Fiscal Ecological Cost of Land in China: Estimation and Regional Differences

Abstract

This study explains the fiscal ecological costs of land in China by dividing them into three periods: early ecological cost refers to loss of ecosystem service value after the conversion of agricultural land, mid-term ecological cost refers to land development in urban built-up areas, and later ecological cost refers to the investment cost of increasing the fiscal ecological service function of the land. Using data for 31 Chinese provinces from 2003 to 2017, we perform a “link between groups” cluster analysis with SPSS 22.0 statistical software. Squared Euclidean distance is used to analyze land in these provinces. Ecological cost in the early, middle, and late stages is clustered, and the provinces are divided into five areas according to the ecological cost of each stage in absolute terms and as a proportion of land fiscal revenue. The research shows that: (1) the fiscal ecological cost of land in China presents a spatial pattern of “higher in the east than in the west, higher in the south than in the north,” and (2) the cost is highest in the early stage, second highest in the late stage, and lowest in the middle stage. The findings yield differentiated policy recommendations for reducing the fiscal ecological cost of land in different areas.

A Long-Term and Comprehensive Assessment of the Ecological Costs Arising from Urban Agglomeration Expansion in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River Basin

“…In recent research, Wang et al defined the early ecological costs of urbanization as the loss of ecosystem service value resulting from agricultural land conversion. Midterm ecological costs involve the land developed for urban construction, while late-term ecological costs refer to the investment required to enhance ecological service functions within the fiscal framework [21]. Quantitative methods like ecological footprint analysis, environmental load index, and ecological benefit assessments have been used by other scholars to assess the environmental impacts of human activities on the natural environment and ecological well-being [22][23][24].…”

How the Marketization of Land Transfer Affects High-Quality Economic Development: Empirical Evidence from 284 Prefecture-Level Cities in China

“…Some scholars believe that the marketization of land transfer has brought about a rich "land system dividend", which is conducive to improving the efficiency of land resource allocation, thereby promoting high-quality economic development [9][10][11]. However, some other scholars believe that the market-oriented transfer of land obtained by the high-prices has brought about problems of land finance and high housing prices, which have had a negative impact on the quality of social and economic development and people's livelihoods [12][13][14]. It can be seen that there is still a lack of unified understanding of this issue in the academic community.…”