The Effect of Off-Farm Employment on Forestland Transfers in China: A Simultaneous-Equation Tobit Model Estimation
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Theoretical Model
2.2. Estimation Approach
2.3. Data Source
2.4. Descriptive Statistics
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Model Specification Tests
3.2. Determinants of Forestland Rent-In
3.3. Determinants of Forestland Rent-Out
3.4. Determinants of Off-Farm Employment
4. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
- Lin, J.Y. Rural reforms and agricultural growth in China. Am. Econ. Rev. 1992, 82, 34–51. [Google Scholar]
- Liu, C.; Liu, H.; Wang, S. Has China’s new round of collective forest reforms caused an increase in the use of productive forest inputs? Land Use Policy 2017, 64, 492–510. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yin, R.; Yao, S.; Huo, X. China’s forest tenure reform and institutional change in the new century: What has been implemented and what remains to be pursued? Land Use Policy 2013, 30, 825–833. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xie, L.; Berck, P.; Xu, J. The effect on forestation of the collective forest tenure reform in China. China Econ. Rev. 2016, 38, 116–129. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Liu, P.; Yin, R.; Li, H. China’s forest tenure reform and institutional change at a crossroads. For. Policy Econ. 2016, 72, 92–98. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, R.; Ye, C.; Cai, Y.; Xing, X.; Chen, Q. The impact of rural out-migration on land use transition in China: Past, present and trend. Land Use Policy 2014, 40, 101–110. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Deininger, K.; Jin, S. The potential of land rental markets in the process of economic development: Evidence from China. J. Dev. Econ. 2005, 78, 241–270. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Feng, S.; Heerink, N. Are farm households’ land renting and migration decisions inter-related in rural China? NJAS Wagening. J. Life Sci. 2008, 55, 345–362. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Huang, J.; Gao, L.; Rozelle, S. The effect of off-farm employment on the decisions of households to rent out and rent in cultivated land in China. China Agric. Econ. Rev. 2012, 4, 5–17. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kung, J.K.-S. Off-Farm labor markets and the emergence of land rental markets in rural China. J. Comp. Econ. 2002, 30, 395–414. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xie, Y.; Jiang, Q. Land arrangements for rural–urban migrant workers in China: Findings from Jiangsu Province. Land Use Policy 2016, 50, 262–267. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Yao, Y. The development of the land lease market in rural China. Land Econ. 2000, 76, 252–266. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Dong, X.-Y. Two-tier land tenure system and sustained economic growth in post-1978 rural China. World Dev. 1996, 24, 915–928. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Xu, X.; Zhang, Y.; Li, L.; Yang, S. Markets for forestland use rights: A case study in Southern China. Land Use Policy 2013, 30, 560–569. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Siikamäki, J.; Ji, Y.; Xu, J. Post-reform forestland markets in China. Land Econ. 2015, 91, 211–234. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Amemiya, T. Multivariate Regression and Simultaneous Equation Models when the Dependent Variables Are Truncated Normal. Econometrica 1974, 42, 999–1012. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Lee, L.-F. Multivariate tobit models in econometrics. In Handbook of Statistics; Maddala, G.S., Rao, C.R., Vinod, H.D., Eds.; North-Holland: Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1993; Volume 11, pp. 145–173. [Google Scholar]
- Yoo, S.-H. Analysing household bottled water and water purifier expenditures: Simultaneous equation bivariate Tobit model. Appl. Econ. Lett. 2005, 12, 297–301. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Roodman, D. Fitting fully observed recursive mixed-process models with cmp. Stata J. 2011, 11, 159–206. [Google Scholar]
- Bowlus, A.J.; Sicular, T. Moving toward markets? Labor allocation in rural China. J. Dev. Econ. 2003, 71, 561–583. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Favada, I.M.; Kuuluvainen, J.; Uusivuori, J. Consistent estimation of long-run nonindustrial private forest owner timber supply using micro data. Can. J. For. Res. 2007, 37, 1485–1494. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Heaps, T. Convergence of optimal harvesting policies to a normal forest. J. Econ. Dyn. Control 2015, 54, 74–85. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Wooldridge, J.M. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data, 2nd ed.; MIT Press: Cambridge, MA, USA, 2010. [Google Scholar]
- Nelson, F.; Olson, L. Specification and Estimation of a Simultaneous-Equation Model with Limited Dependent Variables. Int. Econ. Rev. 1978, 19, 695–709. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kuhlgatz, C.; Abdulai, A.; Barrett, C.B. Food aid allocation policies: Coordination and responsiveness to recipient country needs. Agric. Econ. 2010, 41, 319–327. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Train, K. Discrete Choice Methods with Simulation, 2nd ed.; Cambridge University Press: New York, NY, USA, 2009. [Google Scholar]
- State Forestry Administration of China (SFA). China Forest Resource Report (2009–2013); China Forestry Publishing House: Beijing, China, 2014.
