The Effect of Social Capital at the Community and Individual Levels on Farmers’ Participation in the Rural Public Goods Provision

Furong Chen, Yuyuan Yi and Yifu Zhao ()
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Furong Chen: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Yuyuan Yi: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Yifu Zhao: Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: This study examines the role of social capital, at both individual and community levels, in promoting farmers’ participation in providing rural public goods in China. Based on the survey data of 622 farmers from 82 villages across Hebei, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces, we used a generalized hierarchical linear model (GHLM) to empirically estimate the effects of social capital on farmers’ participation in rural public goods supply. The findings indicate that: (1) community-level factors account for 42.3% of the variance in farmers’ participation behavior. The transparency of the public goods construction fund significantly encourages farmers to participate, while the rural collective economy income and the village’s geographical location—the distance to the township government—have a significant and negative effect on farmers’ participation. (2) On the individual level, social norms, social networks, and social engagement have a positive effect on farmers’ participation. The effect of individual social norms is particularly high compared to that of the other two factors. (3) When social capital at the community level is high, the positive effect of individual social networks on farmers’ participation is even more significant. Therefore, to encourage farmers to participate in the rural public goods provision, local government should not only pay attention to improving the publicity of public affairs but also cultivate social capital at both the individual and community levels.

Keywords: social capital; individual and community; participation; public goods provision; generalized hierarchical linear model (GHLM) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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