A Comparative Study On Property Right Of Farmland In Transitional Time Between China And Russia

Land is the necessary material fundament for the survival and development of human beings. It cannot be replaced by any other materials. It is the crucial natural resource. "System is the game rule of a society." Farmland system means the restriction set by men and imposed on people when they are using farmland. It is the rule of the relationship between people which is formed during the adjustment of utilizing farmland. Farmland is the fundament for agricultural production. Among all the economic and social problems emerged in rural area, the most complicated and the mostly concerned one is farmland issue. To some extend, farmers' problem is the problem of farmland, the core of which is the property right. Property right is the most important and most fundamental in the whole system of farmland.This paper defines farmland property right as the rights to monopolize the use of the land, transfer the land and benefit from the land. Based on the modern property right theory and the comparable systems analyzing theory, the paper analyzes the changes of farmland property right system, performance of the system and system for transferring farmland in China and Russia, against the same background of social transition.China and Russia both have long history. The starting point of farmland property right system in the two is the same, i.e. national ownership. The driving force for the two countries to change their system is the same, too, i.e. to internalize the extra benefits. For such benefits there was a reform of the original system. However, the route and mode that were taken by the two countries are different. Russia broke through the old route, change the property right from single national ownership to the multiple ownerships, such as national, local governmental and private. On the contrary, China practiced national and collective ownership. Farmers in China only possessed the right to use and benefit from the land. The creation of household contract responsibility system was from the roots. This is an inductive evolution. On the other hand, Russia started the change from the top. This is forceful evolution. In addition, the informal systems in both countries brought different influence to the evolution of the systems. The system for transferring farmland is the systematic insurance for the realization of farmland property right. With the comparison about the situation of farmland transfer and the system construction and external environment in China and Russia, this paper draws the conclusion that the restriction on changing the use of farmland in Russia is the important factor limiting transfer of farmland. China based on individual situation of economic development in different regions, manipulated different transfer system.Based on the above analysis, this paper agrees that in the transition period, the relatively economical way to improve Chinese farmland property right system is to perfect the...