Rural-urban Migration,Rural Household Income and Sustainable Development in Rural Areas of China

The objective of this paper is to investigate the relationships among rural-urban migration, rural household income and sustainable development in rural areas of China. The typical case study is done and 288 questionnaires are collected from five villages in Hebei and Guangxi provinces, China. The migration and remittance status, household income and sustainable development of rural areas are analyzed on the basis of questionnaires. Rural-urban migration is becoming a part of routine life in rural areas. And remittance is an important component in rural household income. Rural-urban migration increases the arable land area per labor, which releases the tight human-land relationship in villages. In total, the migration increases the rural household income and accelerates the sustainable development of rural areas.     

Determinants on Rural-Urban Labor Migration in China: Empirical Analysis on the Effect of Rural Cooperate Medical Insurance based on Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Data

Abstract

This paper studies factors influencing rural-urban labor migration in China, particularly the implementation of rural cooperative medical insurance (RCMI) in the year 2003. With the support of data analysis from the year 2000, 2004 and 2006, clear linear correlations are found between gender, income, health condition and rural-urban labor flow, whereas the impact of education and employment status are more complicated. More importantly, results from regression show that the establishment of RCMI in countryside of China not only inhibits rural residents from seeking employment outside the village, but also pulls back rural people who have already worked in cities. When regional dimension is concerned, the pure composite effect of RCMI on rural labor flow is less significant in coastal areas with better economic performance and medical service.     

我国农业与农村可持续发展的制度创新

我国农业与农村可持续发展的核心问题是农民收入问题。只有切实提高农民的收入水平。才能有效地增加农民购买力，从而增加农业生产资料的投入。进而保证粮食增产。我国农业与农村可持续发展存在的两个矛盾是小农经济与市场经济社会化的矛盾以及小农经济与科技化之间的矛盾。面临的两个分离是家庭经济与集体经济的分离以及传统供销合作社与农民利益的分离。增加农民收入的规模经济论与乡镇企业论的确有成功的典范．但是。对我国更多的农村地区来讲．不具有普遍意义。我国农业和农村可持续发展的关键有两个．一是符合区域特色的区域农业专业化．二是通过专业合作社的制度创新．将分散的家庭组织起来．以解决家庭小生产与大市场之间的巨大矛盾。     

Impacts of Social and Demographic Factors on Residents’ Subjective Well-being in Rural China

Abstract

The objective of social development is to construct a harmonious society. In China, the key to a harmonious society is the happiness of more than 900 million farmers living in the rural areas. This study aimed to measure rural residents’ subjective well-being (SWB) through the day reconstruction method, as well as to analyze SWB’s influencing factors through a variety of statistical methods. The results showed that the average U index was 12.79%, indicating that respondents were unhappy 12.79% of the time. Twenty-seven percent of the population had a U index greater than 0, with the average value being 47%, indicating that these people were unhappy 47% of the time. The study also found that SWB varied according to the characteristics of the respondents. Logistic regression analysis showed that social and demographic factors, including age, education, county, household size, generation number, per capita income, migration status and social networking, which significantly affected rural residents’ SWB. The size of the impact varied with the different factors.     

农村生活固体垃圾的处理现状及影响因素

随着我国农村经济与农民收入水平的快速提高,农村生活固体垃圾产生与排放的数量快速增加,已经严重影响了农村环境、农民健康和农业可持续发展.该文的主要目的是基于甘肃和河北省60个村和240个农户的调研资料,深入了解农村生活固体垃圾的处理和管理现状及影响生活固体垃圾有效处理的制约因素.结果表明,大多数村没有处理生活固体垃圾的设施,总体看甘肃省拥有的处理设施要好于河北省.超过一半的村中生活固体垃圾都没有人管理,但部分村开始制定相关的管理计划.描述性统计分析和计量模型的分析结果表明,农村生活固体垃圾的处理状况与农民人均收入水平的提高和交通便利程度的改进有显著正相关关系,而非农就业机会的增加不利于当地生活垃圾的处理.     

Can Labor Out-Migration Reduce Firewood Consumption by Rural Households in Western Mountainous China

Abstract

The relationship between out-migration of labor in the Qinling mountain area and households’ firewood consumption is explored. Migration and remittances reduce households’ firewood consumption due to increases in both income and opportunity cost of firewood collection. Previous studies have been equivocal because they ignored uncertainty in household economy, which is widespread in forest areas of less developed countries. This study provides additional insight by considering vulnerability and subjective assessment of poverty generated by unstable income and an uncertain future. We provide evidence that the amount of firewood consumed depends on income and opportunity cost of firewood collection, but also on a prudent consumption strategy, due to farmers’ subjective assessment of their future possible poverty. We also find out-migration of labor can reduce per capita firewood consumption but subjective poverty also acts against reduction of firewood consumption.     

