Search

With the rapid evolution of the rural digital economy, analyzing the impact of digital literacy level on farm households' formal borrowing is crucial for easing credit constraints and fostering rural economic growth. Leveraging the data from the 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPSs) and applying binary probit models and the Karlson–Holm–Breen (KHB) method, this study delineates the positive correlation between the digital literacy level and increased formal borrowing among farm households. The findings, which were robust against endogeneity and robustness tests, underscore the role of digital literacy level in augmenting farmers' earnings and social networks, with a notably stronger mediation by earnings. The effects are particularly significant for middle-aged and older, less educated males in the central and western regions, in contrast with younger, highly educated females in the east. This research advocates for enhancing rural digital infrastructure and education, alongside financial system reforms, to advance rural financial development and support sustainable rural revitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, characterized by its vast population and limited land, expanding the scale of agricultural operations through the transfer of land management rights is a crucial pathway to achieving agricultural modernization. Using data from the China Land Economic Survey (CLES), we empirically explored the influence of digital technology use on land transfer-in by farmers. Employing the Probit model and the KHB method, this study examined the mechanisms underlying this relationship and addressed the issue of endogeneity through the Conditional Mixed Process (CMP) model, grounded in the instrumental variable method. Key findings include: (1) both the accessibility and the depth of digital technology use significantly facilitated land transfer-in by farmers. For every one-unit increase in digital technology accessibility, the likelihood of land transfer-in escalated by 6.2%; similarly, a one-unit rise in the depth of digital technology use increased this probability by 2.6%. (2) An analysis of the mechanisms indicates that social networks and credit availability played partial mediating roles in the impact of digital technology accessibility and depth on land transfer-in, with social networks exhibiting a stronger mediation effect. (3) Heterogeneity analysis suggests that the impact of digital technology use on land transfer-in was more pronounced in peri-urban villages and among farmers with higher literacy levels. In light of these findings, we proposed policy recommendations to accelerate the development of rural digital infrastructure, enhance digital skill training for farm households, and vigorously promote rural digital inclusive finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China's fertility rate shows a declining trend with rapid urbanization and increasing housing prices. Based on the China General Social Survey (CGSS) data, for the first time, this paper investigates the effect of housing status on the two-child fertility willingness of China's floating population using a Probit model combined with the propensity score matching method and the instrumental variable method. The results show that the floating population with self-owned housing has a significantly lower two-child fertility willingness than those living in rented housing. This finding remains robust after addressing the potential endogeneity problem. Moreover, the effect of housing status on the two-child fertility willingness of floating population varies with demographic characteristics. Furthermore, the heterogeneous analysis indicates that the floating population with two or more self-owned housings have higher two-child fertility willingness than those who have only one self-owned housing or who live in rented housing. The married without children and living in self-owned housing have lower two-child fertility willingness than the married with one or more children and living in self-owned housing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the influence of expectations and trust on farmers' decisions regarding contractual choices in land transfer. The dataset used for analysis consists of 1101 households in a province in western China. The research focuses on two aspects: the selection between written and oral contracts, and the decision to continue the contractual relationship. The findings reveal that farmers' choices are significantly affected by their expectations and levels of trust. Specifically, when farmers' expectations regarding the land transfer process are not met, they tend to prefer written contracts over oral ones. This preference can be attributed to the greater clarity and risk reduction offered by written contracts. On the other hand, higher levels of trust increase the likelihood of farmers continuing the land transfer contract, as trust fosters a sense of confidence and security in the ongoing relationship. Interestingly, trust also plays a moderating role. Farmers who have aligned expectations and high levels of trust are more inclined to opt for oral contracts. This preference for oral contracts can be attributed to their flexibility and emphasis on interpersonal relationships, allowing for better adaptation to the changing dynamics of land transfer. