Passers-by or Blessings? Have College Graduate Village Officials Fostered Neo-Endogenous Rural Development?

Abstract

Neo-endogenous development has emerged as a critical pathway for rural transformation worldwide. However, its progress is often limited by insufficient human capital. Using village-level data from the Survey for Agriculture and Village Economy (SAVE) (2021–2023), this article examines the impact of the College Graduate Village Officials (CGVOs) program, a unique human capital reallocation initiative in China, on neo-endogenous rural development. Results show that CGVOs significantly increase rural collective operating income and promote neo-endogenous rural development. This suggests that CGVOs are blessings for village development. Mechanism analysis reveals that enhanced village entrepreneurial vitality and increased access to government project-based funding support constitute the key channels through which CGVOs stimulate neo-endogenous rural development. Heterogeneity analysis shows that CGVOs have stronger economic spillover effects in villages with better resource endowments, smaller populations, and more educated village leaders. This article provides a comprehensive theoretical and empirical examination of the pros and cons of the CGVO program, and offers policy insights for rural governance and development optimization.