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.     

农地流转与农户生计策略联合决策研究

基于中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)2014年农村住户数据,采用多元probit模型实证检验了农户土地流转决策、农户种植经济作物决策和非农劳动力转移决策之间的相互影响。研究发现:①农户土地流转与劳动力非农转移和经济作物种植生计决策相互关联。总体而言,土地转入与种植经济作物决策正相关,与非农劳动力转移决策负相关。土地转出与非农劳动力转移决策正相关,与种植经济作物决策负相关。②土地流转与农户非农劳动力转移和经济作物种植等生计策略的关系与农地流转规模相关,小规模和中等规模的土地转入与非农劳动力转移之间未有显著关系,与经济作物种植决策具有显著正向关系,但大规模的土地转入与农户经济作物种植决策和非农就业决策显著负相关。③土地流转是否影响农户生计多样化决策还取决于地区机械化程度。机械化程度较高的平原地区土地转入决策与农户非农劳动力转移和经济作物种植决策未有显著关系,而机械化程度较低的高山、丘陵、高原等地区土地转入决策与农户种植经济作物和非农就业决策分别存在正相关和负相关关系,表明随着机械化对农业劳动力替代程度的增强,土地流转对农户劳动力配置的影响效应减弱。政策建议是:①统筹推进农村土地、劳动力市场发展,推动农户土地流转参与,促进转出户生计向非农专业化转移,促进转入户农地适度规模经营;②完善农机社会化服务市场,提高农机和农技融合使用深度和广度,提高农机对农业劳动力的替代弹性,增强转入户农业劳动力农地规模经营的能力,增加农业生产比较收益。     

农业分工有利于化肥减量施用吗?——基于江汉平原水稻种植户的实证

促进农户的化肥减量施用是改善农业面源污染、推动农业可持续发展的重要举措。已有研究重点关注农地流转及由此实现的农地规模经营对化肥减量化的影响,普遍忽视农业分工的减量贡献。本文通过构建“农业分工-内生技术进步-化肥减量施用”理论分析框架,阐明了农业横向分工与纵向分工促进化肥减量施用的作用机理,然后结合2017年对江汉平原983个水稻种植户调查数据,运用线性回归模型与分位数回归模型进行实证检验。结果表明:农业横向分工和纵向分工均能够显著降低水稻种植户的化肥施用量;对于化肥施用量处于低位分布的农户,纵向分工的减施效应相对较强;对于化肥施用量处于高位分布的农户,横向分工的减施效应更为明显。考虑宏观农业化肥减量化政策冲击和模型潜在的内生性等问题后,上述结论仍然稳健。进一步的影响机理挖掘发现,横向分工与纵向分工分别通过人力资本积累、迂回技术引进效应促进实现农户化肥减量施用。在农业家庭经营参与分工经济的过程中,横向分工及其区域专业连片化所表达的市场容量是纵向分工深化、知识外溢与人力资本积累的重要条件。由此,当微观农户开展横向专业化分工并演进为区域专业连片化生产时,横向分工的人力资本积累效应和纵向分工的迂回技术引进效应将得到强化,进而显著促进农户化肥减量施用。本文的政策含义是:优化作物生产布局,强化农业横向分工,特别是区域专业连片化、组织化生产,形成小农户与大农业生产格局;培育多样化农业生产委托代理市场,鼓励农业家庭经营卷入分工经济。     

农地转出:缓解还是加剧了农户的多维贫困?

