Does Farmland Scale Management Promote Rural Collective Action? An Empirical Study of Canal Irrigation Systems in China

Farmland scale management represents an inevitable trend toward global modern agriculture. In the new development context, the key to solving the tough problem of the insufficient supply of rural public goods is to effectively improve the enthusiasm of farming households to participate in rural collective action in countries with a small arable area per capita, such as India, China and countries in Eastern Europe. This paper adopts the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework in the context of a land system with Chinese characteristics, and uses sample data of 3663 rural households in 17 provinces to study the impact of farmland scale and various relevant systems on farming households’ participation in rural collective action. We found that the advantages of collective action, such as reduced production costs, enhanced risk resistance and improved production efficiency, can offset the disadvantages incurred by free-riding behavior, and the expansion of farmland scale can significantly facilitate rural collective action. Additionally, as the farmland scale expands, stable farmland tenure and reasonable farmland tenure transfer can help to optimize the allocation of arable land resources, increase investment, and reduce free-riding behavior, thus effectively stimulating farming households to actively participate in collective action. However, since socialized agricultural services lead to the separation of the suppliers and the users of rural public goods, the expansion of farmland scale shows a negative effect. Therefore, in the context of the continuous migration of the rural population to cities, a stable farmland tenure adjustment mechanism should be established, while the balance between farmland tenure transfer and socialized agricultural services, in pushing forward rural collective action, should be emphasized, so as to ensure the effective supply of rural public goods in propelling farmland scale management. Especially in promoting the development of socialized agricultural services, more attention should be paid to specifying the responsibilities and obligations of the main provider of commercialized services in the supply of rural public goods.

Why Good Governance Goes Wrong: Government and Village in the Supply of Public Goods in Rural China

Following the rural tax-for-fee reform and the abolition of agricultural taxes in the early 2000s, the overall supply of rural public goods has improved, but its performance is still deficient. During a field study of ecological migrants in rural Ningxia, the authors witnessed the problems encountered in the implementation of a public housing project. This episode demonstrates how the provision of rural public goods depends on rural governance that responds to the tension between modern development and the values of rural society. The failure of the project stems from the clash between the logic of peasant actions and the performance indicators of cadres, producing an internal rupture between rural society and rural governance. In the process of modernization and urbanization, grassroots government is becoming more bureaucratic and technical, with the prevalence of e-government and especially with village committees turning increasingly administrativized and beholden to superior levels of government, and thus is failing to fully embed itself in rural society.

A Review of the Influence of Rural Public Goods Supply on Rural Residents’ Consumption—A Case Study of 2009-2019

The supply of rural public goods and the consumption of rural residents are not only an important symbol of the quality of life of rural residents, but also reflect the satisfaction of the majority of rural residents to a better life. At the same time, the supply of rural public goods and the consumption of rural residents are also the “engine” and “ballast stone”. The supply of rural public goods and the consumption of rural residents are the “Chinese experience” to solve the crisis. In the early days of the founding of the people’s Republic of China, the reform and opening up of the production package, the soft landing of the 2008 financial tsunami was a solution to the crisis by adjusting the supply of rural public goods. In the face of the complex situation of the current international economy and the influence of the epidemic situation, a new development pattern with the large domestic circulation as the main body and the domestic and international double circulation promoting each other can not only resolve the overproduction of the city, but also realize the redistribution of urban and rural resources by stimulating consumption. The research on the supply of rural public goods in China has been fruitful. From 2009 to 2019, there were 2729 articles on the supply of rural public goods and the consumption of rural residents.

RURAL RESIDENTS SATISFACTION AND INFLUENCING FACTORS IN THE SUPPLY OF PUBLIC GOODS IN CHINA

The satisfaction of farmers with the supply of rural public goods is an importantindicator of the effectiveness of rural public goods investment. Using cross-sectionaldata on 400 farmers in five counties of China’s Shaanxi province, this study adoptsordinal logit and probit models to investigate rural residents’ satisfaction and theinfluencing factors in the supply of public goods. The empirical results indicate thatthe income of farmers has a significantly negative impact on their satisfaction, farmerswho were consulted in the process of public goods supply have higher satisfactionlevels than farmers who were not, and farmers who profited from the supply of publicgoods are more satisfied than those who did not. Additionally, other factors have asignificant impact on the satisfaction of certain public products. For example, the olderthe respondents, the higher their satisfaction with medical hygiene service and highereducation levels among the respondents reduce their satisfaction with compulsoryeducation. Our empirical results provide a relevant reference for governmentdepartments in China.

Can relationship bring more provision in rural public goods? Empirical evidence from rural China

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how different types of the village relationship influence different types of public goods provision in rural China. Design/methodology/approach The three components (clan-based relationship, neighborhood relationship and external relationship) were derived by employing factor analysis. The simultaneous discrete choice model was used to estimate the influence of these components on public goods provision, using the survey data from the China Household Income Project conducted in 2007. Findings The findings indicate that considering different components of village relationship allows for a better understanding of the public good provision. The results indicate that the neighborhood relationship has a significantly positive effect on rural public goods provision, particularly on water conservancy and irrigation, while the external relationship has a significantly positive effect on all types of public goods. Practical implications Local public goods provision is the core of the new rural construction in China. These findings imply that relationship in villages plays a vital role in the provision of public goods and is necessary in the construction of the new harmonious countryside in China. The results also have implications for rural public goods provision in other developing countries. Originality/value To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to quantitatively model the impact of different relationships on public goods provision at the rural level. A consideration of the different components in village relationship allows for a more precise understanding of the pubic goods provision in the village.