Abstract
In this chapter, we hypothesize that in addition to participation status and household characteristics, the impacts of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program on income growth and labor transfer are determined by the local economic condition, program extent, and political leadership; and the income impacts may vary from sector to sector. To test these propositions, we compiled a dataset of 600 households in three counties of the Loess Plateau region, with observations for times both prior to and after the program initiation (1999 and 2006), both aggregate and categorical incomes, and both participating and non-participating households. Using a difference in differences model and the repeated cross-sectional data, we find that participation status, local economic condition, program extent, and political leadership have indeed made significant impacts on household income and off-farm employment. Moreover, the effects of participation on crop production income, animal husbandry income, and off-farm income vary substantially. These results carry major policy implications in terms of how to improve the effectiveness and impacts of ecological restoration efforts in and outside of China.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
This total investment is about US$32 billion, given the current exchange rate of $1=6.85 yuan.
- 2.
Off-farm employment includes employment in local non-agricultural activities and off-village employment as migratory workers.
References
Dingbian SLCP Office. (2007). A summary report of Dingbian's implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program.
Dingbian Statistics Bureau. (2006). 2005 Dingbian statistics yearbook.
Dong, M., Zhong, B. N., & Wang, G. J. (2005). An empirical analysis of the effect of China's farmland conversion program on food security in Ningxia Hui autonomous region. China's Population, Resources, and Environment, 1, 104–108.
Guo, X. M., Gan, T. Y., Li, S., & Luo, H. (2005). An investigation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program implementation in Tianquan, Sichuan. China Rural Observation, 3, 73–79.
Guo, Z. Q., & Yao, S. B. (2007). A study of the sustainability of China's Sloping Land Conversion Program in Wuqi. Forest Economics, 5, 21–25.
Hayami, Y. (2003). Development economics. Beijing: Chinese Social Science Press.
Huachi SLCP Office. (2007). A summary report of Huachi's implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program.
Huachi Statistics Bureau. (2006). 2005 Huachi statistics yearbook.
Lee, M. J. (2005). Micro-econometrics for policy, program, and treatment effects. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
Li, R. N. (2004). The influence of China's land retirement efforts on rural economy in Luoyang, Henan. Agriculture Modernization Research, 5, 363–366.
State Forestry Administration. (2007). 2006 China forestry development report. Beijing: China Forestry Press.
Wang, J. J. (2003). The economic and ecological foundations for converting farmland into forest and grass coverage. Agricultural Economic Issues, 8, 21–27.
Wooldridge, J. M. (2002). Econometric analysis of cross section and panel data. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press.
World Bank. (2002). Building institutions for markets. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wuqi SLCP Office. (2007). A summary report of Wuqi's implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program.
Wuqi Statistics Bureau. (2006). 2005 Wuqi statistical yearbook.
Xu, J. T., Tao, R., & Xu, Z. G. (2004). An empirical analysis of the cost effectiveness, structural adjustment, and long-term sustainability of the farmland conversion program in three western provinces. Economic Research Quarterly, 4, 139–162.
Xu, J. T., Yin, R. S., Li, Z., & Liu, C. (2006). China's ecological rehabilitation: Progress and challenges. Ecological Economics, 57(4), 595–607.
Yi, F. J., Xu, J. T., & Xu, Z. G. (2006). An analysis of the income and employment impacts of the farmland conversion program. China Rural Economy, 10, 28–36.
Yin, R. S., Yin, G. P., & Li, L. Y. (2009). Assessing China's ecological restoration programs: What's been done and what remains to be done? Environmental Management (submitted).
Zhi, L. (2004). Research on the multiple goal characteristics of our country's relief by grain from the backgrounds of Chinese and foreign returning farmland to forests. Forest Economy, 7, 29–32.
Acknowledgments
This study is sponsored by the National “11th Five-Year Plan” Science and Technology Support Project (2006 BAD03A0308), the International Research Center of Sediment, project of “Study on Wuqi County Sustainable Development” (2005-01-10) and the Key Shaanxi Provincial Forestry Special project “Ecological Forest Policy Research.” The authors appreciate Professor Runsheng Yin for his careful editing.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Yao, S., Guo, Y., Huo, X. (2009). An Empirical Analysis of the Effects of China's Land Conversion Program on Farmers’ Income Growth and Labor Transfer. In: Yin, R. (eds) An Integrated Assessment of China's Ecological Restoration Programs. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2655-2_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2655-2_10
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-2654-5
Online ISBN: 978-90-481-2655-2
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)