IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v91y2020ics0264837719300857.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social capital for rural revitalization in China: A critical evaluation on the government’s new countryside programme in Chengdu

Author

Listed:
  • Wu, Bin
  • Liu, Linghui

Abstract

In the context of urbanisation and decline of its countryside in the 21st century, the Chinese government has initiated a campaign namely “building a socialist new countryside” in 2006 which is now renamed as “rural revitalisation”. Bringing together social capital, government intervention and other capital, we argue that rural revitalisation can be viewed as a process of the interaction between land transfer and community building leading to multiple gains of all stakeholders. Given the predomination of top-down government intervention and external capital investment in its campaign, this paper sheds new light on social capital in terms of not only mobilising community members’ participation, but also reaching a balance with interests of government and other stakeholders. The importance of social capital can be illustrated from critical evaluation on governmental pilot projects in the suburban zone of Chengdu, a model municipal in China in urban-rural integration. In particular, this paper aims to address the following questions: How does social capital engage and contribute to rural restructuring for sustainable rural livelihoods? What role can social capital play in the decision making of land transfer and community building? This paper contributes to rural revitalisation and land use debates in three aspects. Firstly, we post a triangular model by bringing together government intervention, social and other capital to emphasize the interwoven nature of the relationship between land transfer and community building for better understanding of the intrinsic dynamics within the communities and their interests interfaced with external stakeholders. Secondly, with respect to the impact of land transfer on sustainable livelihoods, we propose an evaluation framework to account and compare the roles of social capital against government intervention and other conditions in land transfer decision making. Thirdly, applying the above framework to sample villages, we identify three types of rural restructuring: government-led, farmer self-organising, and returned entrepreneur-oriented. Policy implications and further research direction are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Wu, Bin & Liu, Linghui, 2020. "Social capital for rural revitalization in China: A critical evaluation on the government’s new countryside programme in Chengdu," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:91:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719300857
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104268
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719300857
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2019.104268?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bin Wu & Jules Pretty, 2004. "Social connectedness in marginal rural China: The case of farmer innovation circles in Zhidan, north Shaanxi," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 21(1), pages 81-92, March.
    2. Liu, Yansui, 2018. "Introduction to land use and rural sustainability in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-4.
    3. Zhou, Yang & Guo, Liying & Liu, Yansui, 2019. "Land consolidation boosting poverty alleviation in China: Theory and practice," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 339-348.
    4. Hong Lan & Ying Zhu & David Ness & Ke Xing & Kris Schneider, 2014. "The role and characteristics of social entrepreneurs in contemporary rural cooperative development in China: case studies of rural social entrepreneurship," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 379-400, July.
    5. Woolcock, Michael & Narayan, Deepa, 2000. "Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy," The World Bank Research Observer, World Bank, vol. 15(2), pages 225-249, August.
    6. Cheng, Mingyang & Yansui Liu, & Zhou, Yang, 2019. "Measuring the symbiotic development of rural housing and industry: A case study of Fuping County in the Taihang Mountains in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 307-316.
    7. Bin Wu & Liyan Zhang, 2013. "Farmer innovation diffusion via network building: a case of winter greenhouse diffusion in China," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(4), pages 641-651, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Neslihan Beden & Nazire Göksu Soydan-Oksal & Sema Arıman & Hayatullah Ahmadzai, 2023. "Delineation of a Groundwater Potential Zone Map for the Kızılırmak Delta by Using Remote-Sensing-Based Geospatial and Analytical Hierarchy Processes," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-21, July.
    2. Bowei Li & Yanjun Qian & Fanbin Kong, 2023. "Does Outsourcing Service Reduce the Excessive Use of Chemical Fertilizers in Rural China? The Moderating Effects of Farm Size and Plot Size," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-18, September.
    3. Li, Xinyi & Ito, Junichi, 2023. "Determinants of technical efficiency and farmers’ crop choice rationality: A case study of rural Gansu, China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    4. Chuanming Sun & Guoxin Tan & Xingyu Chai & Haiqing Zhang, 2023. "Analysis on the Satisfaction of Public Cultural Service by Township Residents: A Qualitative Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-23, April.
    5. Longjiao Wen & Zhenzhen Liu & Zhifeng Gao & Saeid Khanjari, 2022. "Evolutionary Path and Mechanism of Village Revitalization: A Case Study of Yuejin Village, Jiangsu, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Nalin Wu & Erling Li & Yihan Su & Li Li & Li Wang, 2022. "Social Capital, Crop Specialization and Rural Industry Development—Taking the Grape Industry in Ningling County of China as an Example," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-22, July.
    7. Pankaj Dikshit & M. P. Gupta & Arpan Kumar Kar & B. Chandra, 2022. "Taxation transformation of businesses enabled by information systems: an empirical study of Goods and Services Tax implementation in India," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(9), pages 1-26, September.
    8. Yueyue He & Tanveer Ahmed, 2022. "Farmers’ Livelihood Capital and Its Impact on Sustainable Livelihood Strategies: Evidence from the Poverty-Stricken Areas of Southwest China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-24, April.
    9. Yaofu Huang & Luan Chen & Xun Li, 2022. "Productivism and Post-Productivism: An Analysis of Functional Mixtures in Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-13, September.

