Rural Land Transfer in the Information Age: Can Internet Use Affect Farmers’ Land Transfer-In?

Abstract

Land transfer is an essential prerequisite for moderate-scale operation. Using the internet realizes the rational allocation of resources and promotes the development of agriculture and rural areas. Based on the data of 8198 farmers surveyed in the 2016 China Labor Dynamics Survey, the conditional mixed estimation method (CMP) was used to analyze how the internet use of rural households affects their land transfer-in. The results showed that: (1) There was a significant negative correlation between internet use and land transfer-in, and the marginal effect was 0.206. (2) Internet use can affect land transfer-in through social networks and the stability of off-farm employment. Among them, social networks have a positive mediating effect, which is 0.026%. The non-agricultural employment stability of the labor force has a negative mediating effect, which is 0.51%. (3) Internet use has no significant heterogeneity in land management scale, income, or suburb status, but there is heterogeneity in the way of surfing the internet. This research can deepen our understanding of the relationship between internet use and land transfer-in, and provide a reference for rural digital construction and land transfer-related policy formulation.