What Affects the Willingness of Farmers to Participate in Forest Ticket Trading? Empirical Analysis Based on Incomplete Information Theory

Abstract

Forest tickets refer to a type of forest resource usufruct certificate characterized by “cooperative operation, quantification of rights and interests, free circulation, and guaranteed dividends”. It is an important means to build a market-oriented mechanism for realizing the value of ecological resources. Incomplete information, based on field survey data from thirteen villages in eight townships (towns) in Sanming City, Fujian Province, China, and a binary logit model were used to explore the moderating effects of factors affecting farmers’ willingness to participate in forest ticket trading, the heterogeneity of farmers, and social capital. We found the following: In an environment with incomplete information, farmers’ willingness to participate in forest ticket trading is influenced by heterogeneity expectations, social capital, government propaganda, and individual family characteristics. There are certain differences in the influencing factors and degree of farmers’ willingness to participate in forest ticket trading among different groups of farmers with different levels of education and part-time employment. Social capital can strengthen the positive impact of income expectations and policy sustainability expectations, and alleviate the negative impact of risk expectations.