IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v14y2025i3p613-d1612166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Land Property Rights, Social Trust, and Non-Agricultural Employment: An Interactive Study of Formal and Informal Institutions in China

Author

Listed:
  • Bohui Yuan

    (School of Public Policy and Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China)

  • Yanping Pu

    (School of Public Policy and Administration, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China)

Abstract

Based on China’s structural transformation and the resulting rural social institutional changes, this paper clarifies how land certification affects non-agricultural employment, introducing trust culture as an informal institution and constructing a theoretical framework for their interactive effect on non-agricultural employment. Using data from the China Rural Household Panel Survey, the empirical research finds that land certification increases the likelihood of rural labor engaging in non-agricultural employment by reducing the risks of land loss, promoting land transfers, and facilitating credit financing. The interaction between land certification and social trust shows that increased social trust weakens the positive impact of land certification on non-agricultural employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Bohui Yuan & Yanping Pu, 2025. "Land Property Rights, Social Trust, and Non-Agricultural Employment: An Interactive Study of Formal and Informal Institutions in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:14:y:2025:i:3:p:613-:d:1612166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/613/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/14/3/613/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lambert-Mogiliansky, Ariane & Sonin, Konstantin & Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina, 2007. "Are Russian commercial courts biased? Evidence from a bankruptcy law transplant," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 254-277, June.
    2. Todaro, Michael P, 1969. "A Model for Labor Migration and Urban Unemployment in Less Developed Countries," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 59(1), pages 138-148, March.
    3. Jianying Wang & Yumei Xu & Lilin Zou & Ying Wang, 2021. "Does Culture Affect Farmer Willingness to Transfer Rural Land? Evidence from Southern Fujian, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Luigi Guiso & Paola Sapienza & Luigi Zingales, 2004. "The Role of Social Capital in Financial Development," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 94(3), pages 526-556, June.
    5. Song, Mingjie & Wu, Yuling & Chen, Lu, 2020. "Does the land titling program promote rural housing land transfer in China? Evidence from household surveys in Hubei Province," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    6. Zhao, Xiaoxue, 2020. "Land and labor allocation under communal tenure: Theory and evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    7. Besley, Timothy, 1995. "Property Rights and Investment Incentives: Theory and Evidence from Ghana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 903-937, October.
    8. repec:dau:papers:123456789/12319 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Brousseau,Éric & Glachant,Jean-Michel (ed.), 2008. "New Institutional Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521876605, Enero-Abr.
    10. Kenneth S. Chan & Xianxiang Xu & Yuanhua Gao, 2015. "The China Growth Miracle: The Role of the Formal and the Informal Institutions," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 38(1), pages 63-90, January.
    11. Christian Bjørnskov, 2011. "Combating Corruption: On the Interplay between Institutional Quality and Social Trust," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 54(1), pages 135-159.
    12. Rongzhu Ke & Weiying Zhang, 2003. "Trust in China: A Cross-Regional Analysis," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series 2003-586, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    13. Wei Cui, 2017. "Social Trust, Institution, and Economic Growth: Evidence from China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(6), pages 1243-1261, June.
    14. Brousseau,Éric & Glachant,Jean-Michel (ed.), 2008. "New Institutional Economics," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521700160, Enero-Abr.
    15. Dang, Duc Anh & Dang, Kim Khoi & Dang, Vuong Anh & Vu, Thi Lan, 2020. "The effects of trust and land administration on economic outcomes: Evidence from Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).
    16. Xu, Yiqing & Yao, Yang, 2015. "Informal Institutions, Collective Action, and Public Investment in Rural China," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 109(2), pages 371-391, May.
    17. Tian, Chuanhao & Luo, Yichen & Teng, Yu, 2024. "Land certification, tenure security and off-farm employment: Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    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. Méon, Pierre-Guillaume & Sekkat, Khalid, 2015. "The formal and informal institutional framework of capital accumulation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(3), pages 754-771.
    2. Sha, Wenbiao, 2023. "The political impacts of land expropriation in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C).
    3. Sylvain Rossiaud, 2014. "Opening the upstream oil industry to private companies," Working Papers halshs-00960681, HAL.
    4. Sylvain Rossiaud, 2015. "L’ouverture de l’amont pétrolier à des compagnies privées. Un cadre d’analyse en termes d’économie des coûts de transaction," Post-Print hal-01162793, HAL.
    5. Catherine Locatelli & Sylvain Rossiaud, 2011. "A neoinstitutionalist interpretation of the changes in the Russian oil model," Post-Print halshs-00631115, HAL.
    6. Wu, Wenfeng & Firth, Michael & Rui, Oliver M., 2014. "Trust and the provision of trade credit," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 146-159.
    7. Erdogdu, Erkan, 2013. "A cross-country analysis of electricity market reforms: Potential contribution of New Institutional Economics," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 239-251.
    8. Wu, Ziqi & Xiao, Yi & Zhang, Jian & Wu, Jingyi, 2024. "Justice Reform and Entrepreneurship: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 1190-1203.
    9. Tang, Can & Zhao, Zhong, 2022. "Informal institution meets child development," MERIT Working Papers 2022-032, United Nations University - Maastricht Economic and Social Research Institute on Innovation and Technology (MERIT).
    10. Wang, Yidi & Gu, Hongmei, 2024. "Impacts of trust on the cost of debt financing: The perspectives of in-group trust and out-group trust," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 62(PA).
    11. Giampaolo Lecce & Laura Ogliari & Tommaso Orlando, 2017. "Resistance to Institutions and Cultural Distance: Brigandage in Post-Unification Italy," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2097, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    12. Claude Ménard & Mary M. Shirley, 2010. "The Contribution of Douglass North to New Institutional Economics," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00654327, HAL.
    13. Jean-Michel Glachant, 2012. "Regulating Networks in the New Economy," Review of Economics and Institutions, Università di Perugia, vol. 3(1).
    14. Jin, Ming & Liu, Jinshan & Chen, Zhongfei, 2022. "Impacts of social trust on corporate leverage: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 505-521.
    15. Michael Regan, 2017. "Capital Markets, Infrastructure Investment and Growth in the Asia Pacific Region," IJFS, MDPI, vol. 5(1), pages 1-28, February.
    16. Milton Fernando Montoya (Editor), 2017. "Trends and challenges in electricity and oil regulation," Books, Universidad Externado de Colombia, Facultad de Derecho, number 949, May.
    17. Baoyin Qiu & Junli Yu & Kuo Zhang, 2020. "Trust and Stock Price Synchronicity: Evidence from China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 97-109, November.
    18. Simon Hull & Jennifer Whittal, 2021. "Do Design Science Research and Design Thinking Processes Improve the ‘Fit’ of the Fit-For-Purpose Approach to Securing Land Tenure for All in South Africa?," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-26, May.
    19. Martin Kniepert, 2014. "Die (Neue) Institutionenökonomik als Ansatz für einen erweiterten, offeneren Zugang zur Volkswirtschaftslehre," Working Papers 552014, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Department of Economics and Social Sciences, Institute for Sustainable Economic Development.
    20. El-Bialy, Nora, 2010. "The role of institutions within the IPR enforcement: The case of de facto software protection in Egypt," Discussion Papers on Strategy and Innovation 10-02, Philipps-University Marburg, Department of Technology and Innovation Management (TIM).

    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:14:y:2025:i:3:p:613-:d:1612166. 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.