Influence Of Property Right Intensity On Forestry Income Of Family Farmers

Collective forest land is a critical national resource in China,vital for rural households as a source of income.The recent collective forest tenure system reform aimed to clarify ownership and contracting to encourage forestry management models.While both commercial and public welfare forest lands have transitioned from collective equity to individual ownership,farmers’economic benefits often compete with ecological benefits,and the exercise of forestry rights is restricted by law and social recognition.Therefore,studying the actual property rights intensity of forestland among rural households and its impact on forestry income is important to deepen forestland reform and enhance rural incomes.However,the acquisition and strengthening of property rights necessitates institutional arrangements by the state,government,and informal social norms to support implementation capabilities.It is thus crucial to analyze the current situation of property rights strength and its influence on farmers’forestry income and explore mechanisms to promote coordinated development between forestry economic income and forest land ecological environment protection.Firstly,this article is based on relevant theories such as property rights theory,institutional change theory,separation of three rights theory,and farmer behavior theory.Through literature research,the connotation of forest land property rights intensity is defined.Through on-site research,the behavior of each property right is subdivided,and the overall evaluation of forest area property rights intensity is conducted.From the selected sample farmers in the article,the proportion of farmers holding forest rights certificates is 87.2%,with the vast majority of sample farmers obtaining forest rights certificates,Compared to the popularity of forest ownership certificates,the signing rate of farmers’contract is relatively low,only 48.4%;From the perspective of applied and approved logging quantities,the annual applied logging volume was 24555m~3,and the approved logging volume was22502m~3,with 8.4%of the applied logging volume being restricted.Forest logging is an important means for farmers to obtain forestry income.In practice,logging behavior is limited by indicators,which affects the profitability of farmers’forest land property rights.Restrictive laws weaken the strength of property rights.Secondly,the article constructs three primary indicators to measure the strength of property rights:legal empowerment,social identity,and farmers’behavioral ability.Using household table data from the 2018 collective forest rights system reform in Shaanxi,Liaoning,Fujian,and Hunan provinces,a basic regression model is established to measure the impact of property rights strength on farmers’household forestry income,and to analyze the direction and significance of specific indicators,Based on the empirical results,this paper analyzes the relationship between the intensity of household property rights and farmers’forestry income,and then constructs a mesomeric effect model of forestry investment.Provide policy recommendations and theoretical basis for the reform of collective forest rights system to enhance the strength of farmers’property rights and their household forestry income.The main conclusions are as follows:Legal empowerment has a significant positive impact on household farmers’forestry income,and there is a full mesomeric effect of forestry investment,that is,legal empowerment can significantly increase forestry investment,and then increase household farmers’forestry income.(2)Behavioral ability has a significant positive impact on farmers’forestry income,but the intermediary effect of forestry investment is not significant,that is,behavioral ability cannot significantly increase forestry investment,but can enhance forestry income.(3)The impact of social identity on forestry income is not significant.The reason may be that the heterogeneity of the ways in which the sample farmers obtain forest land is relatively low,resulting in a significant impact of the way in which forest rights are obtained on the income of household farmers.(4)From the perspective of controlling variables,the area and number of forest land can significantly and positively affect farmers’forestry income;The age of the head of household and the non agricultural employment rate have a negative impact on the forestry income of farmers.Based on the above conclusions,policy recommendations are given:firstly,improve the legal system of collective forest rights and deepen the work of property rights confirmation and certification.Secondly,improve the allocation and management of logging indicators,and further decompose the indicators into villages and village groups.Thirdly,strengthen the exclusive ability of farmers and reduce the risk of property rights protection.Fourthly,strengthen forestry management and services,and improve the level of grassroots forestry governance.