Rise of meritocracy: Effects of land titling on village chief elections in China

Zhuo Chen, Xinyan Hu and Jinhai Xu

Land Use Policy, 2025, vol. 157, issue C

Abstract: The economic impact of land titling in China has received widespread attention; however, the relationship between land titling and the election of village chiefs remains unclear. This study uses a panel of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey for two periods from 2016 to 2018 to assess the impact of land titling on farmers’ voting behavior. The results of the model demonstrate that land titling increases the probability of farmers electing village chiefs with high levels of education. We confirm that the mechanism of this influence effect is realized by increasing the exclusivity of land rights, improving voter independence, and expanding the scope of the “candidate pool.” We find that household cultivated area and clan culture may reinforce and weaken this influence effect, respectively.

Keywords: Land titling; Village democratic elections; Farmers’ behavior; Village chiefs (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:157:y:2025:i:c:s0264837725001656

DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2025.107631

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