基于六盘山集中连片区的1 112户农户调研数据,在综合考虑样本选择偏差和异质性的基础上,通过构建内生转换模型分析了农户农地转出行为对多维贫困指数的影响。结果表明：农户农地转出行为能够显著地降低多维贫困指数。通过进一步的反事实假设研究,发现农地转出户如果不转出农地,多维贫困指数将提高22.16%;未转出户如果有机会转出农地,多维贫困指数将下降30.22%。尽管农地转出行为能够降低农户的多维贫困指数,但受制于以地为生思想意识的制约,集中连片区农户并不能做出合理的决策。     

Impacts of the Rising Opportunity Cost of Farm Labor on Agricultural Land Use Structure: Theory and Empirical Evidences

Abstract

Nowadays the rising of opportunity cost of farm labor comes to the forefront of attention in China. In order to understand its impact on agricultural land-use structure, a theoretical framework of household economics is formulated drawn on Low’s model. Under the theoretical framework, the impact of the rising opportunity cost of on-farm on cropping structure is deduced in theory. And then, using statistic and survey data, taking mountain area of southern Ningxia as an example, the theoretical assumes are verified. The results show that the rise of opportunity cost of farm labor leads to less diversified cropping structure.     

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

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.     

土地流转与农户收入增长——基于收入结构的视角

农户参与土地流转能否产生正的收入效应是一个广为社会各界关注的问题,然而已有的经验研究结论却大相径庭,文章以为对土地流转异质性影响的忽视是导致诸多土地流转收入效应研究结论不一致的关键。基于此,文章应用2010—2018五轮中国家庭追踪调查数据(CFPS),分析土地流转对不同农户类型、不同收入来源的影响差异。基本实证结果表明:第一,土地流转确实会增加农户收入,但是主要表现为对转出农户有正的收入效应,对转入农户的家庭纯收入影响并不明显。第二,土地流转对转入农户与转出农户的不同类型收入的影响并不一致。转出户工资性收入增长幅度远高于经营性收入下降幅度,工资性收入对转出户家庭纯收入的增长贡献接近80%;转入户的经营性收入增长无法弥补工资性收入下降,导致家庭总收入水平没有显著变化。以上实证结果经双重差分模型、处理效应模型等一系列模型敏感性分析后并未改变,表明文章的基本结论是稳健的。进一步地,文章对收入异质性的原因进行分析,发现土地流转对不同农户的劳动力资源配置决策影响存在差异,转出户外出务工与创业的概率增加,非农生产的劳动力投入增加;而转入户则在农业生产中投入更多资源,包括家庭农业劳动参与增加以及农业投入增加。文章进一步的政策讨论也发现,由于转出农户对技术改进的依赖性较弱,转出农户只需要保证能够找到一份替代工作就可以获得更高的收入;但对转入农户而言,由于缺乏足够的技术帮扶,所以他们的土地生产改进有限,反而难以产生土地流转理论提到的资源配置优化,这可能会限制土地流转市场的进一步扩大。综上,文章研究为优化土地流转政策、提高土地流转参与率,并最终实现农户的社会福利改善提供了一定的理论与经验证据支持。     

Life satisfaction approach to farmers’ compensation for land acquisition: empirical study from the suburbs of Wuhan City

Farmers’ compensation for land acquisition is not only critical to increasing their income and to playing a pivotal role in maintaining rural stability, but also to the promotion of sustainable land use. Based on analysis of Chinese land acquisition policy under the Land Management Law, which provides principles or guidelines for determining compensation according to agricultural land use in regard to farmers’ previous quality of life, the Life Satisfaction Approach is introduced in this article to evaluate farmers’ compensation for land acquisition. Employing data from a questionnaire survey on 346 farming households in Wuhan Suburbs, this article examined the influence of farmland on farmers’ life satisfaction and evaluated the level of compensation for land acquisition. Results show that farmland has a significantly positive impact on life satisfaction, which fell by 0.033 on a five-point scale following a reduction farmland by of 1 mu. Respondents were willing to accept approximately RMB 3066.44 annual household income for the loss of 1 mu farmland; the level of compensation after discounting by 6.2% is RMB 750,000 per hectare. It was found in a further comparative study that the level of farmers’ compensation for land acquisition is decidedly low, and it was also shown that their compensation standards, as well as the actual compensation, could be substantially improved by expanding economic compensation to non-economic compensation to embody farmland multifunction in terms of production and non-production against farmers’ previous quality of life. This article proposes a compensation model that enriches the content of land acquisition compensation, extends the current literature on measuring compensation, and provides economic theory bases for increasing compensation standards and improving policies related to land acquisition. We consider that if this compensation model is applied, it could raise the cost of land acquisition and improve usage of land, reduce the speed of rural–urban land conversion, and improve farmers’ well-being.     

