IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v89y2026icp370-383.html

How cultivated land multifunctionality influences the urban–rural income gap? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Sha
  • Chen, Hong
  • Guan, Yanjun
  • Li, Wuyan

Abstract

Cultivated land multifunction (CLM) in China plays a vital role in ensuring food security, advancing rural revitalization, and fostering shared prosperity. Yet, its impact on narrowing the urban–rural income gap remains unknown. This study investigates the effects of two CLM dimensions, the comprehensive level (CL) and structural level (SL), on urban–rural income disparity, relying on panel data from 69 counties in Zhejiang Province from 2005 to 2020. The findings, which stay robust to different tests, indicate that CL considerably narrows the income disparity while SL exacerbates it. Industrialized farming is a significant mediator between the effects of CL and income disparity. Although SL encourages sustainable agriculture, it doesn't act as a direct bridge to reduce income inequality. Both CL and SL exhibit spatial spillover effects, suggesting a stronger impact in geographically proximate areas. These findings provide insightful information for land management, agricultural strategies, and the mitigation of regional inequalities.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Sha & Chen, Hong & Guan, Yanjun & Li, Wuyan, 2026. "How cultivated land multifunctionality influences the urban–rural income gap? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 370-383.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:89:y:2026:i:c:p:370-383
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.12.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592625004874
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2025.12.004?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.

    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:89:y:2026:i:c:p:370-383. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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.