The Impact of Collective Forestland Tenure Reform on Rural Households’ Inputs: Moderating Effects Based on Off-Farm Employment

Abstract

Collective Forestland Tenure Reform has confirmed the forestland tenure of rural households and made forestland property rights clearer. In order to explain whether this policy is effective in improving rural households’ expected returns and sense of forestland tenure security, we built models to study the impact of off-farm employment on forestland input in the context of labor migration to urban areas. We used data from the rural household tracking survey conducted by the Development Research Center of the National Forestry and Grassland Bureau from 2003–2016, which includes nine provinces (districts) and 1227 sample rural households in China. Regression models with the forestland titling program as the key influencing factor were constructed, controlling for household characteristics, household head characteristics, forestland characteristics, village level characteristics, market characteristics, and policy factors. Forestland leases had no significant on cash outlays and labor inputs. Forest tenure mortgage loans had a significant positive effect on cash outlays and labor inputs. For households’ off-farm employment, the moderating effects of labor migration on labor inputs and cash outlays are modeled separately. The study indicated that the forestland tenure titling certificates increase households’ enthusiasm in forestland production and promote cash outlays and labor inputs in forestland management. The results regarding the moderating effect indicated that labor migration has a positive moderating effect on rural households’ forestland inputs including labor inputs and cash outlays.