Livelihood Capital, Speculative Preferences, and Natural Rubber Farmers’ Participation in Cooperatives

The development of cooperatives represents an effective solution to address the looming issue of “who will harvest the rubber”. Participation in cooperatives has the potential to increase the income of natural rubber farmers, enhance agricultural operational efficiency, and mitigate risks inherent in agricultural production. Livelihood capital and speculative preferences are key factors influencing natural rubber farmers’ decisions to participate in cooperatives. However, the existing literature has largely overlooked the intrinsic relationship between livelihood capital, speculative preferences, and the participation of natural rubber farmers in cooperatives. This study employs data from a field survey of 506 natural rubber farmers in Hainan Province, utilizing a Logit model to assess the impact of livelihood capital on farmers’ participation in cooperatives. The results indicate that (1) Livelihood capital encourages natural rubber farmers’ participation in cooperatives at the 5% significance level; (2) Speculative preferences negatively moderate the effect of livelihood capital on farmers’ participation in cooperatives. Therefore, the government can enhance farmers’ livelihood capital through education and training while providing financial instruments, such as insurance, to reduce speculative demand, thereby encouraging their participation in cooperatives.