PROMOTING INCOME GROWTH AND EXACERBATING DIVERGENCE:THE IMPACT OF DRYLAND-TO-PADDY CONSOLIDATION ON FARMERS'INCOME IN SOUTHERN CHINA
The purpose of this paper is to empirically analyze the impact of dryland-to-paddy consolidation(DPC)on farmers'income and its heterogeneity based on the micro-survey data of farm households in Jiangxi and Hunan province,and clarify the specific mechanism,and then identify the moderating effect of human capital improvement,so as to provide decision-making references for orderly implementation of DPC in southern China.The propensity score matching-differences-in-differences model(PSM-DID),was utilized in this study.The results were showed as follows.(1)The DPC helped farm households increase their income as a whole,with significant increases in non-farm income,farm income and rental income,and no significant changes in subsidy income.(2)The impact of the DPC on farmers'income was heterogeneous,with the income of professional agricultural households and part-time households increasing significantly,the income of traditional pure farm households decreasing significantly,and the income of off-farm households not changing significantly,resulting in the negative social impact of widening the income gap between farmers.(3)The income reduction effect brought by the DPC through promoting the monoculture of planting structure was smaller than its income increase effect brought by boosting larger-scale operations,land transfers out and labor off-farm transfers.(4)Human capital improvement was helpful to strengthen the income growth effect of DPC for farmers.In conclusion,although DPC in southern China can help promote farmers'income as a whole,it also exacerbates income divergence among farmers.Therefore,it is recommended to incorporate the livelihood impact assessment of farmers into the suitability evaluation of DPC projects,acquire supporting policies of labor skills training and employment assistance,and establish guarantee measures for farmer households with livelihood transition difficulties.
dryland-to-paddy consolidationfarmers'incomelivelihood adjustmentfarmer heterogeneityPSM-DIDsouthern China
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