- National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC). National Bureau of Statistics of China Database. Available online: http://www.stats.gov.cn/ (accessed on 10 May 2017).
- Liu, C.; Wang, S.; Liu, H. An Examination of the Effects of Recent Tenure Reforms in China’s Collective Forests on Peasants’ Forest Activities and their Income. Int. For. Rev. 2017, 19, 55–67. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Kimura, S.; Otsuka, K.; Sonobe, T.; Rozelle, S. Efficiency of land allocation through tenancy markets: Evidence from China. Econ. Dev. Cult. Chang. 2011, 59, 485–510. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [Green Version]
- Skoufias, E. Household resources, transaction costs, and adjustment through land tenancy. Land Econ. 1995, 71, 42–56. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Jin, S.; Deininger, K. Land rental markets in the process of rural structural transformation: Productivity and equity impacts from China. J. Comp. Econ. 2009, 37, 629–646. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Manjunatha, A.V.; Anik, A.R.; Speelman, S.; Nuppenau, E.A. Impact of land fragmentation, farm size, land ownership and crop diversity on profit and efficiency of irrigated farms in India. Land Use Policy 2013, 31, 397–405. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tan, S.; Heerink, N.; Kruseman, G.; Qu, F. Do fragmented landholdings have higher production costs? Evidence from rice farmers in Northeastern Jiangxi province, P.R. China. China Econ. Rev. 2008, 19, 347–358. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Che, Y. Off-farm employments and land rental behavior: Evidence from rural China. China Agric. Econ. Rev. 2016, 8, 37–54. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Maddala, G.S. Limited Dependent and Qualitative Variables in Econometrics; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, UK, 1983. [Google Scholar]
- Sicular, T.; Ximing, Y.; Gustafsson, B.; Shi, L. The Urban–Rural Income Gap and Inequality in China. Rev. Income Wealth 2007, 53, 93–126. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Zhao, Y. Labor Migration and Earnings Differences: The Case of Rural China. Econ. Dev. Cult. Chang. 1999, 47, 767–782. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Holden, S.T.; Otsuka, K. The roles of land tenure reforms and land markets in the context of population growth and land use intensification in Africa. Food Policy 2014, 48, 88–97. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Qiao, F.; Rozelle, S.; Huang, J.; Zhang, L.; Luo, R. Road expansion and off-farm work in rural China. China Q. 2014, 218, 428–451. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cervellini, M.; Fiorini, S.; Cavicchi, A.; Campetella, G.; Simonetti, E.; Chelli, S.; Canullo, R.; Gimona, A. Relationships between understory species specialists and local management practices in coppiced forests–Evidence from the Italian Apennines. For. Ecol. Manag. 2017, 385, 35–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Cook, S. From Rice Bowl to Safety Net: Insecurity and Social Protection during China’s Transition. Dev. Policy Rev. 2002, 20, 615–635. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Tao, R.; Xu, Z. Urbanization, rural land system and social security for migrants in China. J. Dev. Stud. 2007, 43, 1301–1320. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Chen, J.; Yang, S. Rural Social Security System of China: Problems and Solutions. Stud. Sociol. Sci. 2014, 5, 32–37. [Google Scholar]
