Influence of social capital on the livelihood strategies of farmers under China's rural revitalization strategy in poor mountain areas: A case study of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture

Social capital in the form of social resources or social networks is one of the most important livelihood capital of farmers, which can increase the labor productivity of poor households and increase income. It is important to explore the reasons underlying the livelihood strategy choices of farmers from the perspective of social capital under China’s rural revitalization strategy. In this study, the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, a povertystricken mountainous area in southwestern China, was selected as the case study area, and multivariable linear regression models were constructed to analyze the influence of social capital on livelihood strategies.The results are as follows:(1) Individual social capital had a positive effect on non-agricultural livelihood strategies. On average, with a one-unit increase in individual social capital, the ratio of farmers’ nonagricultural income to total productive income(Income_Rto) increased by 0.002% and 0.062%,respectively. Collective social capital, with the Peasant Economic Cooperation Organization(PECO) as the carrier, had a negative effect on the non-agricultural livelihood strategies of farmers;on average, with a oneunit increase in PECO, Income_Rto decreased by approximately 0.053%. However, this effect was only significant in the river valley area.(2) The income differences among the different livelihood strategy types were explained by the livelihood strategy choices of farmers. As non-agricultural work can bring more benefits, the labor force exhibited one-way migration from villages to cities, resulting in a lack of the subject of rural revitalization. It is necessary to implement effective measures to highlight the role of PECO in increasing agricultural income for farmers. Finally,based on the above conclusions,policy recommendations with respect to livelihood transformation of farmers and rural sustainable development are discussed.

On the Development of Modern Tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture,Sichuan Province

Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province is the largest community of the Yi ethnic group in China,which has developed a rich culture over its long history.Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture also boasts the modern aerospace industry,unique landscapes of mountains and valleys,and featured modern agriculture.All these provide the prefecture with rich tourism resources.Since the mid-1980s,modern tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has gone through three stages.(a)Infancy stage(the mid-1980s to late-1990s):In this period,tourism as an industry was small in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture and was mainly engaged in the reception business.(b)Operation stage(2000 to 2016):In this period,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture began to develop nature tourism relying on its magnificent mountains,which promoted economic development in certain areas.(c)Region-wide development stage:In 2017,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture began to seek region-wide development in tourism in response to rural revitalization.Since then,Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture has witnessed a profound transformation in its tourism industry.The region,focusing on developing regional featured agriculture,has made great efforts to promote rural development and agritourism,with the aim of enabling rural residents to benefit from the development of the modern economy and rural areas to achieve dual development in both traditional production and modern economy.This paper reviewed the development course of modern tourism in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture in order to reveal the relationship between the market and the policies.Though tourism market explorations usually come before policy introduction,the policies are necessary to regulate the market for its sound development.In addition,this paper further investigated the profound impact of modern tourism on Liangshan’s social development.