From ban to balance: How agricultural climate policies reshape rural asset allocation?

Abstract

Environmental regulation on climate risk for promoting sustainable development is an important research topic that requires further attention. In response to the increasing awareness of agricultural climate and environmental protection, the implementation of the straw burning ban policy has been adopted in China. To gain a deeper understanding of the implications and effectiveness of the straw burning ban policy on rural households assets allocation behaviors, and this study utilizes China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) during 2010 to 2018 and employs the Difference-in-Differences (DID) estimation strategy to identify the causal effect. Accordingly, we draw several empirical findings. First, the straw burning ban policy has a significant impact on the assets allocation behaviors of rural households, leading to an increase in both risk and non-risk assets. Specifically, a preference for risky investments strongly exist following the occurrence of the straw burning shock. Second, we reveal significant reductions in the number of farmers and farming production costs, including expenses related to irrigation, seeds, and land usage. Conversely, we observe a significant increase in land renting and farmer machinery leasing activities. These effects are found to change the income patterns and thus affect household assets allocation behaviors. Third, the straw burning ban policy has a significant decline impact on household expenditures, specifically in total and housing expenditures, while welfare expenditure shows a positive increase as the preventive motivation. Finally, rural households affected by straw burning ban policy are significantly induced to increase allocation in short-term saving and non-financing assets, as well as in financing fixed-assets and financial investments.