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The Role of Procedural Fairness: Land Titling Programs and Agricultural Investment in China

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  • Yilin Cui

    (School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Cong Li

    (College of Public Administration, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Yan Jiang

    (Center of Applied Statistics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China)

Abstract

This study examines the moderating role of procedural fairness between land titling programs and agricultural investment. We constructed a theoretical model that introduces perceived security of land tenure and procedural fairness into the traditional “property rights-investment incentives” analytical framework. Moreover, we empirically analyze the impact of land titling and its procedural fairness on agricultural investment using data from the “Thousands of People, Hundreds of Villages” survey held in 2018 among 9596 households in China. The empirical analyses were conducted by using the ordinary least squares (OLS), probit, and instrumental variable methods. Our analysis showed that land titling in China significantly promotes agricultural investment by farm households and that procedural fairness has a significant positive moderating role in the investment incentive effect of land titling as well as significantly improving the institutional credibility of land titling and enhancing farmers’ perceived land tenure security.

Suggested Citation

  • Yilin Cui & Cong Li & Yan Jiang, 2024. "The Role of Procedural Fairness: Land Titling Programs and Agricultural Investment in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:9:p:1459-:d:1473639
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    References listed on IDEAS

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