Impacts of Rural–Urban Labour Transfer and Land Transfer on Land Efficiency in China: A Analysis of Mediating Effects

Siyi Pei, Sudan Zhao (), Xuan Li and Jiahui Li
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Siyi Pei: School of Marxism, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Sudan Zhao: School of Marxism, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Xuan Li: School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610065, China
Jiahui Li: Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 9DA, UK

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-22

Abstract: In the midst of China’s ongoing rural–urban integration and development, a pivotal transformation involving the realignment of labour dynamics and land utilisation is underway. This paradigm shift has substantial implications for rural land use and agricultural productivity. Drawing from the field survey conducted in Zhejiang Province in 2019, this study puts non-agricultural employment, land transfer, and land efficiency into one econometric model and establishes a comprehensive framework to explain the mechanisms. Unlike existing research, this paper delves into the impact of different land-transfer behaviours, namely inflow and outflow, on land efficiency. The findings indicate that non-agricultural employment has no significant impact on land efficiency. Rural households acquiring land significantly enhance land efficiency, whereas relinquishing land shows no significance, thus addressing the gap in existing literature regarding the study of different transfer behaviours. Furthermore, to explore the underlying mechanisms, we investigate the mediating effect of land inflows on land efficiency, finding that it operates through plot size. In light of this, we propose that, in guiding land inflows, more emphasis should be placed on the integration and reorganisation of fragmented land rather than simply expanding the total land area, aiming to create large, well-managed areas of arable land by achieving concentrated and contiguous transferable land parcels.

Keywords: land transfer; mediating effect; land efficiency; heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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