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the factors influencing farmers' decision-making processes regarding contractual choices in land transfer. They provide valuable insights for policymakers involved in land transfer, enabling them to optimize policies and facilitate farmers' decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main obstacles to implementing the Conversion of Cropland to Forest and Grassland Program (CCFGP) is the risk of returning forest and grassland to cropland when their livelihoods are challenged after subsidies expire. The implementation of the new old-age insurance system for rural residents has weakened the economic security function of cropland and may motivate farmers to engage in the CCFGP spontaneously and permanently. Based on the utility theory, this paper first developed a theoretical analysis framework for the behaviors of farmers who participated in the CCFGP and were affected by the new old-age insurance system. Then, based on the data of 18 789 fixed rural observation stations set by the Rural Economy Research Center of China's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Probit model was used to empirically analyze the impact of the new old-age insurance system on farmers' behaviors in the CCFGP. Finally, the robustness of the results was tested using a logistic regression model based on clustering robust standard errors. The results showed that: ① The new old-age insurance system increased expected income, while the CCFGP reduced expected income, but the extra spare time after the action increased farmers' utility. The theoretical analysis framework showed that: the behaviors of farmers participating in the new old-age insurance system affected the amount of arable land, thus affecting the behaviors of farmers' participation in the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland. ② After farmers' participation in the new agricultural insurance, they were more likely to adopt the behaviors associated with the conversion of cropland to forest and grassland. The new oldage insurance system increased the income channels for elderly farmers, thereby weakening the economic security function of cultivated land and, to a certain extent, promoting farmers to take part in the CCFGP. ③ In the robustness test, the logistic regression model with clustering robust standard errors still confirmed the conclusion that 'participating in the new old-age insurance system is beneficial for farmers joining the CCFGP.' ④ The poorer the health conditions of farmers, the lower the possibility of joining the CCFGP. Poor health conditions generally meant large medical expenses, greater uncertainty in future income, and strong dependence on cultivated land, which resulted in farmers' reluctance to be involved in the CCFGP. Farmers with higher original values of productive fixed assets were more likely to join the CCFGP. The policy implications of the conclusions are that it may be more effective to integrate the new old-age insurance system for rural residents with the CCFGP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solving the risk of zombification of enterprises and relieving their business difficulties, as a key element of supply-side structural reform, is the pain point of the conversion of old and new dynamic energy and the difficulty of economic transformation and upgrading. In the Internet era, the impact on business operations is also expanding with the widening of investor attention channels. This paper selects Chinese listed companies from 2011-2020 as a research sample, and the empirical results show that, first, investor attention can effectively reduce the risk of transforming enterprises into zombie enterprises, i.e., the risk of corporate zombification decreases as the level of investor attention increases; second, there is heterogeneity in the role of investor attention in resolving the risk of corporate zombification; third, further mechanism tests find that along with Third, further mechanistic tests reveal that as the level of investor attention increases, the level of environmental uncertainty decreases and the annual market value of individual stocks increases, thereby reducing the risk of corporate zombification. The findings of this paper provide theoretical support and empirical evidence for further improving the risk mitigation of corporate zombification, promoting the “de-emphasis” of enterprises, and leading the high-quality and healthy development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of continuous improvement in China's land system, the development of the rural economy is insufficient, and the growth of farmers' income lacks sustainable momentum. The development of the internet and agricultural socialization services has had a huge impact on farmers' land-scale management. In particular, the proliferation of internet technology in rural areas could affect farmers' use of agricultural socialization services and increase farmers' willingness to operate their land on a large scale. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence on the impact of the internet and agricultural socialization services on farmers' land-scale management decisions. This study constructs a probit model using the cross-sectional data of the nationally representative CFPS2018, and empirically tests the influencing factors of farmers' land-scale management decisions and the mechanism of heterogeneity. The research results show that, first, the popularity of the internet significantly promoted farmers' decisions towards land rented-out, but has no significant impact on land rented-in; second, agricultural socialization services are significantly negatively correlated with farmers' decisions towards land rented-out, but the internet may moderate this inhibitory effect and has an incentive effect on farmers' land rented-in; third, the results of heterogeneity analysis show that the impact of the internet and agricultural socialization services on farmers' land-scale management decisions vary with income levels and regions. Therefore, the policy direction should focus on making "internet + agriculture" and agricultural socialization services benefit all farmers, to more effectively improve the efficiency of rural land use and promote the optimal allocation of rural resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poverty is a significant global ongoing issue that influences a substantial amount of people despite all efforts to eliminate or lessen it. Although poverty is an eminent problem because of its negative consequences, many people