Internet use and land transfer in: empirical evidence from China's rural panel data

In the context of the Internet power strategy, "Internet + agriculture" has gradually become a key force in realizing agricultural modernization. Based on the data of the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey 2012, 2014, and 2016, this paper uses conditional mixed process (CMP) to solve the endogeneity problem and tests the impact and mechanism of Internet use on farmers' land transfer in. The results showed that (1) from 2012 to 2016, the proportion of farmers using the Internet increased in turn, while the proportion of farmers transferring in land decreased in turn. (2) Farmers' Internet use is significantly negatively correlated with land transfer in. In 2012, 2014, and 2016, each unit increase in the proportion of farmers' Internet use reduces the probability of land transfer in by 2.6%, 10.7%, and 20.8%, respectively. (3) The analysis of mediating effects shows that the Internet can promote land transfer in by expanding social networks and inhibit land transfer in by improving the stability of non-agricultural employment, and both are partial mediating effects. From the micro-perspective of farmers' Internet use, this study can strengthen our understanding of Internet use and land transfer behavior decision-making and then provide a reference for rural digitalization construction and land transfer-related policy making.