Impact of Labor Transfer on Agricultural Land Use Conversion at Rural Household Level Based on Logit Model

Since land and labor force are primary resources to be used and controlled by rural households, the allocation of labor forces will influence land uses, and further lead to land use conversion. The present study used the Binary Logit model to investigate the influence of labor force transfer, characteristics of rural households, location, and land market on agricultural land use conversion at rural household level. This study was conducted based on 329 valid questionnaires, which were obtained in Changshu, Rudong, and Tongshan counties, respectively representing the southern, middle and northern areas of Jiangsu Province. The results showed that land market participation, location, zonal difference and labor transfer had strong influences on agricultural land use conversion. The participation of land market had a strong positive effect on land use conversion, especially for the farmland converted to the fishpond. The nearer to the county seat, the more conversion of land use occurred. Particularly, the labor force transfer caused by wage employment decreased this conversion probability, while the labor transfer caused by self-employment led to more conversion; and the increasing of income from labor transfer increased the conversion. Moreover, land use con- versions demonstrated zonal difference, which were more in Rudong and Changshu counties than in Tongshan County, and the factors influencing this conversion were different in the three regions.

A Two-Sector Economic Growth Model with Labor Force Transfer

In this paper, a two\|sector growth model is given. The labor force transfer process from agricultural sector to industrial sector is exogenous determined. By introducing the labor force transferring function, a two\|dimension nonautonomous differential equation is obtained. The results of the model manifest that the labor force transfer delays industrial sector growth and accelerates the agricultural sector growth. It is proved that the solution of the model is asymptotic stable. By the numerical analysis, the economic growth and labor force transfer is presented under the specific parameters.

Technical Demand of Commercial Paddy Farmers in the Context of Labor Transfer

On the basis of document research,we summed up factors of technical demand of commercial paddy farmers to four aspects:individual characteristics of farmers,natural endowment of resources,factors related to risks,and information factor.Then,we put forward relevant hypotheses.From survey results of 241 farmer households in 4 southwestern provinces(regions),by the binary logistic regression analysis method,we empirically studied influences of the above four factors on technical demand of commercial paddy farmers.Results show that commercial paddy farmers like simple and high yield cultivation technique best,while individual characteristics of farmers,natural endowment of resources,factors related to risks,and information factors are major factors influencing different agricultural technical demand of commercial paddy farmers.

Labor Transfer:A Catalyst or Anticatalyst for Poverty Alleviation?--A study based on a survey of 237 rural households in Yi communities in Liangshan

This paper takes income and“two no worries and three guarantees”(rural poor people have no worry about food and clothing and have access to compulsory education,basic medical services,and safe housing)as two essential indexes,and is based on data collected from a survey of 237 rural households living below the poverty level in Yi communities in Liangshan.Through case studies and positive analysis,we explored the impact of labor transfer on poverty alleviation.We found that the following factors contribute to a double paradox of labor service-enabled poverty alleviation:An income growth trend which prioritizes“external income”(from urban work)over“internal income”(from an agricultural business),restrictions by performance indexes,as well as a lack of public services in rural areas.Although labor transfer can help rural households increase household income and non-agricultural income and reduce poverty within a short period of time,it can hardly promote agricultural businesses through non-agricultural employment and thereby help poverty-stricken rural households permanently alleviate poverty.Although labor transfer can exacerbate various issues facing poverty-stricken households(such as a delay in housing construction,school drop-out rates and health risks for the elderly),it can also play a positive role in raising the profile of farmers and improving rural education and living environments.Based on this study,we propose continuing the supply-side reform in the labor market,implementing differentiated poverty alleviation policies,improving the existing mechanism for poverty alleviation assessment,establishing rural public services,and launching a corresponding multi-channel financing mechanism.

The relationship between rural surplus labor transfer,urbanization and income gap

Based on the time series data of Shandong province from 2001 to 2018,a VAR model consisting of three variables,namely,rural surplus labor transfer,urbanization and urban-rural income gap,was constructed,and the interaction among the three variables and their characteristics were empirically analyzed.The results show that urbanization and rural surplus labor transfer are Granger causation to each other,and there is a positive correlation between urban-rural income gap and rural surplus labor force in long-term equilibrium,while there is a negative correlation between urban-rural income gap and rural surplus labor force transfer.Therefore,it is necessary to fully recognize the relationship between the transfer of rural surplus labor,urbanization and urban-rural income gap,accelerate the urbanization construction,promote the rural surplus labor to gather in cities,and gradually narrow the urban-rural income gap.

