Defining Household Typologies Based on Cropland Use Behaviors for Rural Human-Environment Systems Simulation Research: A Case Study in Southwest China

Ming Li, Yukuan Wang, Congshan Tian, Liang Emlyn Yang and Md. Sarwar Hossain
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Ming Li: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Yukuan Wang: Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Congshan Tian: College of Architecture and Urban-Rural Planning, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611830, China
Liang Emlyn Yang: Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 80333 Munich, Germany
Md. Sarwar Hossain: Environmental Science and Sustainability, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, Dumfries DG1 4ZL, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: The dynamics of rural human-environment systems in developing countries have increasingly been attracting attention. Agent-based modeling (ABM) is a valuable simulation tool for detecting complex feedback loops in rural human-environment systems with a ‘bottom-up’ approach. However, such models require the prerequisite analysis of household typology to simulate households’ decision-making process, where a gap exists between having accurate classification criteria and a simplified modeling framework. This study aimed to develop a household typology for two selected counties in southwest China based on multivariate analysis techniques and the classification tree method. Four categories of socioeconomic variables, including labor conditions, resource endowments, economic status, and social connections, were screened as possible factors impacting agriculture practice decisions. The results showed that household diversification in the study area was mainly determined by diversified livelihood strategies of off-farm work, livestock breeding, subsidy dependence, and traditional planting. Five distinct household types were identified: non-farm households, part-time households, livestock breed households, subsidized households, and traditional planting households. The household types were associated with specific cropland use behaviors, and their decision-making behaviors were verified with bounded rationality theory (where the maximization of profits is the primary goal). The quantitative classification criteria obtained in this study were clear and could be easily identified and used by ABMs. Our study provides a basis for further simulation of the complicated rural human-environment systems in southwest China.

Keywords: household typology; multivariate analysis techniques; household decision-making; agent-based model; rural environment protection (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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