JOURNAL OF NANJING FORESTRY UNIVERSITY ›› 2020, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (4): 205-214.doi: 10.3969/j.issn.1000-2006.201908031

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An impact of contracts and their duration on household income of farmers involved in land transfer

WANG Xiangyu1(), ZHANG Hongxiao1(), XU Jingwen1, HE Wenjian2   

  1. 1.College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China
    2.College of Business, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China
  • Received:2019-08-23 Revised:2020-01-02 Online:2020-07-22 Published:2021-07-09
  • Contact: ZHANG Hongxiao E-mail:linde0631@163.com;njhxzh@njfu.edu.cn

Abstract: Objective

This study is focused on land contracts in rural China. Informal contracts and formal contracts are persistent in land use rights transactions. The formation of the contract and period of farmland transfer is a complex decision, and is affected by the imperfections of the land transfer market and the non-agricultural employment market in China. To determine an ideal land transfer contract model, to provide suggestions for orderly land transfer and to protect rights of farmers who participate in land transfer, this study examined the influence of different choices of contracts and contract duration on the household income of the participating farmers.

Method

Combining theory and simulation, this study employed the ordinary least squares (OLS) analysis and a 2-stage least squares (2SLS) model. As instrumental variables, we separately took the average value of the land transfer contracts and the contract durations for other farmers in the same village except the sample farmer. The sample, which comprises 161 households participating in rural land transfer, was selected from 12 villages of four counties in Jiangsu Province, China.

Result

The results of the OLS model reveal that the long-term formal contract does not induce the growth of non-agricultural income of participating farmers. In addition,the formal contract has a negative impact on the total income (reduces income by 0.34) and on non-agricultural income (reduces by 2.955), and the contract duration has a negative effect on farmers’ non-agricultural income (reduces by 0.106).After the instrumental variables are added, the results of the 2SLS model indicate that the contract duration has no significant effects on the household income while the formal contracts have a positive impact on farmers’ agricultural income. Specifically, a formal contract is conducive to the growth of agricultural income by 2.993 times, but has a negative impact on non-agricultural income by 5.319 times. In addition, increasing the operating land area has a significant role in improving farmers’ total and agricultural income.

Conclusion

Promoting the development of formal contracts has advantages in attracting large-scale operators to enter the field of agricultural operation and to promot farmers’ income. The impact of the contract period on farmers’ income is not significant, which may be due to the limitation of the crop growth cycle and the hidden effect of fixed investment. In the process of signing the land transfer contract, the subjects’ autonomy should be fully respected, and the long-term formal contracts should not implemented without careful consideration. To reduce the mismatch of resources, maximize the expected effect of property rights stability brought by the contract and the contract duration, and achieve the purpose of increasing farmers’ income, it is necessary to provide effective training on agricultural planting structure and non-agricultural employment for farmers who rent in or rent out land.

Key words: farmland transfer, contract form, contract duration, farmer income

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