Social Capital, Crop Specialization and Rural Industry Development—Taking the Grape Industry in Ningling County of China as an Example

Nalin Wu, Erling Li, Yihan Su, Li Li and Li Wang
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Nalin Wu: The College of Geography and Environment Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Erling Li: The College of Geography and Environment Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China
Yihan Su: School of Journalism and Communication, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Li Li: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Li Wang: The College of Geography and Environment Science, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, China

Land, 2022, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Village-level social capital is an important factor to promote rural revitalization, but it is often ignored by existing researches. Based on the field investigation on 357 grape industry villages in Ningling County of Henan Province, decomposed village social capital into three dimensions (social network, social norm and social trust), this paper aims to discuss how village social capital influences rural industry development by promoting crop specialization. Results showed that the social network affects the transmission of grape planting information and technology. The richer the social network, the faster the diffusion of grape planting and the faster the realization of crop specialization. However, different types of social network play different roles. Social norms affect whether villages participate in grape production decisions. Proper risk awareness and efficient and reliable social organization services can help village farmers participate in grape planting and improve the level of crop specialization. Social trust affects the scale and duration of grape planting in a village; that is, the higher the level of social trusts, the higher the degree of crop specialization. In short, social capital can effectively promote the rapid cultivation of superior crops, enhance the specialization level of agricultural production and drive the coordinated development of upstream and downstream industries, thereby promoting the development of rural industries. This study emphasizes that, in the process of rural revitalization, developing countries should consider the social environments of different regions, fully mobilize the power of local social capital and develop reasonable and feasible technology popularization, adoption and implementation programs.

Keywords: social capital; rural revitalization; crop specialization; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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