中国省际间农村居民收入结构和收入差距分析

在计算基尼系数的基础上,文章得出了改革开放以来中国省际间农村居民收入差距不断扩大的趋势,收入基尼系数从1981年的0.095一直上升到了2003年的0.181,直到近年来,收入差距才开始略有缩小。文章从收入结构的视角研究了省际间农村居民收入差距产生的原因。首先利用1983-2008年较长时期的数据分析了农村居民收入结构的变化,发现从总体上而言,中国各地区农村居民的收入结构均表现出了农业收入比重减少,非农收入比重增加的明显趋势;然后运用基尼系数的分解方法实证分析了不同收入来源对于收入差距的影响,研究发现,工资性收入是差距促增的,是目前中国省际间农村居民收入差距扩大最重要的原因,而家庭经营性收入者起着差距促减的作用,转移性收入和财产性收入的不平等程度较高,但是由于其在总收入中的比例不高,对总的收入差距影响较小。最后,文章提出了缩小省际间农村居民收入差距的政策建议。     

Impacts of Social and Demographic Factors on Residents＇ Subjective Well-being in Rural China

The objective of social development is to construct a harmonious society.In China,the key to a harmonious society is the happiness of more than 900 million farmers living in the rural areas.This study aimed to measure rural residents' subjective well-being(SWB) through the day reconstruction method,as well as to analyze SWB's influencing factors through a variety of statistical methods.The results showed that the average U index was 12.79%,indicating that respondents were unhappy 12.79% of the time.Twenty-seven percent of the population had a U index greater than 0,with the average value being 47%,indicating that these people were unhappy 47% of the time.The study also found that SWB varied according to the characteristics of the respondents.Logistic regression analysis showed that social and demographic factors,including age,education,county,household size,generation number,per capita income,migration status and social networking,which significantly affected rural residents' SWB.The size of the impact varied with the different factors.     

中国农村清洁能源发展分析及建议

本文从我国农村地区发展清洁能源对于保护环境和促进农村社会经济可持续发展的现实意义入手,首先描述了当前阶段我国农村地区的能源消费结构和生产方式,分析了清洁能源在我国城市和农村地区发展不平衡的问题,进一步阐述了农村地区发展清洁能源在改变能源消费结构,合理利用能源,促进节能减排,改善农村生产生活条件,促进社会和谐发展等方面的重要性.随后介绍了现阶段我国农村清洁能源发展的基础设施和政策法规环境以及适合不同地区的清洁能源技术和发展情况.本文认为农村清洁能源可以分为三种主要发展模式,即自给自足的分散模式、可规模化生产的集中模式和与生态经济结合的循环模式,并从不同模式的表现形式、技术特点、地域特征、用能环境、基础设施、能源性质、发展阶段、投资规模、服务要求、创新侧重点等方面进行了比较分析.文章最后就当前农村地区清洁能源发展所面临的问题提出了有针对性的政策建议,并指出农村要基于当地当前生产生活条件,因地制宜地选取适合的清洁能源发展模式.     

Rural women and agrotourism in the context of sustainable rural development: A case study from Turkey

As in many developing countries also in Turkey, agriculture is on the center of rural development and rural women are on the center of agriculture. Although they are main part as a major labor force at every stage of agricultural activity and undertake responsibilities such as domestic task and childcare, women do not profit from social and economic benefits proportionate to the responsibilities they have undertaken.Agrotourism is an alternative activity in the rural development process, which combines agriculture and tourism, improves natural resources, contributes the rural area socially and economically.The aim of this study is to examine the participation conditions of rural women to the agrotourism activities, which is considered as an option in the context of sustainable rural development, and to identify the possible social and economic implications of agrotourism on the rural womens life, after determining the situation and importance of rural women in the agricultural activity. This research was carried out in three villages of Kalecik district of Ankara and data gathered from group meetings and surveys.Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Characteristics of Rural Labor Emigration in Minority Areas of Honghe, Yunnan and Its Impact on New Socialist Countryside Construction in the 21st Century

China is a country with multinationalities. The political, social, and economic significances of the economic and social development in the minority areas have a very close connection with the modernization of the whole China's politics, society, and economy. The movement of minority rural migrants to the urban areas or to the nonagricultural industries is one of the key issues in the economic and social development in the minority rural areas. The rural population migration in the minority areas was taken as the important research topic, hoping to be of benefit to the deeper understanding of the current migration movement in China.     