非农就业、农业生产服务外包与农户农地流转行为

农户向非农就业转移被认为是农地流转的主要驱动力，然而在非农就业非常普遍的情况下，农地流转率仍然徘徊不前。农业生产服务外包的发展通过改变非农就业农户从事农业的机会成本进而影响非农就业对农地流转的驱动效应。基于湖北省农户家庭2018年微观调查数据，运用二元离散模型和中介效应模型实证检验农户非农就业对农地流转的影响及农业生产服务外包在其中的中介作用。研究发现：（1）非农就业有助于增加农业生产服务外包进而促进农地转出、抑制农地转入；（2）农业生产服务外包抑制农地转出、促进农地转入；（3）若忽略农业生产服务外包的影响，非农就业对农地流转市场供给的正向效应与需求的负向效应均被高估，这为现实中农户非农就业程度高与农地流转率低的矛盾提供了重要解释。农业生产服务外包在优化农村劳动力资源配置的同时，也对农地流转市场的供需结构进行了重新塑造。     

Heterogeneous impact of agricultural support policies: evidence from Turkey

Agricultural support policies, which increase production to excessive levels, have been heavily criticized for their distortional effects on farmers’ decisions. High input consumption, which harms the environment, and the distribution of supports, which causes income inequality among farmers, are also the other factors that economists criticize these support policies. However, in recent years, the use and dependence on production and land have been increasing globally due to fears of food insecurity in several countries. In this article, the impact of a support policy on cotton farmers’ land in Turkey is evaluated using a detailed farm-level micro dataset. We use the dynamic panel model to consider the production dynamics, unobservable individual heterogeneity, and the endogeneity of the support variable. Our results show that considering the support variable as endogenous significantly increased its impact on farmers’ land. A farmer’s past land allocation decisions also affected their current lands holdings. However, the results varied considerably between regions and between different land sizes. Therefore, the findings show the importance of heterogeneity in the impact of support policies. We conclude that due to the heterogeneous impact of support policies, it might not be possible to discuss the effect of support policies using an average estimate applicable for all farmers. Therefore, a different support policy considering regional characteristics or farm size is necessary to obtain the desired policy outcomes.

     

自我剥削、禀赋效应与农地流转潜在市场发育——兼论经济欠发达地区小农户生产方式转型

以家庭均包制为主要经营特征的农村土地制度曾一度引致农户农业生产积极性的提高和农业生产效率的快速增长,但由此导致的细碎化小规模的农地经营特征和农业生产成本的上升却造成了农地经营的自我剥削现象普遍存在,加之传统的村庄惯习和土地占有关系诱致的农户对农地的禀赋效应,共同导致农户农地经营的自我剥削属性与土地的市场处置行为呈现出内在运行机制不一致性。为此,本文采用引入交叉项的Probit模型,并利用江西省丰城市和遂川县的706户农户调查数据经验分析了小农户的自我剥削和农地禀赋效应对农地流转潜在市场发育的影响。理论分析表明,农地经营的自我剥削特征与农地市场化具有一致性倾向,但农地的人格化财产属性引致的农户禀赋效应造成了农户农地经营自我剥削感知度的下降,并削弱了要素经营属性与市场配置行为的匹配。经验分析结果发现,小农户低效率农地经营导致的自我剥削与农地禀赋效应分别激励农地流转市场的潜在供给和需求。同时,农地禀赋效应弱化了自我剥削对农地流转潜在需求和供给的诱发作用。为此,本文认为降低农户的土地禀赋效应是欠发达地区小农户转型的总体方向,它为农地由小农户流向生产大户和培育部分小农户成为新型农业经营主体提供保障。文章主要从家庭决策的利益导向化、农地流转市场与劳动力市场发展的不一致性及农村制度供给等维度提出了经济欠发达地区小农户转变农业生产方式,跳出自我剥削陷阱的政策建议。具体措施包括:1切实保障小农户的基本权益,提高他们在家庭资源配置中的预期收益;2在初次规模经营补贴、农业基本补贴机制转变、经营者生产奖励、专业技能培训、市场信息供给等层面加大投入力度,同时完善农村社会保障体系,以降低小农户转型的难度与风险。     

