Agricultural Land Rights Confirmation, Clan Network, and Farmers’ Investment in Production and Operation

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript submitted for review addresses a very important and current research problem. Research conducted, for example, in Poland on the agricultural land market also confirms that every farmer would prefer to farm on his own land rather than, for example, use the land on a lease. Ownership provides certainty of management, especially when lease rights are poorly regulated. Investments on your own land are easier and more reliable.

The methodological assumptions are not in doubt. The authors based on the survey data of micro-scale farmer household transfer, this study uses multiple linear regression model（to analyze the relationship between variables, instrumental variable model（to solve potential endogenous problems, and intermediary effect  model to explore the impact of farmland rights confirmation and clan network on farmers' investment in production and operation, and the relationship between clan network confirmation of farmland rights and farmer household investment. The research shows that: (1) The confirmation of farmland rights has a positive impact on farmers' investment in production and operation, providing farmers with a stable guarantee of land property rights and enhancing their  investment confidence, thereby promoting the development of the rural economy and increasing farmers' income. (2) The presence of a clan network negatively affects farmers' investment in production and operation. (3) The confirmation of agricultural land rights partially weakens the negative impact of clan networks by reducing information asymmetry and cooperation risks, thereby promoting farmers'  investment in production and operation. This study conducts in depth research on the impact of farmland ownership confirmation and clan network on farmers' investment behavior and the mech anism of action, which provides a useful reference for formulating relevant policies.Such as increas ing the authority of cultivated land, promoting the modernization of clan networks, and cultivating modern management capabilities, etc.

I propose that further research use the theory of property rights more broadly. This research perspective will contribute to increasing the substantive value of the research and analyzes proposed by the authors.

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

although I fully respect the amount of work required to complete the research, in this form it still does not justify publication in a scientific journal. The paper needs to be revised in a way that allows for result verification, provides detailed explanations of input data, and includes at least one visualization of the locations where the data was processed, along with treating the spatial data as such and considering potential relationships arising from the position of each specific area within the model. Additionally, the conclusion sounds entirely generic, and from both the abstract and the conclusion, it is not clear at all which part of the world is being referred to. It must be corrected before publishing.

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

I think the work is very intersting and raises very relevant issues around the topic of land property and rights. I can see the importance of what the authors refer to as "clan networks", but for me that is also the main problem of this work. The concept of "clan" is not properly defined and it opens the way to many different interpretations: is it a good thing or a bad thing? are relationships within the clan of a democratic nature? egualitarian? Are they a good substitute to more formal legitimated relationships? how would one define a clan in terms of power and control? I assume there is quite a significant literture in the fields of sociology more than in economics that has developed that stream of analysis. I think a clearer definitiom of clan and clan network would help and clarify also the mediating role of the clan (section 2.3). 

My other suggestion is to integrate section 5.2 in the introduction, in order to frame authors' work into a solid field of literature where their results are comparable with other relevant works on the same topic.

Finally, it would help (as an improvement of the internationl interest in the topic)  to recall also some more international literature on the role of kin clans in economic and social dynamics, to show if they play a specific function in Chinese Communities, or if they have common traits with other Communties where these types of dynamics are also relevant (for example, Mediterranean, African communties).

There are a few typos and minor language issues to be checked. 

Author Response

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Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear authors,

although not all comments have been taken into account, especially the one regarding the inclusion of at least one visual representation (it was addressed by stating that it has been added in the revised version but I cannot find any), I still believe the work is sufficiently well-done for publication in the journal.

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

Thank you very much for the great work done. The paper is defintely improved and in my opinion it is publishable on this journal in the present form.

Please make sure that the bibiography is all and properly reported in the final list.

Minor editing adviced, might improve the fluency of English.

Author Response

Please check the responses to the review comments in the attachment.

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