No Sustainability without Technical,Fiscal and Social Innovation

Abstract

Migration process has become increasingly important in recent research on population and the environment. A majority of the existing migration and environment literature has focused on the environmental causes and determinants of migration. With the largest rural-to-urban migration flow in world history, and growing concerns about the environmental problems accompanying its fast economic development, China provides a particularly important case for migration and environment research. This paper reviews major migration theories and recent research on environmental effects on migration, with specific attention to the influences of environmental factors on rural-to-urban labor migration in China. A comprehensive multilevel conceptual framework is developed for studying the environmental causes of rural-to-urban migration in China. The effects of land resources on household labor migration decisions in rural China are explored to illustrate the application of this framework.     

Coincidence and Upgrade: A Typical Case Study of Rural Ecotourism Development

Abstract

At present, internal rural tourism is at the stage of upgrading and renewing, and ecotourism has been considered to be the main direction. This paper discussed the concepts and criteria of rural tourism and ecotourism, analyzed a typical case of Nongke Village of Chengdu City-being considered to be the first rural tourism site in China, went deep into the problems of the contents and criteria of the development of rural ecotourism, and tried to probe into the principles of the development of rural ecotourism both theoretically and practically so as to understand the rules of the development of rural ecotourism.     

Evaluation of the Rural Human Settlement in Shandong Province

Abstract

Taking Shandong Province as the research object, this paper uses the principal component analysis method to evaluate the status of the rural human settlement in Shandong Province. It establishes the evaluation index system of the rural residential environment in Shandong Province, including living environment, economy, infrastructure, public service facilities, and ecological environment, in total five comprehensive index, and 20 secondary indexes. Through measurement and sorting of rural human environment development level of Shandong Province in 2010, the 17 cities are divided into-excellent, good, ordinary, poor-four development areas and are analyzed based on the restriction factor in the development of the region.     

城镇化进程中的农民生活用水研究

目前,我国有关农村居民生活用水的系统研究相当缺乏。对地处上海市浦东快速城市化区域的8个村庄进行随机入户调查。在对调查数据进行整理和统计分析的基础上,系统研究当地农民的生活用水行为和影响因素。研究表明：（1）被访农民普遍认为自来水价格过高。家庭收入水平是决定被访农民对水价态度的主要影响因素。（2）自来水价格主要对农户的洗衣行为产生显著影响。认为自来水价格高的农户更倾向于用井水洗衣。（3）影响农户自来水用水量的显著变量包括：农户家庭常住人口、自来水价格、洗衣水源和洗澡方式。（4）被访农民普遍具有节水意识,但大都局限于“节约使用自来水,减少自来水水费”这个层面。提高农民的水污染控制和水资源保护意识,正确引导其井水抽取和生活污水排放行为,促进农村污水收集和治理项目的普及和正常运行,以及完善地下水资源的保护和管理机制是现阶段当地保障农村生活用水安全的工作重点     

新农保扩大内需的实证分析

新农保制度是新推出保障农村老年居民基本生活为目标的社会政策,为评估新农保对扩大内需的作用,运用湖北省50个县域经济数据,遵循有效性和简约性的变量筛选原则,选取GDP为控制变量,构建倍差法模型,采用固定效应估计,发现新农保有扩大内需的显著效应。根据扩大内需的内在机制,这一实证结果表明:农民对新农保制度有较好的预期与较大的信心,即新农保制度增强了农民的安全感;农民具有一定的缴费能力,即新农保没有挤出消费;中国农村存在较为普遍的谨慎防备的消费心理,即安全感的增强提振了农民的消费;新农保缩小了收入差距,即新农保扩大了边际消费。新农保扩大内需的效应说明经济政策与社会政策、公平与效率在中国当前可以统一,为保持经济健康可持续发展,中国应逐步摆脱过分强调经济建设和经济政策的发展战略,逐渐转到更加重视社会建设和社会政策的发展轨道上来。但新农保扩大内需的效果没有在整体经济中充分凸显出来,因此需要进一步地扩大新农保覆盖面。     

Theoretical and Empirical Analysis on Influence Factors of Modern Agricultural Equipment Level in the Process of Agricultural Sustainable Development

Abstract

To promote modern agricultural equipment level is one characteristic of constructing and developing modern agriculture in China. This paper makes up stepwise linear regression analysis model of influence factors of modern agricultural equipment level, and chooses rural labor, per capita income of rural residents, rural investment, proportion of people at secondary education level and at higher level in per hundred rural labor force and arable land area as independent variables, and total power of machine as induced variable. The major results show that the relativity of modern agricultural equipment level, rural investment and education level of peasants is remarkable, and they are the major influence factors of modern agricultural equipment level. Raising investment level of rural infrastructure construction as well as and research and development and promotion of advanced and applicable modern agricultural equipment, improving quality and education level of peasants can accelerate the development of China’s modern agricultural equipment effectively in the process of agricultural sustainable development.     