Economic Effect of Rural Labor Transfer in China

With the continuous development of China’s economy and the acceleration of urbanization,more and more rural labor force is gradually transferred to cities and non-agricultural industries.Although the transfer of rural labor force can increase farmers’income,improve farmers’quality of life,and accelerate the process of urbanization and agricultural modernization in China,the unreasonable transfer of rural labor force has also brought some problems to China’s agricultural development.This paper mainly through the method of combining theoretical derivation and empirical analysis,using the data from 2010 to 2015 to analyze,study the influence of rural labor transfer on agricultural production,explore the relationship between rural labor transfer and agricultural development and provide relevant policy suggestions.

Spatial patterns of farmland abandonment and its impact factors in the central Three Gorges Reservoir Area

The severe farmland abandonment phenomena in China have tremendously decreased the farmland usage efficiency and caused a series of profound ecological and social outcomes. The complexity of farmland abandonment necessitates a systematic research on its patterns and impact factors to underpin the dynamics of problem as well as potential solutions. This paper took Wanzhou district in the central part of Three Gorges Reservoir Area as an example to study the spatial distribution patterns of abandoned farmland at three scales, i.e., town, village, and plot, and analyzed the influence from labor transfer and farmland circulation. We conducted a survey on the distribution patterns of abandoned farmland via questionnaires at town and village scales, together with the modeling and interpretation of high-resolution aerial images taken by unmanned aerial vehicles at plot scale. Our research discloses a strong relationship between the distribution of abandoned farmland and the distance from population center at different scales. At eithertown or village scale, the abandonment proportion was recognized the highest in mid-distance areas and lowest in close-distance areas, and the per capita area of abandoned farmland increased with the distance to downtown or township. At plot scale, abandonment proportion presented exponential growth with the distance to village center, whereas the abandoned farmland was mainly distributed in the areas with distance above 500 m from the village center. Moreover, we noticed that labor transfer and farmland circulation are two important factors that influence farmland abandonment. Labor's outbound transfer distance has a positive linkage with the possibility of farmland abandonment. Finally, it is recommended that development and adoption of corresponding policies on local urbanization and farmland circulation will facilitate to alleviate farmland abandonment.

Impact of Agricultural Labor Transfer on Agricultural Nonpoint Source Pollution: A Case Study of Jiangxi, China

A large proportion of the rural labor force in China will continue to transfer to non-agricultural sectors in the near future, which will inevitably lead to the transformation of the agricultural production mode and the structure of the farmers’ livelihood. The Chinese government is making great efforts to govern agricultural nonpoint source pollution(ANSP), and farmers’ environmental behavior is a key factor that must be considered in the formulation of agricultural environmental policies. Based on a set of micro survey data on farmers in the study area and econometric methods, this study investigates the impact of agricultural labor transfer on ANSP by considering the substitution effect of agricultural factors and the effect of agricultural economies of scale. The results show that the increase of the agricultural labor force will not be conducive to reducing ANSP, while the income increase brought by agricultural labor transfer will improve the input structure of agricultural factors and have a positive impact on ANSP reduction. Government departments should provide subsidies or incentive measures to help agricultural social service organizations to expand their coverage and increase the frequency of socialized agricultural services, in order to guide farmers in the use of environment-friendly agricultural technology to reduce the ANSP caused by agricultural factors at the source. Furthermore, it is necessary to facilitate the development of small-sized agricultural machinery suitable for small-area land cultivation.

The Labor Market and China＇s Economic Cycle： A Discussion of Okun＇s Law in Relation to China

In recent years, the Chinese economy has been facing downward pressure from slowing growth, but there has not been a significant rise in the registered/surveyed unemployment rate. The combination of these factors shows yet again that Okun＇s law does not fit China. Based on empirical observation of the relationship between China＇s economic cycle and its 1 abor market transition, we put forward a broader version of Okun＇s law which is applicable to analyses of the Chinese transition. The specific applications of the broad version of the law are connected with stages of economic development. The standard Okun model, which includes only the unemployment variable, is suited to developed countries in which labor transfer is complete. The broader version of Okun＇s law, which is applicable to transitional economies, introduces a variable for the transfer of agricultural labor. Using Chinese and cross-country panel data, we find that, compared with long-term trends, short-term changes in the transfer of agricultural 1 abor are significantly correlated with the economic cycle. This finding broadens our understanding of the general pattern of the relationship between the labor market and the economic cycle and provides scientific support for employment policy adjustments that takes ＂new urban jobs and the surveyed unemployment rate as an important indicator of macro-adjustment and control.＂

