Land tenure, logging rights, and tree planting: Empirical evidence from smallholders in China

摘要

To encourage afforestation and promote rural livelihood, China launched a new round of forest tenure reforms (CFTR) for its collective forestland in 2003. Using data spanning a long time period for rural smallholders in China, this study analyzes the causal effects of land tenure security and logging rights on tree planting investments. We address potential selection biases into tree planting and treatments using alternative estimation methods including matching methods and Heckman models. We conclude that complete logging rights over standing timber had a significantly positive effect on investments in tree planting, while the effect of secure land tenure was insignificant. Smallholders with confidence in obtaining a harvest permit invested on average 52% more in total and 36% more in seedling.