互助资金政策对贫困村劳动力流动的影响--基于5省10县准实验研究的DID分析

促进贫困地区农村劳动力向外流动是提高农民收入、缩小城乡差距的关键。在农村劳动力尤其是贫困劳动力外流增速放缓的背景下,文章从信贷约束缓解的视角出发,基于5省10县互助资金监测的准实验研究项目,借助双重差分(DID)模型,利用1059个微观农户的三期面板数据,从家庭层面考察了互助资金政策对贫困村劳动力流动的影响,并从缓解流动性约束、资本替代劳动和提供隐性担保三个角度对作用机制进行了分析和检验。研究结果表明:①互助资金政策的实施对贫困村劳动力外流具有显著的促进作用。安慰剂检验和稳健性检验进一步加强了研究结论的可靠性。②缓解农户的流动性约束是互助资金促进贫困村劳动力外流的路径之一,通过向农户提供借款,使农户尤其是贫困农户获得了满足迁移成本的金融资源,从而促进了向外流动。③资本替代劳动的机制作用并不明显,这可能与互助资金借款额度有限有关,无法满足农户机械化的资本需求。④为农户家庭面临的收入风险提供隐性担保也是互助资金促进贫困村劳动力外流的路径之一,通过为农户提供资金融通渠道,确保农户即使在外流失败的情况下能够通过向互助资金借贷平滑消费和缓解风险冲击。研究结论为探索农村金融供给能否成为进一步促进剩余贫困劳动力转移的契机提供了有理论价值和可操作的视角,未来应继续坚持农村金融改革的步伐,加快金融产品和金融工具创新,不断提高贫困农户的信贷可得性和可持续性收益。     

政府主导、人口流动与城乡收入差距

中国经济增长具有典型的政府主导特征,通过构造一个包含城镇和农村经济产出的社会福利函数来分析政府主导型经济增长对城乡收入差距的影响关系,并基于中国城镇化发展实际分析了人口流动对城乡收入差距的影响,在此基础上提出研究假说,统计中国1997—2014年省际面板数据,采用泰尔指数测度城乡收入差距并分别进行静态和动态回归分析与检验。静态研究发现政府主导和人口流动显著地拉大了城乡收入差距,但是二者的交互项对城乡收入差距的确具有收敛效应,即随着人口流动的增加,政府主导对城乡收入差距的边际贡献会降低,同样随着政府主导的提升也会降低人口流动对城乡收入差距的边际贡献,这种影响关系在分区域的回归中依然成立,并通过了稳健性检验;动态研究发现全国和分区域中城乡收入差距的变动存在显著的正向路径依赖特征,全国层面政府主导显著地拉大了城乡收入差距,而人口流动及其与政府主导的交互项则显著地缩小了城乡收入差距,但分区域来看政府主导和人口流动对城乡收入差距的影响存在显著的区域异质性,并通过了稳健性检验。因此缩小城乡收入差距不应设置单一的政策目标,需要建立多方面的政策配套体系,逐步矫正政府主导型经济中造成的政府职能异化,精准识别地方财政收支量的规模和结构条件,扩大涉农业务投资的规模,激活农村经济发展活力;在城乡户籍制度改革中进一步打破城乡分割藩篱,大力发展非农产业,增加农民的非农就业机会,促进农民的非农化就业和城镇化迁移,提升城镇化发展质量;最终通过一系列的配套性制度安排,旨在加强支持农业发展和农村建设,促进农民收入增长的制度供给,实现城乡共享发展。     

Sustainable Tourism Development Management of Local Cultural Landscapes

Abstract

Nowa days, ecological and cultural tourism, especially those ancient villages and towns in China, have attracted an increasing number of tourists because of their unique cultural features. However, rapid development of tourism brings economic benefits, but results in a series of problems that threaten further tourism development and protection of ancient towns, such as over-commercialization and tourism urbanization. Taking Longmen ancient town as an example, this paper presented a sustainable way of preserving and developing resources of ancient villages and towns. First, identify cultural features and the extent of ancient villages and towns, and find the approach through which a cultural landscape zoning can be applied. Second, define a cooperative function area to release the pressure on core areas and protect their authentic cultures by extending tourism space. Third, balance tourism development with traditional industries to enhance the sustainability of community economies.