The Catalyst to Activate Rural Economic Vitality: The Impact of Land Transfer on the Consumption Behaviour of Older Farmers in China

Against the backdrop of the current rural economic transformation and the intensification of the ageing process, land transfer, as an important land policy tool, has gradually become a key factor influencing the consumption behaviour of farmers, especially older farmers. Based on the four-period panel data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study uses a two-way fixed-effects model to examine the impact of land transfer (land transfer-out, land transfer-in, and two-way land transfer) on the consumption behaviour of older farmers. This study finds that land transfer-out significantly increases the total consumption of older farmers and promotes subsistence, healthy, and hedonic consumption. In contrast, land transfer-in does not show a significant effect on hedonic consumption. The mechanism test reveals that household income plays a key mediating role in the process of land transfer, affecting the consumption behaviour of older farmers. Two-way land transfer promotes the consumption level and the upgrading of the consumption structure of older farmers through income portfolio optimisation and risk diversification.