are unaware of the concept of poverty. Poverty not only degrades the human capacity but also undermines economic growth in developing regions. This research aims at exploring the impact and heterogeneity of agricultural factor endowment investment on rural relative poverty. By using the data obtained from China household tracking survey (CFPS-2018), probit model approach was applied to analyze the relationship between agricultural factor endowment investment and rural relative poverty. Finally, the intermediary effect of the selected model was validated through the robustness test. The study findings showed that the input of agricultural factor endowment can alleviate the relative poverty in rural areas of China. Our study findings also revealed that there is a significant heterogeneity in family size, endowment type of agricultural technology elements and the agricultural type. A positive association between the investment in agricultural technology and land factor endowment with relative poverty alleviation by increasing the total value of cash and deposits was revealed from the results. The overall findings of this study provide useful insights to facilitate government institutions to stabilize the agricultural labor force, accelerate the process of agricultural modernization and provide careful consideration to land property rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste classification is an important part of the renovation of rural human settlements, and the renovation of rural human settlements is also of great significance to global sustainable development. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to study the factors that affect the classification behavior for promoting waste classification behavior. However, few studies have focused on the political participation of rural residents as a driving factor. Therefore, this study aims to explore whether political participation affects rural residents' waste classification behavior. In particular, this study uses the China Land Economic Survey (CLES), which surveyed 2628 rural households in Jiangsu Province, China, and uses the Probit model to explore the quantitative impact of political participation on farmers' waste classification behavior. This study finds that: (1) Political participation may significantly improve farmers' waste classification behavior. Specifically, farmers who participated in the general election were 10.6% more likely to conduct waste classification than those who did not vote in the general election. (2) Groups receiving government subsidies may be more likely to understand the government's waste classification policy and then carry out waste classification. (3) Residents in areas with high economic development may be more sensitive to opportunity cost than residents in areas with low economic development, so residents in areas with high economic development degree are less willing to participate in waste classification action, and political participation has less influence on waste classification. Therefore, this research helps improve the efficiency of waste classification, ameliorate waste classification behavior, and provide the references for building a more civilized rural living environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issues of farmers' old-age security and land use have long been the focus of Chinese scholars' and governmental attention. Land transfer plays a vital role in promoting agricultural scale operations, adjusting agricultural structures, and improving land utilization, while the old-age security function of land is one of the important factors affecting land transfer. Based on the data of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this study uses the probit and structural equation models to explore social pension and family support mechanisms and pathways with regard to farmers' land transfer. The results show that: (1) Social pension has a significant negative effect on farmers' rent-out land, but a significant positive effect on rent-in land. Compared to farmers who do not participate in the New Rural Pension System (NRPS), the probability of rent-out land for farmers who participated in NRPS decreased by 2.44%, and rent-in land increased by 2.26%. (2) Family support has a significant positive effect on farmers' rent-out land, but a negative effect on rent-in land. (3) Agricultural labor time plays a mediating role in the effect of social pension and family support on both farmers' rent-out land and rent-in land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population-wide increase in life expectancy is a source of aggregate longevity risk. Life insurance is a natural instrument to manage the risk. Previous studies used chronological age to examine the relationship between aging and life insurance purchase, which ignored the impact of subjective life expectancy-the real perception of remaining time. Therefore, this study aims to fill the lack in this area and to explore in depth the relationship between subjective life expectancy and purchasing life insurance among middle-aged and older adult at micro perspective. This paper utilizes data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) over a period of 4 years to construct both Probit and Tobit models. The findings reveal that subjective life expectancy positively affects the likelihood of participation and the extent of life insurance among the middle-aged and older adult population in China. IV model estimation results show good robustness of the results. Meanwhile, there is also heterogeneity in the effect with respect to gender, hukou, education and wealth. The findings provide new perspective to explain the subjective motivation of purchasing life insurance in China., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer FZ declared a shared affiliation with the author(s) to the handling editor at the time of review., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Guo, Lu, Wang and Wen.)