粮食补贴政策与农户非农就业行为研究

粮食补贴政策旨在提高农民种粮积极性,促进粮食增产和农民增收,随着国家粮食补贴资金投入力度的逐年加大,农民种粮积极性不断提高,家庭劳动时间分配很可能因此而产生调整。本文首先通过构建嵌入粮食补贴政策的农户劳动分配决策行为模型,理论分析粮食补贴政策对农户非农就业行为的影响,然后基于粮食主产区安徽省农户的实地调查数据,采用Tobit模型分析方法,实证分析粮食补贴政策对农户非农劳动时间供给的影响。研究结果显示:粮食补贴政策对农户非农劳动时间供给具有显著的负面影响,一定程度上有助于调动农民从事农业和粮食生产的积极性;然而,在农业内部工资率低于非农均衡工资率的情况下,这种由粮食补贴政策诱发的农户劳动就业行为变化对家庭经济收入的负面影响将超过当前的转移支付水平;若粮食补贴政策旨在稳定或增加农民收入,那么当前的补贴政策需要进行根本性调整。     

Regional consequences of the way land users respond to future water availability in Murcia, Spain

Agricultural development in the Murcia autonomous region, Spain, has led to overexploitation of groundwater resources, and climate change will further increase pressures. Policy options to tackle the current unsustainable situation include the development of inter-basin water transfer (IBWT) schemes from wetter regions in the north and the introduction of taxation to further control groundwater abstraction. Under these scenarios, farmers with current access to water could face higher water cost, whereas farmers in areas where water was previously not available could see first time availability of water resources. In this paper, we combine discrete choice-based interviews with farmers in the Torrealvilla catchment, in which they indicate how they would adapt their land use under different scenarios, with an input–output model to assess the aggregate effects of individual land use decisions on the economy and water consumption of the Murcia region. The paper presents steps taken in the development of an input–output table for Murcia, including disaggregation of the agricultural sector, accounting for sector water use and consideration of back- and forward linkages. We conclude that appropriate taxation can lead to better water use efficiency, but that this is delicate as relatively small changes in prices of agricultural products can have significant impacts on land use and water consumption. Although new IBWT schemes would enable water to be used more efficiently, they would considerably increase regional water consumption and the regional economy’s dependence on water. As this is not sustainable under future climate change, water saving development pathways need to be explored.     

Farmer typology, future scenarios and the implications for ecosystem service provision: a case study from south-eastern Spain

Farming communities are increasingly expected to manage their agricultural activities in ways that ensure sustainable flows of a wide range of ecosystem services for society. The land use and management choices that farmers make are dependent upon their socio-economic characteristics and background, and in turn have important implications for the landscape and associated ecosystem services. Thus, a better understanding about the linkages between the characteristics of farmers, farm management and land use is important for managing multifunctional agro-ecosystems. In this paper, we first develop a typology of farmers for Torrealvilla catchment in Murcia, Spain, according to the characteristics of their households and farm management (e.g. the farmer’s age, household income, water access, land tenure and farm labour). This analysis distinguishes six types of farmers. Secondly, we analyse the link between farmer typology and the farmers’ responses to a number of scenarios. The scenarios describe different likely changes to agriculture in the catchment in terms of environmental constraints (irrigation water availability and rainfall pattern) and environmental policy regulation (water taxation and subsidies). This exercise enables us to explore the range of future land use changes that are likely to occur in the study area. The results indicate that: rain-fed agriculture is expected to experience gradual but extensive abandonment; vegetable/fruit farming and pig/animal rearing are likely to stagnate or even decline; and growing of grapes is likely to expand. Thirdly, we qualitatively evaluate how future land use changes are likely to affect key ecosystem services in the study area including future agricultural production and associated local income generation, erosion control, maintenance of the groundwater table and various cultural services associated with a heterogeneous agro-ecosystem. Particular changes such as expansion of grape production will increase food production and local income at the cost of further depletion of the aquifer and increased risk of salinisation. The outcomes of the study highlight that, to be effective, the design of agri-environmental schemes and other government interventions (e.g. specific compulsory regulations on farming practices and associated water use) should carefully take into account the characteristics of the farmers within the area of interest, their land uses and the possible diversity of responses to policy and environmental drivers. Opportunities exist for future studies quantifying the extent of the impacts of ecosystem service provision through formal models combining farmers’ land use decision-making and spatially explicit modelling of landscape processes.     

