjing Guo & Hui Dang & Junfeng Zhu & Kahaer Abula, 2024. "The Second-Round Effects of the Agriculture Value Chain on Farmers’ Land Transfer-In: Evidence from the 2019 Land Economy Survey Data of Eleven Provinces in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-22, April.

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