IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v85y2025icp2219-2233.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does land transfer-out facilitate an upgrade in farmers’ consumption

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Jian
  • Li, Ting
  • He, Yuhui
  • Li, Zhaohui

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of rural land transfer-out on farmers' consumption upgrades in China. Using data from 2020 to 2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) survey, we empirically examine the effects of land transfer-out on farmers' consumption upgrading through the OLS model, finding that land transfer-out has a significant positive impact on consumption upgrading. Meanwhile, it's found that the total income, non-agricultural employment, and consumption conception are the core mechanisms. Through the robustness test, it is found that the research results are robust. To address potential endogeneity issues, we employ the Relief Degree of Land Surface (RDLS) as the instrumental variable to re estimate. The results remain robust, indicating a causal relationship between land transfer-out and farmers' consumption upgrades. Heterogeneity analysis shows that there are differences in the effect of land transfer on farmers' consumption upgrading in provinces with different land resource endowments. The role of land transfer-out in upgrading farmers' consumption varies among provinces with different levels of economic development. These findings have important policy implications for promoting rural economic development and enhancing farmers' living standards in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Jian & Li, Ting & He, Yuhui & Li, Zhaohui, 2025. "Does land transfer-out facilitate an upgrade in farmers’ consumption," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 2219-2233.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:85:y:2025:i:c:p:2219-2233
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S031359262500075X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2025.03.004?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Yang & Zhou, Yang & Yu, Xinxin & Liu, Xiao, 2021. "Is domestic consumption dragged down by real estate sector?—Evidence from Chinese household wealth," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    2. Peng Wang & Fanzhi Wang, 2022. "A study of the impact of land transfer decisions on household income in rural China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 17(10), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Geoffrey Lancaster & Pushkar Maitra & Ranjan Ray, 2008. "Household Expenditure Patterns and Gender Bias: Evidence from Selected Indian States," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(2), pages 133-157.
    4. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Zhu, Peixin & Li, Xiaoshun, 2020. "Land rental market and agricultural labor productivity in rural China: A mediation analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    5. Yan Miao & Zheng Li & Zhonglin Bai, 2023. "Incentive effect of structural tax reduction policy on consumption upgrading and high-tech industry," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 1972-2002, March.
    6. Song, Quanyun & Li, Jie & Wu, Yu & Yin, Zhichao, 2020. "Accessibility of financial services and household consumption in China: Evidence from micro data," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(C).
    7. Stefanija Veljanoska, 2018. "Can Land Fragmentation Reduce the Exposure of Rural Households to Weather Variability?," Post-Print hal-04626999, HAL.
    8. Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng & Cheong, Tsun Se, 2021. "Distribution dynamics of China's household consumption upgrading," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 193-203.
    9. Gong, Maogang & Li, Hanjin & Elahi, Ehsan, 2022. "Three Rights Separation reform and its impact over farm’s productivity: A case study of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    10. Zhang, Yun & Qu, Yuxuan, 2024. "Has the digital economy improved the consumption of poor and subsistence households?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    11. Stefanija Veljanoska, 2018. "Can Land Fragmentation Reduce the Exposure of Rural Households to Weather Variability?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) hal-04626999, HAL.
    12. Nanak Kakwani & Xiaobing Wang & Ning Xue & Peng Zhan, 2022. "Growth and Common Prosperity in China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 30(1), pages 28-57, January.
    13. Liu, Yandong & Shi, Yu & Wang, Yang & Tian, Zhu, 2024. "Social networks and household consumption," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    14. Baomin Cui & Lingling Tang & Jianxu Liu & Songsak Sriboonchitta, 2023. "How Does Land Transfer Impact the Household Labor Productivity in China? Empirical Evidence from Survey Data in Shandong," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-24, April.
    15. He, Yuan & Li, Ke & Wang, Yipan, 2022. "Crossing the digital divide: The impact of the digital economy on elderly individuals’ consumption upgrade in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Ma, Hongxin & Yin, Yingkai & Liu, Zhenhai & Bai, Yi, 2024. "A study of the impact of digital finance usage on household consumption upgrading: Based on financial asset allocation perspective," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    17. Feng Ye & Lang Wang & Amar Razzaq & Ting Tong & Qing Zhang & Azhar Abbas, 2023. "Policy Impacts of High-Standard Farmland Construction on Agricultural Sustainability: Total Factor Productivity-Based Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, January.
