IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v164y2026ics0264837726000438.html

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

Author

Listed:
  • Gu, Guolin
  • Fan, Wen

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Gu, Guolin & Fan, Wen, 2026. "Painful hopes? The health and well-being impacts of land expropriation in Chinese villages," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:164:y:2026:i:c:s0264837726000438
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.107959
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837726000438
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2026.107959?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. Zhao, Xiaohang & Xie, Yu, 2022. "The effect of land expropriation on local political trust in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Zhang, Jian & Mishra, Ashok K. & Zhu, Peixin, 2019. "Identifying livelihood strategies and transitions in rural China: Is land holding an obstacle?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 107-117.
    3. Ma, Shuang & Mu, Ren, 2020. "Forced off the farm? Farmers’ labor allocation response to land requisition in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    4. Hsing, You-tien, 2010. "The Great Urban Transformation: Politics of Land and Property in China," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199568048.
    5. Yang, Xiuyun & Zhao, Heng & Ho, Peter, 2017. "Mining-induced displacement and resettlement in China: A study covering 27 villages in 6 provinces," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 408-418.
    6. MacKinnon, James G. & Nielsen, Morten Ørregaard & Webb, Matthew D., 2023. "Cluster-robust inference: A guide to empirical practice," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 232(2), pages 272-299.
    7. Cao, Jiarui & Xu, Yiqing & Zhang, Chuanchuan, 2022. "Clans and calamity: How social capital saved lives during China's Great Famine," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    8. Xie, Yong, 2019. "Land expropriation, shock to employment, and employment differentiation: Findings from land-lost farmers in Nanjing, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    9. Yuxin Wang & Wenlong Li & Jinping Xiong & Ying Li & Huaqing Wu, 2019. "Effect of Land Expropriation on Land-Lost Farmers’ Health: Empirical Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-12, August.
    10. Levien, Michael, 2015. "Social Capital as Obstacle to Development: Brokering Land, Norms, and Trust in Rural India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 77-92.
    11. Karita Kan, 2019. "Accumulation without Dispossession? Land Commodification and Rent Extraction in Peri‐urban China," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(4), pages 633-648, July.
    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. Huang, Wei & Luo, Mi & Ta, Yuqi & Wang, Boxian, 2024. "Land expropriation, household behaviors, and health outcomes: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    2. Hao, Hantao & Zheng, Linyi, 2024. "Does land expropriation to neighbors affect the enrollment of bystanders in pension programs?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 576-588.
    3. Zhang, Chuanyong & Song, Yanjiao, 2022. "Road to the city: Impact of land expropriation on farmers’ urban settlement intention in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    4. Wang, Dongqin & Wang-Lu, Huaxin, 2025. "Land expropriation, child schooling, and child housework: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    5. Yue Wang & Dengjiao Liao & Bin Yan & Xinhai Lu, 2023. "Employment of Land-Expropriated Farmers: The Effects of Land Expropriation and Gender Difference," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-19, October.
    6. Qiu, Tongwei & Li, Yifei & Shi, Xinjie & Peng, Changyan & Luo, Biliang, 2024. "Alternative modes of governance: Clans and social instability in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Yuan Yi & Kaifeng Duan & Fang He & Yuxuan Si, 2024. "The Effects and Mechanisms of the Rural Homestead System on the Imbalance of Rural Human–Land Relationships: Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Liao, Chuan & Agrawal, Arun, 2024. "Towards a science of ‘land grabbing’," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    9. Yan, Jinming & Zhang, Dongsheng & Xia, Fangzhou, 2021. "Evaluation of village land use planning risks in green concepts: The case of Qiwangfen Village in Beijing," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    10. Xuecun Zhao & Yanrong Liu, 2022. "Effects of housing demolition on labor supply: Evidence from China," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1663-1692, August.
    11. Wang, Yu & Xing, Jialong, 2025. "The impact of land expropriation on income gap among farm households. Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 151-171.
    12. Ren, Guangcheng & Kong, Anni & Chen, Minjie, 2025. "The impact of land expropriation on household relative economic deprivation in rural China: The roles of livelihood strategies and heterogeneity," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 1416-1432.
    13. Tilahun Dires & Derjew Fentie & Yeneneh Hunie & Worku Nega & Mulugeta Tenaw & Sayeh Kassaw Agegnehu & Reinfried Mansberger, 2021. "Assessing the Impacts of Expropriation and Compensation on Livelihood of Farmers: The Case of Peri-Urban Debre Markos, Ethiopia," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-16, June.
    14. Yuheng Lin & Dooruj Rambaccussing & Yu Zhu, 2024. "The impact of international students in the UK on the cultural goods trade," French Stata Users' Group Meetings 2024 29, Stata Users Group.
    15. Fulong Wu, 2016. "China's Emergent City-Region Governance: A New Form of State Spatial Selectivity through State-orchestrated Rescaling," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(6), pages 1134-1151, November.
    16. Zichen Deng & Maarten Lindeboom, 2021. "Early-life Famine Exposure, Hunger Recall and Later-life Health," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 21-054/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    17. Yu, Miaozhi & Wang, Yifan & Umair, Muhammad, 2024. "Minor mining, major influence: Economic implications and policy challenges of artisanal gold mining," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    18. Todd Morris & Benoit Dostie, 2023. "Graying and staying on the job: The welfare implications of employment protection for older workers," Cahiers de recherche / Working Papers 15, Institut sur la retraite et l'épargne / Retirement and Savings Institute.
    19. Yang, Dianyi, 2024. "Bail out the money printer? The impact of fiscal indemnity on central bank profitability," SocArXiv wz75m, Center for Open Science.
    20. Cocco, Valentin & Chakir, Raja & Mouysset, Lauriane, 2025. "Guilty or scapegoat? Land consolidation and hedgerow decline," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).

    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:lauspo:v:164:y:2026:i:c:s0264837726000438. 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: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-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.