Land Property Rights, Spatial Form, and Land Performance: A Framework of Policy Performance Evaluation on Collective-Owned Construction Land and Evidence from Rural China

Abstract

Alongside the proceeding of rural land system reform in China, it becomes more and more critical to conduct policy performance evaluations on collective-owned construction land for profitable use to reflect the achievements and deficiencies of the reform. Traditionally, land policy performance evaluation is based on the theory of “policy-performance”, which fails to explain the mechanism of transaction costs. From the perspective of spatial planning, land use and the spatial form shaped by land development management and control are a representation of land property rights, as well as an expression of land policy performance. Thus, a correct understanding of the role of spatial form in the relationship between land policy and land performance is of great significance in accurately evaluating land policy performance and further improving land policies. Focusing on the interrelation among the three factors, this article highlights and elaborates on the intermediary role of spatial form between land property rights and land policy performance and puts forward the analytical framework of “land property right–spatial form–land policy performance”. It then takes the case of Wujiang District of Suzhou in southern Jiangsu Province to prove the effectiveness of this analytical framework. The outcome of this study can serve as a supplement to “policy-performance” theory, which refines and deepens the analysis of transaction costs from the perspective of spatial planning. It may also help deepen the recognition of land policy performance through visualized presentations, providing a new perspective for performance evaluation in quantitative and qualitative ways.