极端气候事件的灾后适应能力研究——以水稻为例

本研究以水稻种植业为例,基于1985-2008年中国水稻主产区的面板数据,实证分析了中国极端气候事件灾后适应能力的机制及绩效。结论表明:西南、华中、华东地区在极端气候事件灾后,并没有将农业产业结构向养殖业调整,相反,种植业在政府扶持与创新激励下反而恢复生产甚至进一步扩张。特别对于西南等经济相对欠发达地区而言,较强的灾后适应能力,往往是农业生产机会成本较低的作用结果,同样由于此原因,华东地区在水灾之后却出现了劳动力转移现象。现阶段,灾后适应能力较多的表现为微观层面的农户响应行为,此种民间调控机制必然有其局限性,政府部门应加大投入力度,通过水利工程建设、气象灾害预警体系构建、标准化农田建设、良种补贴等方式引领粮食主产区应对气象灾害。     

中国粮食生产中不同类型技术要素投入的时空分异与影响因素

以粮食作物为研究对象,利用核密度函数系统分析 2002~2016 年中国粮食生产中土地节约型与劳动节约型两类农业技术要素投入的时空分异特征,并选用多元线性回归方法分析其影响因素。结果显示：(1)2002~2016 年中国粮食生产农业技术要素投入逐年增加。其中,土地节约型技术要素投入变化较为平稳,劳动节约型技术要素投入则大幅上升。(2)土地节约型技术要素投入高值省份集中在华北地区,低值省份主要分布在南方地区。劳动节约型技术要素投入高值地区主要位于我国北方,其中以东北为最高,低值省份则多分布于西南;劳动节约型技术要素投入增幅高于土地节约型。(3)土地节约型技术要素投入的空间差异呈减小趋势,而劳动节约型技术要素投入的空间差异则显著扩大。(4)耕地经营规模和劳动力转移率对两类型技术要素投入均作用显著。同时,土地节约型技术要素投入还易受种植业比重的影响,而劳动节约型技术要素投入则受劳动力素质和城乡收入差距的影响较大。应施行差别化的农业发展政策,提高技术要素投入的效用水平,促进农业生产率的整体增长。     

农地流转背景下地块规模对农户种粮投入影响分析

近年来粮食安全受到国家和社会的广泛关注,农地投入作为粮食生产的重要要素,是保障粮食稳定产出的前提。学者就农地规模对农户种粮投入的影响已进行了较多研究,但受农地流转的影响,土地要素更具多样化,土地规模与农户种粮投入的关系发生变化。随着农地流转在我国的快速发展,探析农地流转影响下土地规模对农户种粮投入影响的变化成为一个亟待研究的问题,对保障国家粮食安全具有重要意义。考虑到地块的异质性,本文基于山东、河南、安徽三个粮食主产省622户农户1 284个地块的粮食生产数据从村庄和农户两个层次控制了生产要素市场价格、地块要素等非主观因素,进行多层模型回归分析。结果表明,农地流转特征及地块特征对农户粮食生产单位面积投入有显著影响。地块规模和转入地占比对农地投入影响为负,转入地占比越大,地权稳定性越低,农户投入积极性受到挫伤越明显,在转入地上的投入减少。随着转入土地面积的增加,农户从事粮食生产的机会成本增大,使其有更强的动力增加种粮投入,地块规模的负向影响程度降低。基于分析结果,本文得出以下3点结论:(1)规模化经营有利于降低单位面积种粮成本;(2)农地流转发生时,地块规模对种粮投入的影响发生改变,成片规模化经营将成为我国粮食生产的必然趋势;(3)提高土地综合条件可以降低投入成本,并提高农户投入积极性。要保障国家粮食安全,需从降低种粮成本、提高农户收益着手,建议鼓励农村土地流转,推动粮食规模化生产,同时也要注重增加财政拨款,建设高标准粮田,强化高标准粮田的农业基础设施建设,完善田间配套工程。     