- Zhao, Y. The Role of Migrant Networks in Labor Migration: The Case of China. Contemp. Econ. Policy 2003, 21, 500–511. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
- Shi, X.; Heerink, N.; Qu, F. Choices between different off-farm employment sub-categories: An empirical analysis for Jiangxi Province, China. China Econ. Rev. 2007, 18, 438–455. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Unit | Full Sample | Sub-Sample by Household Type | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rent-In | Autarky | Rent-Out | |||
Endogenous variables | |||||
Rent-in area | mu | 0.54 (13.47) | 79.52 (143.02) | N.A. | N.A. |
Rent-out area | mu | 0.07 (2.57) | N.A. | N.A. | 21.50 (38.70) |
Off-farm employment | % | 49.80 (34.13) | 48.69 (34.65) | 49.77 (34.12) | 60.36 (37.07) ** |
Exogenous variables | |||||
Market variables | |||||
Transaction cost | / | 0.22 (0.86) | 0.05 (0.09) *** | 0.23 (0.87) | 0.06 (0.05) *** |
Timber price | Yuan/m3 | 427.06 (97.24) | 476.02 (97.16) | 426.65 (97.17) | 448.08 (92.35) * |
Wage rate | Yuan/day | 48.97 (19.42) | 49.63 (13.75) | 48.92 (19.44) | 60.91 (21.31) *** |
Forestland attributes | |||||
Foreland area | 34.91 (66.76) | 36.21 (45.69) *** | 34.82 (66.84) | 59.35 (74.56) *** | |
Area per plot | mu/plot | 12.28 (21.73) | 10.19 (10.23) | 12.27 (21.79) | 18.63 (22.12) *** |
Household attributes | |||||
Age | Years | 51.08 (10.91) | 45.88 (9.46) *** | 51.11 (10.91) | 52.00 (12.86) |
Education | Years | 7.35 (2.76) | 8.41 (2.56) *** | 7.35 (2.76) | 6.85 (2.97) |
Leadership | 0/1 | 0.25 (0.43) | 0.35 (0.48) ** | 0.25 (0.43) | 0.34 (0.48) |
Household income | Thousand Yuan/year | 23.18 | 30.74 ** | 23.11 | 28.70 ** |
(30.86) | (36.05) | (30.83) | (28.02) | ||
Household size | Persons | 3.98 (1.47) | 4.20 (1.32) | 3.98 (1.47) | 3.78 (1.49) |
Village attributes | |||||
Mountain | 0/1 | 0.56 (0.50) | 0.60 (0.49) | 0.56 (0.50) | 0.46 (0.50) |
Road | 0/1 | 0.72 (0.45) | 0.55 (0.50) *** | 0.72 (0.45) | 0.85 (0.36) * |
County distance | km | 35.14 (30.83) | 34.94 (30.24) | 35.17 (30.82) | 28.62 (33.54) ** |
Observations | / | 11,976 | 82 | 11,853 | 41 |
Reduced Form Equations | Structural Form Equations | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Trivariate | Ren-In Bivariate | Rent-Out Bivariate | Trivariate | Ren-In Bivariate | Rent-Out Bivariate | |
ρ12 | −0.37 (0.32) | −0.42 (0.44) | ||||
ρ13 | −0.07 (0.03) | −0.06 (0.05) | −0.07 (0.03) | −0.07 (0.05) | ||
ρ23 | 0 (0.04) | 0.01 (0.07) | 0.01 (0.04) | 0.02 (0.07) | ||
z test | −1.15<0.25> | −0.96<0.34> | ||||
−1.99<0.05> ** | −1.37<0.17> | −2.24<0.03> ** | −1.55<0.12> | |||
0.1<0.92> | 0.19<0.85> | 0.35<0.73> | 0.33<0.74> | |||
LR test | 4.26<0.24> | 2.01<0.16> | 0.04<0.84> | 5.02<0.17> | 2.51<0.11> | 0.13<0.72> |
Rent-In | Rent-Out | Off-Farm Employment | |
---|---|---|---|
Rent-in | −0.05 (0.00) *** | −0.01 (0.00) *** | |
Rent-out | −2.52 × 10−4 (1.61 × 10−4) | 0.01 (0.01) *** | |
Off-farm employment | −14.78 (6.45) ** | −0.01 (0.06) | |
Transaction cost | −67.81 (21.64) *** | −11.36 (1.04) *** | 0.34 (0.46) |
