Labor off‐farm employment and household forest management investment in Jiangxi, China: A perspective from gender influence of rural labor

Abstract

AbstractThat numerous rural laborers migrate to urban areas to find off‐farm jobs has become an outstanding economic phenomenon in China. To examine the impact of rural labor off‐farm employment on household forest management, we built binary logistic models and Tobit models by applying a sample survey data of 500 households in rural Jiangxi in 2018. Households’ participation and investment in forest management were measured by their labor and cash input. The results indicated that more off‐farm laborers in household would hold back their participation in cash input. In contrast, a higher rate of female off‐farm employment encouraged household monetary input. And households with more female agricultural laborers were more likely to participate in labor input. Neither off‐farm employment nor female off‐farm employment significantly influences households’ labor input. Off‐farm employment of the householder negatively influenced labor and cash input. Policy factors, such as obtaining forestry subsidies and forestry loans, joining forestry co‐operative organizations, and better attitude to the logging quota system, also promoted households’ participation and investment in forest management. Household head's age and education, forestry land status also affected participation in forest management. Our analysis could provide basis for managers to formulate policies to support sustainable forest management.Recommendations for Resource Managers: The econometric models applied in this research could reflect the influence of rural labor off‐farm employment on household forest management behavior and provide a quantitative basis for formulating forest management policies. There were great differences between rural households’ forest management cash input behavior and labor input behavior and households were more active in labor input compared with cash input. The gender structure of rural labor off‐farm employment could impact households’ forest management participation and investment. To achieve sustainable forest management, managers should pay attention to enhancing female forestry technique training and encouraging forest land transfer and consolidation in the collective forest regions of China.