Land fallow policy is an important measure for improving cultivated land protection. There is a lack of heterogeneous farmers' willingness to fallow, although scholars have done a lot of researches on the fallow farmers. Therefore, this research based on farmer classification and field research, a questionnaire survey, and PROBIT model was adopted to analyze farmers' willingness to fallow and the influence this has in a rocky desertification fallow area of Guizhou Province, China. The results show that the willingness to fallow and its influencing factors differ among heterogeneous farmers. The amount of fallow compensation and project satisfaction are the common influencing factors affecting heterogeneous farmers' willingness to fallow. In addition, farmers' willingness to fallow is influenced by education level and their understanding of the fallow project, among other factors. Part‐time farmers' willingness is affected by age, gender, and compensation satisfaction, among other factors, and off‐farmers' willingness to fallow is mainly influenced by nonagricultural income level. Based on the results, the following policy recommendations are proposed. The Government should adopt different fallow policies for heterogeneous farmers and formulate corresponding subsidy policies according to local conditions. Furthermore, detailed follow‐up policies should be formulated as soon as possible to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of fallow projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aims of this study are to estimate the mean change in the predicted probability and identify the most important predictors of diagnosed, measured, total, and undiagnosed hypertension among aged 45+ adults in China. We used data collected from the fourth wave (2015) of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (n = 12 236). First, we estimated the prevalence of diagnosed, measured, total, and undiagnosed hypertension. Second, we used probit models to identify the factors that were associated with hypertension, and we estimated average marginal effects of variables in probit models. Among Chinese people aged 45+, the prevalence of diagnosed, measured, total, and undiagnosed hypertension were 23.1%, 32.7%, 42.6%, and 19.5%, respectively. The probability of total hypertension is higher for overweight and obesity than normal body mass index (10.4% and 19.3%, respectively), higher for past smokers and current smokers than nonsmokers (5.9% and 3.8%, respectively), higher for urban population than rural population (4.0%), and lower for married individuals than unmarried/single (−7.1%). Our results suggest that continued strengthening for smoking prevention is needed to reduce smoking-related hypertension and greater focus on prevention of hypertension are necessary for overweight or obesity and in urban areas among middle-aged and older adults in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tenure security is commonly recognized as an important factor in stimulating long-term investments in land. Recent studies suggest that a distinction between legal, actual and perceived tenure security needs to be made in analyzing tenure security. This study discusses the relationships between legal, actual and perceived land tenure security in rural China, and empirically examines the impact of actual on perceived land tenure security by applying Probit models to household and village survey data collected in four provinces. Using household expectations about the absence of land reallocations within the next five years as the dependent variable, we find that tenure security is positively affected by the possession of land certificates in villages that periodically reallocated land but not in villages that did not do so. The estimated impact is larger for land certificates issued in the new round of land certification than for land certificates that were issued earlier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically investigated the relationship between board gender diversity and firm's green innovation, using panel data of public companies of China's manufacturing. Green product innovation was assessed by "green" patents and green process innovation assessed by environmental management certification. The endogeneity problem that resulted from self‐selection of gender diversity was addressed by means of extended probit regressions with an instrumental variable, and the instrumental variable was elaborately constructed based on changes in directorships. The findings show that occurrence of green innovation at the firm‐level is systematically related to female board representation. Specifically, women can exert a sizable and positive effect on green innovation, once they enjoy at least two seats on the boards; a further increase in representation of women on the boards can increase the likelihood of green product innovation rather than the likelihood of green process innovation. These results were robust to various regression specifications and alternative samples. The study provides empirical evidence that women at the top management can play a positive role in developing firm's active environmental strategies, and the conclusions are of practical implications for improving corporate governance along the environmental dimension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Based on the multi-fractal properties of financial time series, Value-at-Risk (VaR) and price fluctuation correlation, we construct China's stock market networks and analyze empirically three networks' topological features, their stability and their relationship with international stock market indices. The results show that: (1) In the three types of networks, the stock price network does not have scale-free features, multi-scale network and risk network both have small-world and scale-free characteristics; (2) The stock market volatility and the network stability coefficient are Granger causality, the early changes of the stock market volatility can effectively explain the changes of the network stability coefficient, the network connectivity and clustering coefficient are negatively correlated with the stock market volatility, the volatility of the