Influence of the Kinship Networks on Farmers’ Willingness to Revitalize Idle Houses

Abstract

China is vigorously promoting the strategy of rural revitalization, encouraging farmers to revitalize their idle houses and developing rural tourism. In rural China, kinship networks are essential in farmers’ willingness and decision–making tools. It is significant to explore the influence of kinship networks on farmers’ willingness to revitalize idle houses. This study constructs a research framework of “kinship networks–revitalization willingness–revitalization action”. It describes farmers’ kinship networks from five aspects: kinship networks structure, kinship networks relationship, kinship networks cognition, kinship networks members’ sense of belonging, and their social participation enthusiasm. Taking Bishan Village, a typical rural tourism–type ancient village, as an example, this study surveyed 197 farmers to demonstrate the influence of kinship networks on farmers willingness to revitalize idle houses. This paper uses a multiple regression model to empirically study the influence of kinship networks on farmers’ willingness to revitalize idle houses. The results show that: (1) In addition to the kinship networks structure having no significant positive impact on farmers’ willingness to revitalize idle houses, kinship networks relationship, kinship networks cognition, kinship networks members’ sense of belonging, and kinship networks members’ social participation enthusiasm all have positive effects on farmers’ willingness. (2) Considering the critical influence of kinship networks on farmers’ willingness to revitalize idle houses, the government should use the structure of kinship networks to formulate relevant policies to guide farmers to increase their willingness to revitalize their idle houses.