农地整治权属调整中农户认知对行为响应的作用机制--基于改进TPB及多群组SEM

农地整治权属调整是实现农业规模化和现代化的重要手段,而农户有效参与是推动权属调整的内在动力,研究农地整治权属调整中农户认知对其行为响应的作用机制,有助于高效引导农户参与权属调整,并为制定农地整治权属调整的政策提供科学依据。基于改进计划行为理论和湖北省11个县(市、区)1044份农户抽样调查数据,采用多群组结构方程模型探究了农地整治权属调整中不同类型农户认知对其行为响应的作用机制。结果表明:农地整治权属调整中农户行为逻辑符合改进计划行为理论,农户的行为态度、主观规范、知觉行为控制交互影响行为意愿,进而转换为行为响应,政府支持在行为意愿和行为响应之间起到部分中介作用。总体上,农户行为响应是"自发性""诱发性"和"约束性"三重行动逻辑的结合,且"自发性"占主导地位。多群组结构方程估计结果表明,纯农型与兼业Ⅰ型农户的行为响应受到"自发性""诱发性"和"约束性"三重影响,兼业Ⅱ型农户受到"自发性"和"诱发性"双重影响,非农型农户仅受到"诱发性"单一影响。因此,为引导农户积极参与农地整治权属调整,应该分别针对各类农户相应地提高其参与的"自发性"和"诱发性",降低"约束性",充分发挥农村社会经济组织的作用,将四种不同类型农户的利益需求统筹考虑,降低权属调整过程中利益协调难度。     

作业补贴与农户绿色生态农业技术采用行为研究

绿色生态农业技术是农业可持续发展的关键,中国提出建立以绿色生态为导向的农业补贴制度,探索政府购买服务等作业补贴方式,促进绿色生态农业技术推广。但是“补给谁”“如何补”“补多少”等政策操作问题尚未很好解决。本文以农作物秸秆机械化还田技术作业补贴为例,基于江苏、山东、黑龙江三省622户农户2018年实地调查数据,综合评估了绿色生态农业技术作业补贴政策及补贴方式(即补贴种植户和补贴作业服务组织)对农户绿色生态农业技术采用行为的影响。结果表明:第一,作业补贴政策对农户是否采用绿色生态农业技术和采用时间均有显著正向影响,补贴发放给农户的地区,农户更倾向于采用绿色生态农业技术,且采用时间更早。第二,相对于无农机的农户而言,有农机的农户更倾向于采用生态农业技术,且采用时间更早。第三,农户受教育程度、家庭劳动力人数、是否规模户、技术培训对农户是否采用生态农业技术和采用时间有显著正向影响。第四,农户类型、是否加入农民专业合作社、家庭劳动力人数、技术培训对农户是否获得补贴有显著正向影响。据此,政府需要继续扩大绿色生态农业补贴的技术类型及实施区域,适当提高重点区域补贴额度,补贴对象应当向种植户倾斜;为农户提供技术指导服务,加强绿色生态农业技术培训,提升农户生态农业理念;根据不同规模种植户禀赋特征制定相应推广政策,让不同类型农户享受到绿色生态农业技术的益处;鼓励获得补贴的农机户或服务组织等积极提供生态农业技术作业服务,使其真正成为推动农户采用绿色生态农业技术的重要途径。