international stock index in Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States has a positive effect on the network stability coefficient, and the international gold or crude oil markets has a negative effect on it; (3) By applying the probit binary selection model test, we found that the network structure is more capable of explaining abnormal fluctuations than international market factors and that the stock network with higher network stability coefficient and higher eigenvector centrality of financial institutions indicates that downward fluctuation of stock price will intensify in the future. From the empirical results, we see that the risk network is more robust and provides a reference for the analysis of the short-term risks and stability of the Chinese stock market. In order to maintain the stability of the stock market, the regulatory authorities should pay a close attention to internal and external factors, increase network connectivity and integration, and actively guard against the risk spillover effects of financial institutions. Highlights • The price network, multi-scale network and risk network are built. • Risk network is shown to be more robust. • Granger causality exists between stock market volatility and network stability. • Relationship between international stock market volatility and network stability is investigated. • Probit model is applied to forecast abnormal fluctuations of China's stock market network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic conditions of rural households have changed because the extensive usage of the Internet technology in rural China. Hence, according to micro-survey data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2014, 2016 and 2018, in this work we use the Probit model to experimentally examine the association between cooking energy usage and Internet technology use in Chinese rural households. Research results showed that Internet technology use can significantly and positively influences the choice of Households' clean cooking energy, and further mechanism analysis reveals that off-farm employment as a partly mediator between the use of the Internet and the clean energy consumed by households. In particular, we further examine the region and age differences in Internet technology use and its household cooking energy consumption consequences. The assessment of the Internet technology used by rural residents' heterogeneity indicates that in the eastern region or the younger and middle-aged group of rural residents can better use the Internet technology to realize the households' cooking energy conversion. Therefore, in the context of global climate change and frequent catastrophic weather occurrences, we suggest that rural households should widely utilize the Internet, greatly expand off-farm employment channels, and accelerate the conversion and upgrading of cooking energy consumption in rural areas. • Impact of Internet use on rural households' fuel consumption in China is examined. • Data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) in 2104, 2016 and 2018 is used in this study. • Probit model and the mediation effect model are applied. • Internet use significantly promotes household clean fuel consumption in rural China • Mechanism analysis reveals that non-agricultural employment plays a partial mediating role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article used the nationally representative Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey to explore the associations between living arrangements and health among older adults. Living arrangements were stratified into six categories. Health was measured by self-rated health, activities of daily living (ADL) disability, and cognitive impairment. Random-effects ordered probit regressions were applied. The results indicated that coresidence had a positive effect on self-rated health compared with living alone. After introducing psychological well-being, the health differences observed in living with a spouse and living with both spouse and children were not significant. Participants with each of the living arrangement were more likely to have a higher rate of cognitive impairment and ADL disability than those living alone. Living arrangements were associated with older adults’ health. Psychological well-being was a key factor in this association, which may result from living with a spouse, and could contribute to the self-rated health of older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural land consolidation has been a very important and efficient development tool all over the world for a century and is now an indispensable instrument for rural sustainable development in China. The Chinese central government has devoted large sums of money to rural consolidation projects each year in an effort to help protect cultivated land, to improve agricultural production, to enhance the socio-economic development of rural communities, and to help build rural landscapes. However, little attention has been paid to evaluating the performance of land consolidation projects from the view of community members, which is sorely needed. Household satisfaction with land consolidation projects is a key indicator of consolidation performance. Understanding the factors that influence household satisfaction is an effective way of dealing with problems in the interactions between land restructuring and human behaviors in rural areas and can help improve project performance. This paper examines the performance of land consolidation in terms of rural households’ levels of satisfaction in rural China and analyses the most influential factors of satisfaction. Data were gathered via questionnaires and analyzed with a probit model. Results indicated three significant points. First, overall satisfaction rate was 76.5%, meaning that most rural households in the regions of Hangzhou, Changsha, and Guiyang were satisfied with land consolidation projects. Second, 11 factors significantly affected rural residents’ satisfaction with consolidation. These factors included farmers’ level of education, employment characteristics, family size, input level of agricultural production, agricultural produce