The Impact of Village Publicness on Farmers' Participation in Improving the Living Environment: Evidence from Jiangxi Province Survey Data

Enhancing the rural living environment is a pivotal task in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy, and stimulating the endogenous motivation of farmers to participate in the improvement of the living environment is the key to forming a sustainable mechanism for managing and safeguarding the living environment. Using micro survey data of 1045 households in Jiangxi Province, this study employs the binary Logit model, propensity score matching (PSM) model, and instrumental variable method to examine Farmers' behavior of participating in the improvement of their living environment. The analysis is conducted from the perspectives of village publicness, public spiritual identity, and public rule identity. The results indicate that a greater degree of village publicness is positively associated with an increased likelihood of farmers participating in the improvement of the living environment. Compared to a higher public spiritual identity, a stronger public rule identity exerts a more substantial influence on Farmers' participation in living environment activities. In addition, village publicness facilitates Farmers' participation in environmental improvement by augmenting their social capital, which includes enhanced trust and reciprocity effects. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that for farmers residing in villages with cultural centers and high awareness of environmental cleanliness, enhancements in village public performance significantly promote their involvement in improving the living environment. From the perspective of different village types, in densely populated and low-income villages with a predominance of middle-aged and younger residents, a higher degree of village publicness is associated with increased farmer participation in environmental improvement efforts. Meanwhile, the influence of public spiritual identity and public rule identity varies across different types of villages.