Influence of government leaders' localization on farmland conversion in Chinese cities: A “sense of place” perspective: Fid-Bau Portal

Influence of government leaders' localization on farmland conversion in Chinese cities: A “sense of place” perspective

Chen, Zhigang / Zhang, Xin / Huang, Xianjin / Chen, Yi

Abstract This paper connects the localization of government leaders with the theory of “sense of place” and constructs a theoretical framework reflecting the relationship between government leaders' localization and farmland conversion based on that theory. Then, the paper explores in depth the theoretical influence of government leaders' localization on farmland conversion and discusses a corresponding empirical test we conducted by constructing an econometric model and applying the statistical data of 284 cities in mainland China from 2004 to 2014. The results showed that, relative to outlanders, natives acting as government leaders could have the effect of inhibiting large-scale farmland conversion to some extent, and such an inhibition effect would be expanded by a drop in the promotion probability of the involved government leaders. The inhibition effect of government leaders' promotion at local levels on farmland conversion was not obvious, generally. The tenure extension of government leaders sometimes had a positive influence on the change of the farmland conversion scale, which was closely related to leaders' ongoing hopes for promotion at different stages in their careers. The research findings of this paper also provided policy implications for the Chinese government to effectively protect land resources and develop the local economy in an orderly manner based on perspectives for improving the administration system.

Highlights • We connect the localization of government leaders with the “sense of place” theory. • Leaders' localization could inhibit overconversion of farmland to some extent. • Leaders' place attachment will expand with a drop in promotion probability. • Leaders' place attachment has clearer effects than place identity or dependence.