transportation methods, level of agricultural mechanization, the characteristics of land transfer in the village and within their own families, the perceived importance of land consolidation, their level of social insurance support, and their participation in rural production cooperatives. Third, six of these factors had positive effects on performance; four had negative effects, and one (employment characteristics) demonstrated a significant influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this report are twofold: to examine the demographic factors that drive demand for green food and to segment Chinese consumers based on their attitudes toward food safety. An online survey was used to collect consumer behavior information. A total of 402 responses were obtained covering participants who lived in 24 provinces and municipalities in China. Probit modeling, analysis of variance, and cluster analysis are used. Income, education, age, gender, presence of young children, household size, and overseas experience are variables that have an impact on green food purchase. Young, wealthy men, who have young children and live in a small household, are likely to buy green food. The survey shows that Chinese consumers are willing to pay a price premium for green food; however, price will be a major factor restricting the growth of the green food label in China, given market prices. Three segments―the “distrustful consumer,” the “ambivalent consumer,” and the “trusting consumer”―are identified for market segmentation purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose Genetically modified (GM) crops, particularly GM grain crops, have been controversial since their commercialization in 1996. However, only a few studies have investigated farmers’ attitudes toward adopting GM grain crops in China. The purpose of this paper is to explore farmers’ willingness to adopt GM insect-resistant rice prior to its commercial release in China and determines the factors that affect farmers’ prospective adoption decisions.Design/methodology/approach The data are collected using a questionnaire. Descriptive statistics are used to analyze the farmers’ potential willingness to adopt GM rice and level of awareness of GM rice and socioeconomic characteristics. Ordered and binary probit models are applied to identify the key factors that affect the farmers’ decision to adopt GM insect-resistant rice.Findings Descriptive statistics show that most farmers have little knowledge of GM rice, approximate 35.5 percent of farmers could plant GM rice, and over half of the respondents are uncertain whether or not they will adopt the new crops. The results of econometric analyses show that increasing output and income, and simplicity in crop management, have positive effects on prospective adoption, whereas the high-seed price of GM rice has a significantly negative effect. Health implications also have a significantly positive effect on the farmers’ decision to adopt GM grain crops. A comparative analysis of ordered and binary probit models demonstrates that farmers are more deliberate in their decisions when they have fewer choices. Aside from the above-mentioned variables, the following factors are also statistically significant in the probit model: government technicians’ recommendations, neighbors’ attitudes, level of environmental risks, and the farmer’s age.Originality/value Information on the major risks and benefits of GM rice was provided to the farmers in the questionnaire. The farmers were then asked to choose from the three ordered alternative answers, namely, “accept,” “uncertain,” and “reject”. Both ordered and binary probit models were applied to comparatively analyze the collected data. This study is one of a handful of studies that employ these econometric models to identify and explain the underlying factors that affect farmers’ decisions. The relevant findings have important implications for future agricultural policy in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a significant divide in financial accessibility between urban and rural areas in China. This gap can in part be mitigated by diffusion of existing technology innovations including mobile banking. A binary probit model was used to estimate the impact of three information dissemination channels and the availability of financial services on the adoption of mobile banking by rural residents in six provinces of China. Results indicate mass and interpersonal communication channels have a greater impact than those organizational. Residents with a local banking facility and those using a state-owned bank, females, and those younger and more educated, proficient with mobile devices, working other than in agriculture, and living farther from the nearest road have a higher probability of adoption. Adoption is inversely related to level of regional financial development. To develop mobile banking in rural areas, this paper suggests making use of more diversified communication channels to promote mobile banking, better tailoring mobile banking for rural users, and targeting promotion. Policy should be considered that helps mitigate constraints on the availability of financial infrastructure and financial products in the rural financial environment. • Mobile banking has promise as a means to help increase financial accessibility in rural areas in China. • Mass and interpersonal communication channels are more effective than communications direct from financial institutions. • Use of multiple targeted communication channels will increase rate of adoption of mobile banking among rural Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many forestry projects have been implemented in developing countries. In China, a variety of large-scale afforestation and reforestation programmes have been carried out with multiple objectives, such as livelihood improvement and carbon sequestration. As in many developing countries, these projects have been implemented in a smallholder context. This paper investigates the determinants of smallholder participation in large forestry projects. Using the case of camellia, it explores the determinants of smallholder participation using a probit regression model. To