Land Attachment, Intergenerational Differences and Land Transfer: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China

Abstract

It is of great significance to explore the influencing factors of land flow to promote moderate-scale agricultural operation. However, few studies have explored the quantitative influences of land attachment and intergenerational difference on land transfer. Based on the survey data of 540 rural households in Sichuan Province, this study uses factor analysis method to divide land attachment into land satisfaction, land rootedness, and land dependence, and further empirically tests the impact mechanism of land attachment and intergenerational difference on land flow by using Probit model and Tobit model. The results are as follow: (1) land attachment is significantly correlated with land flow-out, but not with land flow-in. (2) Different dimensions of land attachment have different impacts on land flow-out. Among them, land rootedness and land dependence have significant negative impacts on farmers’ land flow-out behavior and land flow-out area, while land satisfaction has a significant positive impact on farmers’ land flow-out behavior and has no significant impact on the land flow-out area. (3) Different generations of land attachment have different impacts on land flow-out. Among them, the land attachment of the new-generation farmers has no significant impact on land flow-out. Among middle-aged farmers, land dependence had a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior and area, and land rootedness had a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior; however, land satisfaction had a significant positive impact on land flow-out behavior and area. Among the older generation of farmers, land dependence has a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior and area, while land satisfaction and land rootedness have no significant impact on land flow-out behavior and area. Therefore, in promoting the practice of land flow, we should pay attention to the differences of farmers’ emotional demands, improve the supporting policies of land flow by classification, reduce farmers’ dependence on “land security”, solve farmers’ concerns on land flow, and promote the rational flow of land factors.