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Does the land titling program promote rural housing land transfer in China? Evidence from household surveys in Hubei Province

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  • Song, Mingjie
  • Wu, Yuling
  • Chen, Lu

Abstract

Unsecured property rights to rural housing land (RHL) have impeded the development of the RHL market, resulting in inefficient rural land-use and resource allocation in China. The Chinese government implemented the rural land titling program as an institutional reform to provide rural households with secure property rights to RHL. The program has been implemented since 2011, yet its effects upon RHL transfers have not been adequately investigated through empirical studies. Here we conducted household surveys in 39 villages consisting of inner-suburbs, outer-suburbs, and scenic rural areas in Hubei Province, China, and received valid responses from 361 households. Descriptive statistics were used to explore and summarize this survey data, and a difference-in-differences (DID) regression model was built to examine the effects of land titling on RHL transfer. Three main results were found: (1) Land titling significantly promoted RHL transfers in the inner-suburbs but contributed little to RHL transfers in the outer-suburbs or scenic rural areas. (2) The effect of land titling on RHL transfer depended significantly on how rural households interpreted the institutional reform: it proved more effective where there already existed a market for RHL transactions, and rural households have recognized the market value and expect secure property rights to RHL. (3) Household characteristics, such as the number of persons, the income and employment structure, the quantity and size of RHL possessed, also impacted decision-making regarding RHL transfers; hence, they influenced households’ susceptibility to the effects of land titling. The findings of this research suggest area-specific policies for the Chinese government to deepen the institutional reform of RHL and improve the overall efficiency of rural land allocation.

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  • Song, Mingjie & Wu, Yuling & Chen, Lu, 2020. "Does the land titling program promote rural housing land transfer in China? Evidence from household surveys in Hubei Province," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:97:y:2020:i:c:s0264837719322215
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104701
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