Timber price | 0.59 (0.22) *** | −0.12 (0.01) *** | 0.02 (0.01) *** |
Wage rate | 0.48 (2.46) | 0.38 (0.05) *** | 0.24 (0.05) *** |
Foreland area | −1.36 (0.58) ** | 0.12 (0.02) *** | −0.04 (0.01) *** |
Forestland area square | −8.12 × 10−4 (2.26 × 10−3) | ||
Area per plot | 1.12 (0.47) ** | −0.99 (0.11) *** | −0.01 (0.03) |
Age | −6.68 (8.14) | −5.38 (0.07) *** | −0.43 (0.25) * |
Age square | 0.01 (0.08) | 0.05 (0.00) *** | 0.00 (0.00) |
Education | 11.27 (5.45) ** | −1.72 (0.41) *** | 0.57 (0.15) *** |
Leadership | 33.56 (25.75) | 12.89 (2.51) *** | 0.46 (0.84) |
Household income | 1.21 (0.47) *** | −0.02 (0.04) | 0.07 (0.02) *** |
Household size | 27.71 (10.95) ** | −3.92 (0.79) *** | 2.21 (0.32) *** |
Mountain | −67.24 (43.15) | −9.53 (2.90) *** | −5.10 (0.89) *** |
Road | −74.58 (29.31) ** | 15.46 (3.36) *** | −1.38 (1.09) |
County distance | −0.66 (0.48) | 0.03 (0.05) | −0.01 (0.01) |
Constant | −431.10 (282.99) | −410.12 (3.73) *** | 30.97 (6.84) *** |
Joint F test of county dummies | 0.90 | 2584.54 *** | 65.72 *** |
Joint F test of year dummies | 1.22 | 118.93 *** | 9.85 *** |
Uncensored/Censored number | 82/11,894 | 41/11,935 | 9967/2009 |
Rent-In | Rent-Out | Off-Farm Employment | |
---|---|---|---|
Rent-in | −0.003 (0.001) *** | −0.009 (0.003) *** | |
Rent-out | −1.77 × 10−5 (1.13 × 10−5) | 0.010 (0.004) *** | |
Off-farm employment | −1.040 (0.456) ** | −0.001 (0.004) | |
Transaction cost | −4.771 (1.532) *** | −0.686 (0.260) *** | 0.238 (0.319) |
Timber price | 0.042 (0.015) *** | −0.007 (0.002) *** | 0.013 (0.004) *** |
Wage rate | 0.034 (0.173) | 0.023 (0.010) ** | 0.165 (0.036) *** |
Foreland area | −0.096 (0.041) ** | 0.008 (0.003) ** | −0.028 (0.007) *** |
Forestland area square | −5.72 × 10−5 (1.59 × 10−4) | ||
Area per plot | 0.079 (0.033) ** | −0.060 (0.012) *** | −0.008 (0.020) |
Age | −0.470 (0.574) | −0.325 (0.090) *** | −0.304 (0.173) * |
Age square | 0.001 (0.006) | 0.003 (0.001) *** | 0.002 (0.002) |
Education | 0.793 (0.382) ** | −0.104 (0.006) *** | 0.398 (0.102) *** |
Leadership | 2.361 (1.798) | 0.778 (0.374) ** | 0.320 (0.590) |
Household income | 8.50 × 10−5 (3.33 × 10−5) ** | −1.14 × 10−6 (1.96 × 10−6) | 4.77 × 10−5 (1.44 × 10−5) *** |
Household size | 1.949 (0.768) ** | −0.237 (0.021) *** | 1.552 (0.225) *** |
Mountain | −4.731 (3.029) | −0.576 (0.042) *** | −3.575 (0.626) *** |
Road | −5.247 (2.033) *** | 0.934 (0.471) ** | −0.966 (0.761) |
County distance | −0.046 (0.034) | 0.002 (0.004) | −0.006 (0.010) |
© 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Zhang, H.; Kuuluvainen, J.; Yang, H.; Xie, Y.; Liu, C. The Effect of Off-Farm Employment on Forestland Transfers in China: A Simultaneous-Equation Tobit Model Estimation. Sustainability 2017, 9, 1645. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9091645
Zhang H, Kuuluvainen J, Yang H, Xie Y, Liu C. The Effect of Off-Farm Employment on Forestland Transfers in China: A Simultaneous-Equation Tobit Model Estimation. Sustainability. 2017; 9(9):1645. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9091645
Chicago/Turabian StyleZhang, Han, Jari Kuuluvainen, Hongqiang Yang, Yi Xie, and Can Liu. 2017. "The Effect of Off-Farm Employment on Forestland Transfers in China: A Simultaneous-Equation Tobit Model Estimation" Sustainability 9, no. 9: 1645. https://doi.org/10.3390/su9091645