    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. Lü, Da & Gao, Guangyao & Lü, Yihe & Xiao, Feiyan & Fu, Bojie, 2020. "Detailed land use transition quantification matters for smart land management in drylands: An in-depth analysis in Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    2. Liu, Jing & Jin, Xiaobin & Xu, Weiyi & Sun, Rui & Han, Bo & Yang, Xuhong & Gu, Zhengming & Xu, Cuilan & Sui, Xueyan & Zhou, Yinkang, 2019. "Influential factors and classification of cultivated land fragmentation, and implications for future land consolidation: A case study of Jiangsu Province in eastern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Zhang, Dongli & Wang, Wenxiong & Zhou, Wei & Zhang, Xiaoling & Zuo, Jian, 2020. "The effect on poverty alleviation and income increase of rural land consolidation in different models: A China study," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    4. Wang, Wenxiong & Lan, Yuanqin & Wang, Xu, 2021. "Impact of livelihood capital endowment on poverty alleviation of households under rural land consolidation," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Wang, Yongsheng & Li, Yuheng, 2019. "Promotion of degraded land consolidation to rural poverty alleviation in the agro-pastoral transition zone of northern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    6. Lu, Shasha & Zhou, Yi & Sun, Haisheng & Chen, Ni & Guan, Xingliang, 2021. "Examining the influencing factors of forest health, its implications on rural revitalization: A case study of five forest farms in Beijing," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    7. Zhou, Yang & Li, Yamei & Xu, Chenchen, 2020. "Land consolidation and rural revitalization in China: Mechanisms and paths," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Wang, Cheng & Wang, Gang & Guo, Ziru & Dai, Lingjun & Liu, Hongyu & Li, Yufeng & Chen, Hao & Zhao, Yongxiang & Zhang, Yanan & Cheng, Hai, 2020. "Effects of land-use change on the distribution of the wintering red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) in the coastal area of northern Jiangsu Province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Fei, Rilong & Lin, Ziyi & Chunga, Joseph, 2021. "How land transfer affects agricultural land use efficiency: Evidence from China’s agricultural sector," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Lu, Xinhai & Li, Yan & Ke, Shangan, 2020. "Spatial distribution pattern and its optimization strategy of China’s overseas farmland investments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Wen, Yangyang & Zhang, Zhengfeng & Liang, Di & Xu, Ze, 2020. "Rural Residential Land Transition in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region: Spatial-Temporal Patterns and Policy Implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    12. Zhou, Qian & Shao, Qinglong & Zhang, Xiaoling & Chen, Jie, 2020. "Do housing prices promote total factor productivity? Evidence from spatial panel data models in explaining the mediating role of population density," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    13. Gao, Yang & Liu, Bei & Yu, Lili & Yang, Haoran & Yin, Shijiu, 2019. "Social capital, land tenure and the adoption of green control techniques by family farms: Evidence from Shandong and Henan Provinces of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    14. Qinglei, Zhao & Guanghui, Jiang & Wenqiu, Ma & Dingyang, Zhou & Yanbo, Qu & Yuting, Yang, 2019. "Social security or profitability? Understanding multifunction of rural housing land from farmers’ needs: Spatial differentiation and formation mechanism—Based on a survey of 613 typical farmers in Pin," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 91-103.
    15. Tian, Yingying & Zhou, Dingyang & Jiang, Guanghui, 2021. "A new quality management system of admittance indicators to improve industrial land use efficiency in the Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei region," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    16. Zhao, Qinglei & Jiang, Guanghui & Yang, Yuting & Tian, Yingying & Fan, Lihui & Zhou, Tao & Tian, Yaya, 2022. "Multifunction change of rural housing land in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of farmer households’ land-use behavior," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    17. Zhang, Pengyan & Yang, Dan & Qin, Mingzhou & Jing, Wenlong, 2020. "Spatial heterogeneity analysis and driving forces exploring of built-up land development intensity in Chinese prefecture-level cities and implications for future Urban Land intensive use," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    18. Xia, Min & Zhang, Yanyuan & Zhang, Zihong & Liu, Jingjie & Ou, Weixin & Zou, Wei, 2020. "Modeling agricultural land use change in a rapid urbanizing town: Linking the decisions of government, peasant households and enterprises," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    19. Zhang, Yuanxia & Halder, Pradipta & Zhang, Xiaoning & Qu, Mei, 2020. "Analyzing the deviation between farmers' Land transfer intention and behavior in China's impoverished mountainous Area: A Logistic-ISM model approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    20. Xu, Dingde & Deng, Xin & Huang, Kai & Liu, Yi & Yong, Zhuolin & Liu, Shaoquan, 2019. "Relationships between labor migration and cropland abandonment in rural China from the perspective of village types," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).

    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:91:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719300857. 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.