Effect of Farmland Transfer on Poverty Reduction under Different Targeted Poverty Alleviation Patterns Based on PSM-DID Model in Karst Area of China

Abstract

Rural farmland transfer is a key factor in the successful implementation of targeted poverty alleviation strategies in China. In this paper, a multidimensional index system with 15 indicators from five dimensions, namely, natural, human, physical, financial, and social capital was established. It analyzed the effect of farmland transfer on poverty alleviation under four typical poverty alleviation models implemented in a karst area in China by using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and Difference-in-Difference (DID) to analyze 467 rural households questionnaire responses from five representative villages in Guizhou Province. The results show that different models had different effects on poverty reduction. In the model of "three changes" + relocation for poverty alleviation + rural tourism + poor households, farmland transfer was the most effective in poverty alleviation, as attested by its average treatment effect on the treated (ATT) value of 0.44. Rural households' nonfarm income increased significantly to develop rural tourism after relocation from inhospitable areas. In the model of "farmland lease/shareholding" +cooperative + enterprise + poor households, farmland transfer had a moderate effect on poverty alleviation, with an ATT value of 0.06. Its effect on the total income of rural households was the lowest among the four models. This study's results can provide a theoretical reference for solidifying the benefits of poverty alleviation and rural revitalization strategies in karst areas.