The Effects of Migration on Collective Action in the Commons: Evidence from Rural China

Collective Action Dilemma after China’s Forest Tenure Reform: Operationalizing Forest Devolution in a Rapidly Changing Society

“…Our findings are based on certain key conditions such as economic development and outmigration driven by external forces, labor and capital intensive timber production mode, and small per capita forestland holdings; therefore, our findings are very likely to be valid for communities with these conditions. Studies have shown that the limited dependence on forest income reduces farmers' incentives to make forest investments [3], and that large-scale outmigration hinders the collective actions of managing resources in rural communities [20,56]. These findings indicate that the problem manifested by our case also exists in other regions of China and the world.…”

“…For example, economic development may reduce farmers' dependence on resources and diminish farmers' conservation incentives [17,18]; economic development may also increase farmers' endogenous rate of discount and prompt them to adopt short-sighted resource use strategies [16]. Outmigration may decrease the labor supply and make farmers use more pesticides and fertilizers to maintain agricultural outputs [19]; outmigration may also elevate the costs of returning homes and impede the collective actions of managing resources [15,20]. On the other hand, socio-economic changes may contribute to resource restoration and ecological sustainability by relieving farmers' livelihood pressures and strengthening their conservation awareness [14,21,22].Since socio-economic changes substantially mold the behavior of natural resource users, they are likely to play important roles in the relationship between forest devolution and its economic, social, and ecological outcomes.…”

“…In this reform, forest property rights, especially forestland usufructuary right, tree (timber) usufructuary right, and tree (timber) ownership were devolved from centralized collective organizations to household-based entities [3]. At the same time, China's countryside underwent a rapid socio-economic transformation, including large-scale outmigration, remarkable income increase, and increasing market access [20]. Therefore, rural forestry in Fujian provides us with an excellent opportunity to explore how the socio-economic transformation affects the effectiveness of forest devolution policies.…”

Wastewater Management Efficiency and Determinant Factors in the Chinese Industrial Sector from 2004 to 2014

“…To solve these water pollution problems, the Chinese government has promulgated environmental policies to promote wastewater management in urban and rural areas [8,9]. According to Shao [10], the Chinese government has enacted more than 130 policies related to environmental protection since 1979 to halt the deterioration of aquatic environments and improve the quality of surface water.…”

An Empirical Examination on the Role of Water User Associations for Irrigation Management in Rural China

“…In China, irrigation has been an increasing constraint to sustainable development of agriculture, food security, and the economy. Irrigation lands occupy 51% of China's cultivated land but produce 75% of its grain and more than 90% of its economic crops (Wang et al, ). Under the old command economy, the government administered the irrigation systems, and the water management was mainly done through collective owenership arangements, that is, village committee normally.…”