Painful hopes? The health and well-being impacts of land expropriation in Chinese villages

Debates over state-led land expropriation in rural China often center on whether it constitutes victimization or empowerment. This paper reconciles these competing narratives by examining the health and well-being impacts of land expropriation on two groups: (1) individuals who lost land, and (2) those living in villages where expropriation occurred without being directly dispossessed. Using nationally representative longitudinal survey data from the China Family Panel Studies (2010–2018), covering 14,471 individuals across 411 villages, we find that expropriation is associated with significant declines in physical health for both groups. At the same time, it fosters greater life satisfaction and future confidence among those indirectly affected, particularly in villages with low levels of mutual trust. These findings suggest that victimization and empowerment can happen concurrently but for different outcomes and for different segments of the population. They also call for rural development policies to ensure that perceived opportunities are translated into tangible benefits for villagers facing expropriation.