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How Do Land Transfers Affect Rural Households’ Resilience? Evidence From China

Ziyue Zhuang,Limei Cheng

Published 2025 in SAGE Open

ABSTRACT

This research employs panel data from five rounds of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning from 2012 to 2020 to explore the effects of land transfer decisions on rural household resilience and to uncover the mechanisms driving these effects. We employ a probabilistic moment-based approach to measure resilience and use an instrumental variable (IV) technique to address the endogeneity problem. The results indicate that land inflow has a negative impact on the resilience of rural households in China, whereas land outflow enhances their resilience. The primary factor contributing to the negative impact of land inflow on resilience is the decreased capacity for adaptation and transformation. Land outflow positively influences the capacities for absorption, adaptation, and transformation. However, this positive effect is relatively weaker for rural households with overage workers and a higher proportion of female workers. These findings have policy implications for refining land transfer policies, bolstering the resilience of rural households, and fostering rural economic development. Plain language summary This study investigates how decisions about transferring land affect the ability of rural families in China to cope with and recover from risks and shocks. The findings show that renting in more land actually makes it harder for rural families to adapt to changes, while renting out land can improve their ability to withstand, adapt and transform in face of difficulties. However, the benefit of transferring out land is less for families with older or predominantly female workers. These insights suggest that more effort should be devoted in adjustments to land transfer policies to make a big difference in strengthening rural communities and promoting economic growth in the countryside.

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