Behavioural selection of farmer households for rural homestead use in China: Self-occupation and transfer

With the outflow of the rural population, the functions of rural homesteads in China have undergone transformation, leading to the reform of the rural homestead system. Strengthening investigations into rural homestead-use behaviours of self-occupation and transfer, considering the trend of rural transformation and the reform of rural homestead, are vital to providing adequate support to formulate and implement targeted institutions responsible for rural homestead use. Based on survey and questionnaire data from 299 villages in China in 2022, this paper addresses the characteristics of rural homestead-use from the perspectives of homestead self-occupation and transfer. The factors of both farmer households and villages were recognised using a hierarchical Logit model. The results revealed the following. First, household self-occupation played the dominant role in the state of rural homestead use in China, with the accompaniment of a low proportion of transfer in non-self-occupation homesteads. The proportions of self-occupation and transfer were found to vary significantly on different scales across provinces, villages and farming households. Second, there were different factors influencing the self-occupation and transfer behaviours of rural homesteads. Specifically, self-occupation behaviour was predominantly influenced by the degree of dependence on self-housing demand and homestead supply, and village demands for development more substantially influenced transfer behaviour. Third, under the context of both the rural transformation trend and Rural Revitalisation Project, it is recognised that the residential security function of homesteads is prioritised, followed by promoting the reuse of homesteads through comprehensive measures. This study will provide a scientific reference for the effective implementation of rural revitalisation and rural homestead system reform.