IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v12y2023i8p1582-d1215047.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance Environment, Contract Binding, and the Contract Structure of the Farmland Transfer Market

Author

Listed:
  • Yang Guo

    (School of Management, Jiangsu University, No. 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Meiling Cui

    (School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, No. 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Zhigang Xu

    (School of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agriculture University, No. 1 Weigang Road, Nanjing 210095, China)

Abstract

This study discusses the mechanism of social trust and legal institutions and their impact on farmers’ contract selection in the farmland transfer market from the perspective of contract governance. Using data from a survey of 128 villages in Heilongjiang, Henan, Zhejiang, and Sichuan provinces, this study empirically tests the impact of social trust and legal institutions on the binding force of contracts, and the proportions of paper and long-term contracts in the farmland transfer market. The results showcase, first, that improvement in social trust and legal institutions can strengthen the binding force of farmland contracts. The strength of legal institutions, as embodied in regulation files and execution, and of social trust, as embodied in village neighborhood relations and loan relations, have significant positive impacts on the binding force of contracts in the farmland transfer market. Second, the binding force of contracts positively impacts both paper and long-term contracts in the farmland transfer market. Whether contract execution or dispute resolution rates are selected as the proxy variables for the binding force of contracts, the stronger the contract binding force, the higher the proportion of both paper and long-term contracts in the farmland transfer market. Therefore, improving formal and informal social systems to enhance contractual binding force is of great importance in standardizing contracts and improving the efficiency of market resource allocation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang Guo & Meiling Cui & Zhigang Xu, 2023. "Performance Environment, Contract Binding, and the Contract Structure of the Farmland Transfer Market," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-17, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:8:p:1582-:d:1215047
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1582/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/12/8/1582/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-1158, December.
    2. Yinrong Chen & Yanqing Qin & Qingying Zhu, 2023. "Study on the Impact of Social Capital on Agricultural Land Transfer Decision: Based on 1017 Questionnaires in Hubei Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-22, April.
    3. Xingguang Li & Xuexi Huo, 2022. "Impact of Farmland Rental Contract Disputes on Farmland Rental Market Participation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, November.
    4. Tongwei Qiu & Biliang Luo & Pengpeng Geng & Mande Zhu, 2021. "Market-oriented land rentals in the less-developed regions of China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(11), pages 945-948, June.
    5. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August.
    6. Tongwei Qiu & Biliang Luo & Qinying He, 2020. "Does Land Rent between Acquaintances Deviate from the Reference Point? Evidence from Rural China," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 28(3), pages 29-50, May.
    7. Yang Guo & Meiling Cui & Zhigang Xu, 2023. "Effect of Spatial Characteristics of Farmland Plots on Transfer Patterns in China: A Supply and Demand Perspective," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-15, February.
    8. Tingting Fang & Yuefei Zhuo & Cifang Wu & Yihu Zhou & Zhongguo Xu & Guan Li, 2022. "Exploration of Informal Farmland Leasing Mode: A Case Study of Huang Village in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-18, May.
    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. Kaplow, Louis & Shapiro, Carl, 2007. "Antitrust," Handbook of Law and Economics, in: A. Mitchell Polinsky & Steven Shavell (ed.), Handbook of Law and Economics, edition 1, volume 2, chapter 15, pages 1073-1225, Elsevier.
    2. Cécile Cézanne, 2012. "Berle and Means," Chapters, in: Michael Dietrich & Jackie Krafft (ed.), Handbook on the Economics and Theory of the Firm, chapter 7, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    3. Scott Gehlbach & Konstantin Sonin & Ekaterina Zhuravskaya, 2010. "Businessman Candidates," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 54(3), pages 718-736, July.
    4. Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta, 2010. "Editors’ Introduction," Chapters, in: Peter G. Klein & Michael E. Sykuta (ed.), The Elgar Companion to Transaction Cost Economics, chapter 1, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    5. Schmid, Andreas, 2007. "Incentive Compatibility and Efficiency in the contractual Insurer-Provider Relationship: Economic Theory and practical Implications: The Case of North Carolina," MPRA Paper 23311, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2008.
    6. Surajeet Chakravarty & W. Bentley MacLeod, 2006. "Construction Contracts (or “How to Get the Right Building at the Right Price?”)," CESifo Working Paper Series 1714, CESifo.
    7. Oliver Hart, 2013. "Noncontractible Investments and Reference Points," Games, MDPI, vol. 4(3), pages 1-20, August.
    8. Schmitz, Patrick W., 2021. "On the optimality of outsourcing when vertical integration can mitigate information asymmetries," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    9. Dermot Leahy & Catia Montagna, 2006. "'Make-or-Buy' in International Oligopoly and the Role of Competitive Pressure," Dundee Discussion Papers in Economics 197, Economic Studies, University of Dundee.
    10. Arti Grover, 2008. "Vertical FDI versus Outsourcing: A Welfare Comparison from the Perspective of the Host Country," DEGIT Conference Papers c013_009, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade.
    11. Nathan H. Miller, 2008. "Competition When Consumers Value Firm Scope," EAG Discussions Papers 200807, Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.
    12. Carpenter, Jeffrey P. & Bowles, Samuel & Gintis, Herbert, 2006. "Mutual Monitoring in Teams: Theory and Experimental Evidence on the Importance of Reciprocity," IZA Discussion Papers 2106, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Patrick W. Schmitz, 2006. "Book Review," Journal of Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE), Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 162(3), pages 535-542, September.
    14. Andrei Hagiu & Julian Wright, 2015. "Marketplace or Reseller?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 61(1), pages 184-203, January.
    15. Markus Solf, 2004. "Unternehmenskooperationen als Folge von Informations- und Kommunikations-technologieveränderungen: Eine theoretische Analyse," Schmalenbach Journal of Business Research, Springer, vol. 56(2), pages 146-167, March.
    16. Christopher Hansman & Jonas Hjort & Gianmarco León-Ciliotta & Matthieu Teachout, 2020. "Vertical Integration, Supplier Behavior, and Quality Upgrading among Exporters," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(9), pages 3570-3625.
    17. Pol Antràs & Elhanan Helpman, 2006. "Contractual Frictions and Global Sourcing," NBER Working Papers 12747, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Bester, Helmut, 2013. "Investments and the holdup problem in a matching market," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 302-311.
    19. Anna Matas & Ginés de Rus & Stef Proost & Salvador Bertoméu-Sánchez & Antonio Estache, 2018. "The Financing of Infrastructure / La financiación de las infraestructuras / El finançament de les infraestructures," IEB Reports ieb_report_1_2018, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    20. Kim, Jongwook & Mahoney, Joseph T., 2008. "A Strategic Theory of the Firm as a Nexus of Incomplete Contracts: A Property Rights Approach," Working Papers 08-0108, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, College of Business.

    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:gam:jlands:v:12:y:2023:i:8:p:1582-:d:1215047. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.