    18. Kijima, Yoko & Tabetando, Rayner, 2020. "Efficiency and equity of rural land markets and the impact on income: Evidence in Kenya and Uganda from 2003 to 2015," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Kansiime, Monica K. & Tambo, Justice A. & Mugambi, Idah & Bundi, Mary & Kara, Augustine & Owuor, Charles, 2021. "COVID-19 implications on household income and food security in Kenya and Uganda: Findings from a rapid assessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    20. Yang, Bo & Ma, Fang & Deng, Weihua & Pi, Yang, 2022. "Digital inclusive finance and rural household subsistence consumption in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 627-642.
    21. Hu, Debao & Zhai, Chenzhe & Zhao, Sibo, 2023. "Does digital finance promote household consumption upgrading? An analysis based on data from the China family panel studies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    22. Gang Li & Xufeng Cui & Lan Pan & Yufei Wang, 2023. "Land Transfer and Rural Household Consumption Diversity: Promoting or Inhibiting?," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    23. Pengfei Zhang & Jinghua Gao, 2021. "Quality of public health insurance and individuals’ consumption structure upgrades: evidence from China," Health Economics Review, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 1-12, December.
    24. Jing Li & Kelin Chen & Chao Yan & Zhong Tang, 2024. "The Impact of Income Disparity on Food Consumption—Microdata from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, April.
    25. Ying Cheng & Yuan Hu & Weizhong Zeng & Zhongbao Liu, 2022. "Farmer Heterogeneity and Land Transfer Decisions Based on the Dual Perspectives of Economic Endowment and Land Endowment," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-13, February.
    26. Anderson, Siwan & Eswaran, Mukesh, 2009. "What determines female autonomy? Evidence from Bangladesh," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 179-191, November.
    27. Feng, Xinzhen & Du, Gang, 2023. "Does financial knowledge contribute to the upgrading of the resident's consumption?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    28. Li, Jie & Wu, Yu & Xiao, Jing Jian, 2020. "The impact of digital finance on household consumption: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 317-326.
    29. Veljanoska, Stefanija, 2018. "Can Land Fragmentation Reduce the Exposure of Rural Households to Weather Variability?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 42-51.
    30. Zhengxue Huang & Jingkui Zhou & Xiong Huang, 2022. "Does the transfer of farmland use rights increase farmers’ long‐term intention to work in cities?," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(2), pages 373-392, April.
    31. Juan Luo & Bao-zhen Li, 2022. "Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Consumption Inequality in China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 529-553, September.
    32. Tesfaye, Wondimagegn & Tirivayi, Nyasha, 2020. "Crop diversity, household welfare and consumption smoothing under risk: Evidence from rural Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    33. Mingyong Hong & Lei Lou, 2022. "Research on the Impact of Farmland Transfer on Rural Household Consumption: Evidence from Yunnan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-21, November.
    34. Cheng, Ying & Hu, Yuan & Zeng, Weizhong & Liu, Zhongbao, 2022. "Farmer heterogeneity and land transfer decisions based on the dual perspectives of economic endowment and land endowment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(3).
    35. Teklu, Tesfaye & Lemi, Adugna, 2004. "Factors affecting entry and intensity in informal rental land markets in Southern Ethiopian highlands," Agricultural Economics, Blackwell, vol. 30(2), pages 117-128, March.
    36. Agarwal, Sumit & Chua, Yeow Hwee & Song, Changcheng, 2022. "Inflation expectations of households and the upgrading channel," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 124-138.
    37. Bai, Chong-En & Chi, Wei & Liu, Tracy Xiao & Tang, Chao & Xu, Jian, 2021. "Boosting pension enrollment and household consumption by example: A field experiment on information provision," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    38. Jinning Li & Shunfeng Song & Guanglin Sun, 2022. "Non-Farm Employment, Farmland Renting and Farming Ability: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-16, April.
    39. CAO, Yu & Zou, Jie & Fang, Xiaoqian & Wang, Jiayi & Cao, Yu & Li, Guoyu, 2020. "Effect of land tenure fragmentation on the decision-making and scale of agricultural land transfer in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    40. Liu, Na & Li, Jing, 2024. "The time code of online consumption: Exploring the impact of work hours on online consumption in the retail industry," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    41. Sheng, Yu & Zhao, Yuhan & Zhang, Qian & Dong, Wanlu & Huang, Jikun, 2022. "Boosting rural labor off-farm employment through urban expansion in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    42. Dong Guo & Lin Li & Lu Qiao & Fengyu Qi, 2023. "Digital economy and consumption upgrading: scale effect or structure effect?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4713-4744, December.
