| Since the implementation of the "13th Five-Year Plan for Traffic Poverty Alleviation",China’s rural road paving has made remarkable achievements.The construction of rural roads plays an irreplaceable role in promoting the development of rural non-agricultural industries and facilitating the travel of rural laborers.At present,rural roads are increasingly infiltrating and affecting the production and life of farmers.China is a big agricultural country,and the issue of "three rural issues" has always been a major issue that has plagued the country and needs to be effectively resolved.And with the adjustment of the macro environment and the reform of the economic system,the growth rate of farmers’ income has gradually slowed down,the status quo of the "dual structure" between urban and rural areas still exists,and the income gap between urban and rural areas still needs to be improved.Effectively solving the problem of increasing farmers’ income is the key to a high-quality decisive battle against poverty,a decisive victory in an all-round well-off society,and rural revitalization.Therefore,this paper attempts to focus on the impact of village road hardening on household income from the perspective of rural infrastructure construction.With the popularization of road infrastructure in rural areas,exploring the effect and mechanism of village road hardening mileage on household income has important theoretical and practical significance for broadening new ways of increasing farmers’ income and promoting rural development.Specifically,this paper explores the effect and mechanism of village road hardening mileage on household income based on the macro and micro data of the China Family Tracking Survey(CFPS),the "Transportation Statistical Yearbook" and the "China Statistical Yearbook".First of all,this paper finds that the increase in the mileage of hardened village roads can significantly increase the income of rural households: every 1% increase in the mileage of hardened village roads will significantly increase the income of rural households by 0.055%,while the income of urban households has no significant effect.Moreover,this paper confirms the robustness of the effect by replacing the explained variables,adding control variables,and explanatory variables lagging one-period regression.Secondly,this paper analyzes the heterogeneity of the impact of village road hardening on family income from the perspective of family characteristics.From the perspective of family attributes,the significant impact of village road hardening mileage on rural family income is mainly reflected in the fact that the average age of the labor force is relatively low,the proportion of male labor force is relatively high,and the average labor force education is primary school or below.In addition,compared with eastern households and high-income households,the impact of village road hardening on rural household income is greater in the samples of central and western households and low-income households.Finally,this paper conducts a mechanism analysis.Judging from the regression results of household income components,the hardened mileage of village roads mainly increases household income by significantly increasing household wage income,property income,transfer income and other income,of which wage income is the main channel of influence.Further,this paper also confirms that the impact of village road hardening mileage on household wage income is achieved by increasing the number of households working outside the home and non-agricultural employment around the home.To sum up,the increase in the mileage of hardened village roads has significantly increased the income of rural households.Based on the results of this study,the following policy recommendations are made.First,increase investment in rural highway infrastructure construction,especially the hardened construction of village roads.Road construction in some remote rural areas still has problems such as lack of coverage,poor construction quality and inadequate safety facilities.Therefore,it is necessary to further improve the road infrastructure construction in rural areas to ensure that the "quality" and "quantity" of road construction are improved at the same time.Secondly,carry out road construction in a targeted manner to maximize the income-increasing effect of road hardening construction.According to the heterogeneity analysis in this paper,the transportation sector should make key investments in poor areas in the central and western regions where there are more young families,lower education levels,and a higher proportion of male labor in families.Finally,effectively play the role of road hardening construction to broaden more income-increasing ways for farmers.According to the mechanism analysis in this paper,rural families should be actively encouraged to give full play to the entrepreneurial spirit of "mass innovation and mass entrepreneurship",actively develop and operate non-agricultural industries,and support rural laborers to go out for work and non-agricultural employment.On this basis,farmers are actively encouraged to expand new ways to increase their income and realize rural revitalization. |