distinguish between participation in international and government-run projects, a bivariate probit regression model is used. The findings show that only 37% of households in the sample had participated in the Camellia project; a major reason for the low participation rate is perceived tenure insecurity. The results of the bivariate probit model show that the education level of the household head and household size have a positive impact on the likelihood of household participation. The more 'off-farm' activities are taken up in a household, the less likely a household is to participate in an international project. For a government project, household size also has a positive impact on the likelihood of participation. Chinese forestry is diversifying since the devolution offorestland use rights, with a majority of households hesitating to invest, while some risk investment and others depend on government subsidies. The main policy implication is that, if the Chinese government wishes to achieve its goal of 1.68 million hectares of camellia, then improving tenure security is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visitor satisfaction is one of the most important indicators of the success of urban tourism development. However, mastering and controlling its influence is becoming more and more critical to urban tourism development and management. It is important for cities to increase the level of visitor satisfaction, improve urban tourism development, coordinate the relationship between urban development and urban tourism and enhance the sustainable development of urban tourism. According to the international literature, research on urban tourism in western countries originated in the mid-1960s, almost 20 years earlier than in China. The research content and themed have become richer and deeper in recent years, emphasizing concerns about urban heritage management and protection, urban tourism environments, business tourism and shopping tourism, theoretical framework development, the impacts of urban tourism, sustainability, and research progress. Although some research discusses the use satisfaction and production development in the context of international urban tourism, as well as visitors' perceptions of international cities, few studies have examined the most influential factors affecting tourists' satisfaction with urban tourism. In China, there are several shortcomings in the research on urban tourism. First, few scholars have undertaken quantitative analyses regarding the influence of, and relationship between visitors' satisfaction and urban characteristics, or visitors satisfaction and social demographics. Second, most literature on visitor satisfaction focuses on simple comparisons between expected and perceived experiences. Third, few, if any, have applied econometrics to test the causality between visitors' satisfaction, urban feature and demographics. Considering these deficiencies, document analysis, questionnaires and a Bivariate Discrete Probit Choice Model were used to test hypotheses about influential factors and visitor satisfaction. The influential factors were grouped into three main variables--urban features, personal characteristics and tourist motivation--and ten indicators. Data were collected from 477 visitors through an on-site survey in Changsha City. The results confirmed six hypotheses, and the modified visitor satisfaction-influenced Probit model exhibited statistical significance. The results indicate that the level of urban social development, degree of environmental protection, abundance of tourism resources, visitors' monthly salary, and positive visit motives have a positive effect on visitors' satisfaction. Among those variables, positive visit motives have the strongest influence, with the influence coefficient being 0.950122, while urban social development demonstrated the weakest influence, with the coefficient being 0. 205284. These findings raise concerns about urban development and quality of tourism. Finally, policy suggestions for city tourism managers are discussed, including improving systems of satisfaction, urban development and infrastructure, urban tourism resource development, and tourism marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The popularization of the internet has promoted the implementation of China's national fitness strategy and created conditions for Chinese residents to participate in sports. The internet is an essential medium for disseminating sports knowledge, and the use of the internet can change sport participation behaviors. Therefore, the internet can be used to popularize sports knowledge and promote the participation of all people in sports and thus improve the health of the entire population. This study attempts to empirically analyse how the use of the internet changes sport participation behavior., Method: Utilizing data from the 2017 China General Social Survey, a probit model, ivprobit model, and bias-corrected non-parametric percentile bootstrap test were used to analyse the impact of internet use on sport participation behavior., Results: The empirical results show that internet use significantly increased the probability of participation in sports by Chinese residents. Heterogeneity test results showed that internet use was more effective in promoting sport participation in middle-aged groups, groups of older persons, unmarried groups, and groups with a high school education or above. The mediating effect test results showed that internet use influenced residents' participation in sports by promoting social interaction, leisure and entertainment, and learning and recharging., Conclusions: The internet has changed participation in sports; specifically, the use of the internet promotes sport participation. Additionally, internet use has a more obvious impact on improving the sport participation behavior of middle-aged, older, unmarried, and middle- and higher-educated individuals. Internet social interaction, internet entertainment and internet learning are effective channels to encourage Chinese residents to participate in sports and improve their health., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Zhong, Xu, Guo, Li and Wang.)