湘闽赣山区劳动力转移差异对梯田荒决策和规模的影响

In recent years,the phenomenon of abandonment of cultivated land in mountainous areas has occurred frequently,and the problem of abandonment has become a focus of attention of government agricultural departments and academic circles.However,few studies have paid attention to the impact of differences in labor transfer on the abandonment behavior of farmers’terraced fields.Based on this,this paper takes the terraced fields of Hunan,Fujian and Jiangxi provinces as the research area,combined with data from 1438 farmer households,and uses the Probit and Tobit models to analyzed the impact of the difference in the quantity,distance and quality of labor off-farm transfer on the decision-making and scale of terraced field abandonment of farmer households.The results show that:(1)The greater the quantity of labor transfer,the farther the transfer distance and the higher the quality of non-agricultural employment,can promote the decision of farmers to abandon terraced fields;(2)With the deepening of the degree of non-agricultural transfer,the scale of abandoned terraced fields by farmers in hilly and mountainous areas will also expand;(3)The distance and quality of labor transfer can strengthen the impact of labor transfer quantity on farmers’decision to abandon land.To alleviate the phenomenon of abandoned terraced fields,the government should pay attention to the labor substitution role of agricultural service outsourcing and mechanization in mountainous areas.The government should actively promote the transformation of terraced fields into mechanized farming,improve the cultivated land transfer market,and encourage farmers to transfer terraced fields.

The Trickle-dow n Effect of Fin tech Developme nt:From the Perspective of Urbanization

The emergence of a digital divide or a lack of internet access may hinder urbanization and adversely affect growth.However,fintech development can help to improve the accessibility and affordability of financial services,particularly for sections of the population formerly excluded from such services.Improved access is expected to stimulate the growth essential for promoting urbanization,possibly alleviating the negative impacts of a digital divide and creating a trickle-down effect.This paper is among the first to investigate the effect of fintech development on urbanization,as indicated by labor transfer from agricultural to non-agricultural sectors in China.It is found that:(i)the digital divide hindered,while fintech development contributed to urbanization;(ii)the positive effect of fintech development on urbanization affects individuals both with and without access to the internet,yielding the so-called trickledown ejfect and thus helping to alleviate the negative consequences of a digital divide;and(Hi)regarding transmission mechanisms,fintech development helps to generate additional jobs and raise income in non-agricultural sectors,stimulating urbanization even for those without access to the internet.

China's Urban Employment and Urbanization Rate:A Re-estimation

The present paper argues that China＇s existing population and employment statistics are misleading, and have failed to include many of the migrant and labor force flows between urban and rural areas. The paper reconciles the differences between official census data and other survey statistics and attempts to recalculate China＇s urban population and employment figures. Our analyses indicate that official statistics of 2012 underestimate China ＇s urban employment by approximately 47 million while overestimating rural employment by 31 million. The adjusted urbanization rate exceeded 55 percent in 2012, almost 3 percentage points higher than the official statistics. Nevertheless, there remains much potential for rural-to-urban migration. More specifically, if the current bottlenecks in household registration, social security and public welfare systems can be removed or relaxed, China＇s urbanization rate could rise by another l O percentage points or even more over the next decade.

Has the Lewis Turning Point Arrived in China?——Theoretical Analysis and International Experience

Using World Bank cross-country panel data to estimate the economic development level that corresponds to the Lewis turning point, we find that as GDP per capita increases, the share of rural labor in the total labor force tends to decrease first at an accelerated rate and then, after passing the Lewis turning point, at a reduced rate. Regression analysis of cross- country panel data shows that the Lewis turning point is reached when GDP per capita reaches somewhere between US$3,000 and US$4,000 dollars （PPP, constant international US dollars for the year 2000）. GDP per capita in China has exceeded this level, but the proportion of rural labor in the total labor force remains much higher than the average for countries at the same level of economic development. This may imply that there is still considerable potential for rural labor transfer in China.