Effects of dual land ownerships and different land lease terms on industrial land use efficiency in Wuxi City, East China

In the current Chinese land administration system, two types of land ownership including state and collective ownership coexist and the industrial land use rights can be transferred between different land lease terms. Previous studies found the significant relationship between land ownerships and lease terms with agriculture land use efficiency, but it is still unclear for the industrial land use efficiency. This study researched the effects of China's dual land ownerships and land lease terms on rural town industrial land use efficiency. Questionnaires of 294 industrial enterprises in Hudai, Qianqiao, and Xibei in Wuxi City, East China, were studied using two multiple linear regression models. The results showed that collective land with incomplete property rights caused land use inefficiency of lower industrial enterprises’ output per hectare of land. The industrial enterprises’ outputs per hectare from collective land were 2.16 million Yuan (0.31 million US dollar) and 2.06 million Yuan (0.30 million US dollar) less than those from state land in these two models, respectively. Different land lease terms negatively correlated with the use efficiency of rural industrial land. The outputs per hectare of industrial enterprises using the long term lease were 1.30 million Yuan (0.19 million US dollar) less than those using the short term lease in model 2. Our results highlight the importance of the integrated urban-rural land system and tailored lease terms of industrial land to increase the utilization efficiency of industrial land

Twelve-month observational study of children with cancer in 41 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction Childhood cancer is a leading cause of death. It is unclear whether the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted childhood cancer mortality. In this study, we aimed to establish all-cause mortality rates for childhood cancers during the COVID-19 pandemic and determine the factors associated with mortality. Methods Prospective cohort study in 109 institutions in 41 countries. Inclusion criteria: children <18 years who were newly diagnosed with or undergoing active treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, retinoblastoma, Wilms tumour, glioma, osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, medulloblastoma and neuroblastoma. Of 2327 cases, 2118 patients were included in the study. The primary outcome measure was all-cause mortality at 30 days, 90 days and 12 months. Results All-cause mortality was 3.4% (n=71/2084) at 30-day follow-up, 5.7% (n=113/1969) at 90-day follow-up and 13.0% (n=206/1581) at 12-month follow-up. The median time from diagnosis to multidisciplinary team (MDT) plan was longest in low-income countries (7 days, IQR 3-11). Multivariable analysis revealed several factors associated with 12-month mortality, including low-income (OR 6.99 (95% CI 2.49 to 19.68); p<0.001), lower middle income (OR 3.32 (95% CI 1.96 to 5.61); p<0.001) and upper middle income (OR 3.49 (95% CI 2.02 to 6.03); p<0.001) country status and chemotherapy (OR 0.55 (95% CI 0.36 to 0.86); p=0.008) and immunotherapy (OR 0.27 (95% CI 0.08 to 0.91); p=0.035) within 30 days from MDT plan. Multivariable analysis revealed laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR 5.33 (95% CI 1.19 to 23.84); p=0.029) was associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusions Children with cancer are more likely to die within 30 days if infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, timely treatment reduced odds of death. This report provides crucial information to balance the benefits of providing anticancer therapy against the risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children with cancer

Linking apple farmers to markets

This study investigates the determinants of marketing contract choices and the related impact on farm net returns of apple farmers in China. We employ a two-stage selection correction approach (BFG) for the multinomial logit model. On the basis of the BFG estimation, we also use an endogenous switching regression model and a propensity score matching technique to estimate the causal effects of marketing contract choices on net returns. The empirical results reveal that written contracts increase apple Farmers’ net returns，while oral contracts exert an opposite impact

IPM adoption, cooperative membership and farm economic performance: Insight from apple farmers in China

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of agricultural cooperative membership on farmers’ decisions to adopt integrated pest management (IPM) technology and to estimate the impact of IPM adoption on farm economic performance. Design/methodology/approach: An endogenous switching probit model that addresses the sample selection bias issue arising from both observed and unobserved factors is used to estimate the survey data from a sample of 481 apple households in China. A treatment effects model is employed to estimate the impact of IPM adoption on apple yields, net returns and agricultural income. In order to address the potential endogeneity associated with off-farm work variable in estimating both cooperative membership choice specification and IPM adoption specifications, a control function approach is used. Findings: The empirical results show that cooperative membership exerts a positive and significant impact on the adoption of IPM technology. In particular, farmers’ IPM adoption decision is significantly associated with household and farm-level characteristics (e.g. education, farm size and price knowledge). IPM adoption has a positive and statistically significant impact on apple yields, net returns and agricultural income. Practical implications: The findings indicate that agricultural cooperatives can be a transmission route in the efforts to proliferate the adoption and diffusion of IPM technology, and increased IPM adoption tends to improve the economic performance of farm households. Originality/value: Despite the widespread evidence of health and environmental benefits associated with IPM technology, the adoption rate of this technology remains significantly low. This paper provides a first attempt by investigating to what extent and how agricultural cooperative membership affects IPM adoption and how IPM adoption influences farm economic performance

Linking apple farmers to markets: Determinants and impacts of marketing contracts in China

This study investigates the determinants of marketing contract choices and the related impact on farm net returns of apple farmers in China. We employ a two-stage selection correction approach (BFG) for the multinomial logit model. On the basis of the BFG estimation, we also use an endogenous switching regression model and a propensity score matching technique to estimate the causal effects of marketing contract choices on net returns. The empirical results reveal that written contracts increase apple Farmers’ net returns，while oral contracts exert an opposite impact

Linking apple farmers to markets: determinants and impacts of marketing contracts in China

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of marketing contract choices including written contracts, oral contracts and no contracts, as well as to examine the impact of marketing contracts on net returns from apple production in China. Design/methodology/approach – A two-stage selection correction approach (Bourguignon, Fournier, and Gurgand (BFG)) for the multinomial logit model is employed to estimate the impact of marketing contracts on net returns from apple production. On the basis of the BFG estimation, the authors also use an endogenous switching regression model and a propensity score matching technique to estimate the causal effects of marketing contract choices on net returns from apple production. Findings – The results reveal significant selectivity correction terms in the choices of both written contracts and no contracts and insignificant selectivity correction terms in the choice of oral contract, indicating that accounting for selection bias is a prerequisite for unbiased and consistent estimation. The findings also indicate written contracts increase apple farmers’ net returns, while oral contracts exert the opposite effect. Originality/value – To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of marketing contract choices on net returns from apple production, accounting for selectivity effects

Does cooperative membership improve household welfare? Evidence from apple farmers in China

This paper examines the impact of cooperative membership on farm performance indicators such as apple yields, net returns and household income, using cross-sectional data from a survey of farmers in China. An endogenous switching regression model that accounts for selection bias is employed in the analysis. The empirical results reveal that cooperative membership exerts a positive and statistically significant impact on apple yields, farm net returns and household income. A disaggregated analysis also reveals that small-scale farms tend to benefit more from cooperatives than medium and large farms

The economic impacts of agricultural cooperatives on smallholder farmers in rural China

This paper examines the impacts of agricultural cooperative membership on output price, gross income, farm profit, and return on investment (ROI) utilizing a recent household survey data of 481 apple producers in China. We employ a treatment effects model to account for potential selection bias that arises from the fact that cooperative members and nonmembers are systematically different in terms of both observable and unobservable factors. Our analysis reveals that cooperative membership has a positive and statistically significant impact on apple price, gross income, farm profit, and ROI. In addition, we find that the highest profit effect of cooperative membership does not in fact result in the highest ROI effect of the membership, revealing differences in farm income and profitability of investment