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Does household laborer migration promote farmland abandonment in China?

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  • Chong Lu

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of household labor migration on rural household decision making over on the abandonment of farmland using 11,413 rural households' data from 2012 to 2016 in China. The results demonstrate that with every 1% increase in the number of 1, 2, 3, or more household migrant laborers, the average probability of rural households' farmland abandonment increases by 2.9%, 5.0%, and 7.8%, respectively. There is an inverted U‐shaped relationship between the average age of household migrant laborers and farmland abandonment. Both off‐farm employment and part‐time employment have positive impacts on farmland abandonment. If the age of the household head is younger, the number of household members is smaller, the village has suffered natural disasters, and village elevation is higher, rural households with laborers migrating are most likely to abandon farmland. As the rural household laborer migrates, the wage earning of rural household increases, which leads to the households gradually giving up management of farmland, which may be an important mechanism for Chinese households abandoning farmland. The establishment of a paid transfer system may be an effective way to solve the issue of farmland abandonment.

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  • Chong Lu, 2020. "Does household laborer migration promote farmland abandonment in China?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 1804-1836, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:growch:v:51:y:2020:i:4:p:1804-1836
    DOI: 10.1111/grow.12431
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    3. Jundong Hu & Hong Wang & Yu Song, 2023. "Spatio-Temporal Evolution and Driving Factors of “Non-Grain Production” in Hubei Province Based on a Non-Grain Index," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-19, June.
    4. Zhang, Yihao & Wu, Ya & Yan, Jianzhong & Peng, Ting, 2022. "How does rural labor migration affect crop diversification for adapting to climate change in the Hehuang Valley, Tibetan Plateau?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    5. Guohua Ding & Mingjun Ding & Kun Xie & Jingru Li, 2022. "Driving Mechanisms of Cropland Abandonment from the Perspectives of Household and Topography in the Poyang Lake Region, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Jingjing Sun & Jie Li & Yue Cui, 2024. "Does Non-Farm Employment Promote Farmland Abandonment of Resettled Households? Evidence from Shaanxi, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Yemei Li & Yanfei Shan & Ying Chen, 2021. "Analysis of Farmland Abandonment and Government Supervision Traps in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-27, February.
    8. Zhong Liu & Zuanjiu Zhou, 2022. "Rural centralized residence and labor migration: Evidence from China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(4), pages 1592-1608, December.
    9. Chenyang Liu & Xiuyi Shi & Cuixia Li, 2023. "Digital Technology, Factor Allocation and Environmental Efficiency of Dairy Farms in China: Based on Carbon Emission Constraint Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-22, October.

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