    43. Xiaowei Xing & Azhong Ye, 2022. "Consumption Upgrading and Industrial Structural Change: A General Equilibrium Analysis and Empirical Test with Low-Carbon Green Transition Constraints," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-19, October.
    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. Dongjing Chen & Xiaotong Guo, 2023. "Impact of the Digital Economy and Financial Development on Residents’ Consumption Upgrading: Evidence from Mainland China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    2. Zhou, Qiuyang, 2024. "Does the digital economy promote the consumption structure upgrading of urban residents? Evidence from Chinese cities," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 543-551.
    3. Wang, Yizi & Li, Lanyi, 2024. "Digital economy, industrial structure upgrading, and residents' consumption: Empirical evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1045-1058.
    4. Peng Cheng & Qiaosen Jin & Yunhua Xiang, 2025. "The Catalyst to Activate Rural Economic Vitality: The Impact of Land Transfer on the Consumption Behaviour of Older Farmers in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-29, May.
    5. Yingzi Chen & Wanwan Yang & Yaqi Hu, 2022. "Internet Development, Consumption Upgrading and Carbon Emissions—An Empirical Study from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-23, December.
    6. Wang, Yuyu & Zhao, Zengli & Lu, Chen, 2024. "Does digital inclusive finance increase land rent? Evidence from rural China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1025-1043.
    7. Zhengxin Li & Chengjun Liu & Xihui Chen, 2022. "Power of Digital Economy to Drive Urban-Rural Integration: Intrinsic Mechanism and Spatial Effect, from Perspective of Multidimensional Integration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-20, November.
    8. Du, Changyu & Ouyang, YuChieh & Yang, Qinzhe & Shi, Zhibo, 2024. "The impact of digital economy on household private insurance participation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    9. Gang Li & Xufeng Cui & Lan Pan & Yufei Wang, 2023. "Land Transfer and Rural Household Consumption Diversity: Promoting or Inhibiting?," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    10. Zhang, Jian & Wang, Dongqiang & Ji, Ming & Yu, Kuo & Qi, Mosha & Wang, Hui, 2024. "Digital literacy, relative poverty, and common prosperity for rural households," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).
    11. Ren, Xiaosong & Zhao, Min & Gao, Ping, 2024. "The inverted U-effect of digital financial inclusion on household food carbon footprint in China: The moderating roles of environmental concern and future expectations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    12. Haijiang Chen & Hong-Wai Ho & Chunli Ji & Haoqing Zheng & Songlin Zhang, 2024. "Spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of agricultural land transfer in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(9), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Lin Tai & Fu Xiaopeng & Gong Ting & Xu Xinpeng & Stavros Sindakis & Gazal Showkat, 2024. "Assessing the Relationship Between Digital Inclusive Finance and the Well-Being of Elderly Individuals: A Study of Life Satisfaction," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 9597-9628, June.
    14. Guo, Xiaoxin & Zhong, Shihu, 2023. "Unintended consequences: How does digital inclusive finance affect migrants' urban settlement intentions?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Clara Delavallade & Melanie Colette Jacqueline Gittard & Julia Vaillant, 2025. "Women and Climate Adaptation in Rural Sub-Saharan Africa : Constraints and Research Priorities," Policy Research Working Paper Series 11095, The World Bank.
    16. Liu, Yandong & Shi, Yu & Wang, Yang & Tian, Zhu, 2024. "Social networks and household consumption," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    17. He, Yuan & Li, Ke & Wang, Yipan, 2022. "Crossing the digital divide: The impact of the digital economy on elderly individuals’ consumption upgrade in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    18. Wang, Yao & Wu, Xuenan & Lin, Boqiang, 2025. "Empowering green households: How does digital finance influence household carbon footprints?," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    19. Chen, Zhe & Li, Xiaojing & Zhang, Jizhou & Xia, Xianli, 2024. "Does digital finance alleviate household consumption inequality? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    20. Noel Kishaija & Bálint Heil, 2025. "Rural Land Rights, Markets, and Structural Transformation: A Review of a Ugandan Case," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-17, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:ecanpo:v:85:y:2025:i:c:p:2219-2233. 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.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    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.