The impact of the reform of grassland property rights system on the allocation of production factors for herders in Qinghai, China

This study conducted field visits across six prefectures in Qinghai Province, China, where grassland animal husbandry is the main mode of production and operation. Through discussions with government departments and surveys of 137 herder households, combined with local government survey archives from previous years, a fixed-effects model was established from the herders’ perspective across four time periods to examine how Qinghai’s grassland property rights reform and its supporting policies have influenced herders’ production factor inputs. The results show that: Property rights reform has a positive impact on the investment in available natural grasslands and artificial forage lands. However, as time progresses, the positive effect on natural grassland input is suppressed, while the impact on artificial grasslands strengthens over time. The reform has a significant positive effect on the input of labor for technical and managerial personnel, and this positive impact continues to grow as the reform advances. Conversely, the impact on labor input for herding is negative, but the negative effect gradually weakens with the progression of the reform. Property rights reform increases the breeding costs of the basic livestock herd, but this effect weakens over time. The reform has a significant positive impact on the input for forage and disease prevention, with the positive effect intensifying as the reform progresses. The impact on the input for basic livestock equipment is negative. The reform has a positive effect on grassland management techniques and livestock feeding practices, though the effect on the input of information technology is not significant. Additionally, the accompanying policy reforms, the characteristics of pastoral households, and transportation conditions also have varying degrees of influence on the input of production factors.