Improvement in pesticide application and efficiency structure has long been recognized as having great significance in reducing pollution, ensuring food safety, and promoting green agricultural development. Based on theoretical analysis, using the survey data of 766 farmers in key tea areas in Shaanxi, Sichuan, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces in China, the study empirically analyzes the influence of market incentives and livelihood dependence on farmers' multi-stage pesticide application behavior. More specifically, the study employed ordered probit analysis to craft its findings. The dependent variable of this study is the multi-stage pesticide application problem of farmers, and the core independent variables are market incentives and livelihood dependence, and the judgment is based on the core variable coefficients of the econometric model of farmers at each stage. The study found the following: (i) Market incentives significantly prompted some farmers to give up synthetic pesticide application and farmers tend to choose green pesticides in the type of pesticide application. (ii) Livelihood dependence meant that the proportion of tea income significantly prompts farmers to apply pesticides, and also creates a tendency for farmers to choose green and low-toxic pesticides in the type of pesticide application. The planting period tends to have a moderate impact on applying green and low-toxic pesticides. (iii) The interaction term of market incentives and the proportion of tea income has no significant impact on farmers' multi-stage pesticide application behavior. The interaction term of market incentives and planting years has impacted negatively on whether farmers apply pesticides, and has no significant impact on farmers' choice of pesticide application types, but makes farmers increase the amount of green and low-toxic pesticides. (iv) The education level of the household head significantly promotes farmers to choose green and low-toxic pesticides. Seemingly, the brand effect of pesticides significantly encourages farmers to choose green and low-toxic pesticides. In external support, technical training significantly encourages farmers to choose green and low-toxic pesticides. Furthermore, better infrastructure and local market conditions significantly encourage farmers to reduce the use of conventional pesticides., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Investors and other stakeholders are starting to pay attention to firms' carbon emissions and carbon disclosure. This study investigated the effects of voluntary carbon disclosure information and carbon emissions on firm value from listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 (CSI 300) Index. We also apply the Probit model to predict the probability of voluntary carbon disclosure information. The results indicate that the increase in carbon emissions has a negative impact on firm value. The action that companies select to disclose carbon emissions has a positive impact on firm value. The effect of leverage ratio on VCDI is increasing year by year. What is more, the probability of the average size firm carbon disclosure was 30.73% in 2020. Company management needs to pay attention to the risks caused by carbon emissions and ensure the quality of carbon disclosure information, especially the authenticity and reliability of the information., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

With the rapid development of the social economy, health has increasingly become the focus of attention. Therefore, based on the balanced panel data of the China Household Tracking Survey (CFPS) from 2010 to 2018, the Probit model was used to investigate the impact of the income gap in rural areas on residents' health level, and the relevant influencing mechanism was discussed in this paper. Results: (1) The income gap has a significant negative effect on the health level of rural residents, and the expansion of the income gap will have a more significant impact on the health level of rural residents. (2) The income gap will restrain the health level of rural residents by affecting the family income level and mobility constraints. (3) The restraining effect of the income gap on health formation mainly affects the families of young rural residents, rural male residents, residents with no rental income, and residents with low social capital. This paper analyzes and discusses, from the perspective of income gap, the impact of the income gap on the health status of rural residents in China. Based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward some feasible suggestions to improve the health level of rural residents.

The existing research on residents’ health care consumption mostly covers medical care consumption and seldom regards residents’ health care consumption as an independent research object. This article takes residents’ healthcare consumption as the research object and aims to explore the impact of socioeconomic status on healthcare consumption and its mechanisms. The data of this study came from the 2018-China Family Panel Studies (CFPS). The binary probit regression model and the Tobit model explored the impact mechanism of residents’ income, education, occupation, and physical activity on health care consumption decision-making and health care expenditure, respectively. The research results showed that, from the perspective of the direct influence mechanism, residents’ work income (0.029, p < 0.01) and education level (811.149, p < 0.01) had a significant positive impact on health care consumption. Residents whose occupations (−99.697, p < 0.01) tend to be more skilled and also have higher health care consumption. From the perspective of the mediating mechanism, residents’ physical exercise duration had a significant positive impact on their participation in healthcare consumption (0.005, p < 0.01) but had a weaker impact on healthcare consumption expenditure (21.678, p < 0.1). In general, socioeconomic status represented by income, education, and occupation had a significant positive impact on residents’ health care consumption. The duration of physical exercise also played an important mediating role.