Exploring the Impact of Land Certification on Centralized Transfer in Rural China: The Roles of Timing, Inequality, and Governance

Lan Pan, Haoran Wan and Xufeng Cui ()
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Lan Pan: School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Haoran Wan: School of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Xufeng Cui: School of Business Administration, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan 430073, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 12, 1-24

Abstract: The existing studies have primarily discussed the impact of land certification on farmers’ land transfer behaviors, neglecting its potential for centralized transfer under the orientation of optimizing land utilization and allocation efficiency. This study employed the Probit model, Propensity Score Matching method, and IV-Probit model to explore the effects and underlying mechanisms of land certification on centralized transfer based on the China Land Economic Survey data, especially emphasizing the roles of timing, inequality, and governance. Among transfer-out households, land certification increases the likelihood of farmers adopting centralized transfer rather than decentralized transfer. After considering the differential influence exerted by the timing of certification, the earlier the households obtain the land contract management certificates, the greater the positive impact. This phenomenon can be explained from the dual perspectives of economy and governance, including rural industrial development and rural governance performance. In the heterogeneity analysis, we focused on land inequality, farmers’ risk preference, and village governance teams’ capacity. Land certification mainly benefits farmers facing weak land inequality or low-risk preference, as well as those in villages with highly educated cadres. In the new round of land certification program, our findings provide new insights for continuously optimizing land utilization and allocation.

Keywords: property rights; land certification; timing; centralized transfer; rural China; rural industrial development; rural governance performance; land inequality; governance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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