A Study Of The Behavior Of Main Participants In The Supply Of Rural Community Public Infrastructure

The lack of investment and maintenance of rural infrastructure is a complex public policy problem facing many developing countries. Many studies have indicated that the investment of rural public infrastructure can effectively promote the rural economic growth, improve the income of farmers. But in general, the rural public infrastructure investment is insufficient. In particular, the community public infrastructure, on the one hand, it has the characteristics of public goods, which is non competitive and non exclusive, so can not be provided by the private sector, and government departments need to participate. On the other hand, the spillover effect of community public infrastructure is small, with the nature of club goods, so that the community organizations and members should also participate in. Therefore, the supply of public infrastructure in rural communities is diverse. The supply behavior of different subjects and their action mechanism are very different. In this paper, we study the supply of public infrastructure in rural areas, and the factors that affect the behavior of the main participants.Concerning to the macro level of the government, different kinds of organizations and farmers of the community in the micro level, this paper focus on the behavior of the participants in rural community public infrastructure supply and its influencing factors. The specific research contents and conclusions are as follows.First, using statistical yearbook and agricultural census data, we study the supply of public infrastructure in rural areas and the existing problems from the national, provincial and community levels. The research shows that the development of public infrastructure in rural areas is very fast, but the overall supply is insufficient. And the regional differences are significant. Spending on rural public infrastructure of governments at all levels is growing faster, but still lower than the growth rate of fiscal revenue and expenditure. It shows that the government investment in rural areas is insufficient, and there is the existence of low investment efficiency and regulatory issues. On the other hand, the farmers’ self supply of community public infrastructure is limited by the level of their income and organization, resulting in insufficient supply.Second, governments at different levels supply to rural public infrastructure through the project system. Using statistical data and village survey data, we analyze the behavior of the government. The study focus on in the existing incentive and restraint conditions, how the local government officials to carry out rural public infrastructure supply decision-making. And what types of communities are more likely to obtain government public investment. The research shows that there is a trade-off of the local government officials between pursuing for political promotion and maintaining for social stability. The local governments have the urban bias, so the supply of public infrastructure is under-provided in rural China. Because of the government’s policy objectives are to develop the rural economy and eliminate poverty, the villages more affluent or poorer are more likely to get the government’s financial investment, and strengthen the construction of public infrastructure.Third, farmers are the main participants of the community public infrastructure supply. Using the survey data of 431 famers in 14 provinces/cities, we study the main factors affecting farmers’ willingness to participate in rural community public infrastructure supply and their behavior from the micro level. The results show that the farmers’willingness to participate in the supply of rural public infrastructure is relatively strong. The majority of farmers are willing to participate in the supply of rural public infrastructure without condition or under certain conditions. The degree of organization of farmers will largely affect the farmers’ enthusiasm to participate in the supply of public infrastructure.Fourth, the informal organizations in the rural community will have an important impact on the supply of public infrastructure in rural areas. Using the results of the interviews and survey data from the H village in Zhejiang province, we study the problem of how the informal organizations to participate in the supply of public infrastructure from the perspective of the villagers. We did three case studies on the impacts of lineage groups, interest groups, and mutual-support groups in the provision of H village’s public infrastructure. The results show that various informal organizations do exert some important influence on the supply of rural public infrastructure, either positive and effective, or negative and restrained. The study finds that the behavior of informal organizations depends on whether their objective is consistent with the goal of formal organization. It is also found that the informal institutions have important influence on public infrastructure provision in improving villagers’donation in H village. During the design and implementation of a formal institution, we should take full account of the existence and roles of informal organizations. Villages where these types of groups work efficiently are more likely to have better local public infrastructure provision.