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Does Property Rights Integrity Improve Tenure Security? Evidence from China’s Forest Reform

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  • Yuepeng Zhou

    (China Centre for Land Policy Research & College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

  • Xianlei Ma

    (China Centre for Land Policy Research & College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

  • Dengyan Ji

    (School of Geography and Environmental Engineering, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou 341000, China)

  • Nico Heerink

    (China Centre for Land Policy Research & College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China
    Development Economics Group, Department of Social Sciences, Wageningen University, 6708 Wageningen, The Netherlands)

  • Xiaoping Shi

    (China Centre for Land Policy Research & College of Public Administration, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China)

  • Hongbin Liu

    (College of Land and Environment, Shenyang Agricultural University, Shenyang 110866, China)

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of land property rights integrity, subdivided into use rights, mortgage rights, and transfer rights, on household perceptions of long-term tenure security in China. To this end, we establish a theoretical framework that links China’s collective forest tenure reforms undertaken since 2003 to property rights integrity and two sources of tenure (in)security based on property rights theory: forestland reallocation and expropriation. Probit models are applied in the empirical analysis to household data collected in Jiangxi province in 2011 and 2013. The results indicate that household perceptions of tenure insecurity resulting from forestland reallocation expectations are affected by transfer rights, whereas household perceptions of insecurity resulting from forestland expropriation expectations are not affected by forestland rights. We thus suggest that it is crucial for policymakers to identify the sources of local property rights insecurity before they take steps to strengthen land tenure security. This paper contributes to the available literature on the relationship between property rights integrity and tenure security by identifying different sources of tenure insecurity, emphasizing the effect of property rights integrity on long-term tenure security, and taking into account the potential endogeneity problem.

Suggested Citation

  • Yuepeng Zhou & Xianlei Ma & Dengyan Ji & Nico Heerink & Xiaoping Shi & Hongbin Liu, 2018. "Does Property Rights Integrity Improve Tenure Security? Evidence from China’s Forest Reform," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-18, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:6:p:1956-:d:151759
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    3. Jian Wei & Hui Xiao & Hao Liu & Xiaotao Huang & Dahong Zhang, 2022. "Does the Collective Forestland Tenure Reform Promote Rural Households’ Forestry Inputs? Based on Dual Perspectives of Rural Households’ Divergence and Inter-Generational Differences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-23, October.
    4. Starfinger, Marcel & Tham, La Thi & Tegegne, Yitagesu Tekle, 2023. "Tree collateral – A finance blind spot for small-scale forestry? A realist synthesis review," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
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    6. Rahmat Aris Pratomo & D. Ary A. Samsura & Erwin van der Krabben, 2020. "Transformation of Local People’s Property Rights Induced by New Town Development (Case Studies in Peri-Urban Areas in Indonesia)," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-24, July.
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    9. Min Li & Apurbo Sarkar & Yuge Wang & Ahmed Khairul Hasan & Quanxing Meng, 2022. "Evaluating the Impact of Ecological Property Rights to Trigger Farmers’ Investment Behavior—An Example of Confluence Area of Heihe Reservoir, Shaanxi, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, February.
    10. Larson, Anne M. & Monterroso, Iliana & Liswanti, Nining & Tamara, Ade, 2023. "What is forest tenure (in)security? Insights from participatory perspective analysis," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
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