For residents living in earthquake-threatened areas, choosing suitable risk coping behaviors can effectively reduce the loss of family life and property. However, some residents still choose to continue to live within areas at risk of earthquake disaster. Place attachment may play an important role. Based on place attachment theory and the Protective Action Decision Model (PADM), this study explores the possible relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and evacuation/relocation intention. Furthermore, it examines the mediating role of efficacy beliefs. The study also used the partial least squares method (PLS-SEM) to test samples of 327 rural households in Wenchuan and Lushan earthquake-hit areas. The results show that: (1) Place attachment has a significant effect on response efficacy (RE), but not on self-efficacy (SE); (2) Place dependence (PD) has a negative and significant effect on relocation intention (RI) but has no significant effect on evacuation intention (EI). However, place identity (PI) can indirectly affect EI by influencing RE; (3) Efficacy beliefs have a significant positive effect on EI and RI. These results help us understand the complex relationships among place attachment, efficacy beliefs, and residents’ risk coping behavior, thus providing decision-making references for the formulation and improvement of regional disaster risk management policies.

It is of great significance to explore the influencing factors of land flow to promote moderate-scale agricultural operation. However, few studies have explored the quantitative influences of land attachment and intergenerational difference on land transfer. Based on the survey data of 540 rural households in Sichuan Province, this study uses factor analysis method to divide land attachment into land satisfaction, land rootedness, and land dependence, and further empirically tests the impact mechanism of land attachment and intergenerational difference on land flow by using Probit model and Tobit model. The results are as follow: (1) land attachment is significantly correlated with land flow-out, but not with land flow-in. (2) Different dimensions of land attachment have different impacts on land flow-out. Among them, land rootedness and land dependence have significant negative impacts on farmers’ land flow-out behavior and land flow-out area, while land satisfaction has a significant positive impact on farmers’ land flow-out behavior and has no significant impact on the land flow-out area. (3) Different generations of land attachment have different impacts on land flow-out. Among them, the land attachment of the new-generation farmers has no significant impact on land flow-out. Among middle-aged farmers, land dependence had a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior and area, and land rootedness had a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior; however, land satisfaction had a significant positive impact on land flow-out behavior and area. Among the older generation of farmers, land dependence has a significant negative impact on land flow-out behavior and area, while land satisfaction and land rootedness have no significant impact on land flow-out behavior and area. Therefore, in promoting the practice of land flow, we should pay attention to the differences of farmers’ emotional demands, improve the supporting policies of land flow by classification, reduce farmers’ dependence on “land security”, solve farmers’ concerns on land flow, and promote the rational flow of land factors.

Disaster preparation can reduce the impact of an earthquake on residents. Residents are more likely to undertake disaster preparedness if they perceive it to be effective. However, few studies have analyzed the influence of trust on this perception. This study surveyed 327 households in areas stricken by the Wenchuan and Lushan earthquakes to explore these issues. Trust was divided into government trust, emotional trust, and social trust, while the efficacy of disaster preparedness was divided into self-efficacy and response efficacy. A partial least squares structural equation model was used to explore the influence of trust on perceptions of the efficacy of disaster preparedness. The results show that: (1) government trust can directly increase perceived efficacy and indirectly increase self-efficacy via emotional trust; (2) emotional trust can directly increase self-efficacy; (3) social trust can directly reduce self-efficacy while indirectly increasing it by increasing emotional trust. This study deepens our understanding of the relationship between trust and perceptions of the efficacy of disaster preparedness. This study can provide inspiration to improve risk communication and construct systems of community-based disaster-prevention.

At present, the dual pressure of rural labor outflow and population aging in China makes the problems of the rural elderly population increasingly prominent, and its health problem is particularly prominent. Based on the 2014 China elderly population health survey data (CLHLS), this paper finds that the physical health status of the rural elderly has a significant positive impact on their loneliness; that is, the rural elderly with poor health status are more likely to feel lonely. At the same time, the age of the elderly has a significant positive impact on their loneliness. On the contrary, gender, personality, family income and intergenerational support of the elderly have a negative impact on their loneliness. Chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes have no significant effect on the loneliness of the elderly in rural areas, but there is a “severe disease effect”; that is, when chronic diseases develop into serious diseases or acute serious diseases, it can negatively impact the elderly psychologically and produce or deepen their sense of loneliness. Based on the above conclusions, this paper further puts forward relevant policy suggestions from three aspects: constructing a disease prevention and control system for the rural elderly, improving the care and service system for the rural elderly, reshaping rural filial piety culture, and creating a good atmosphere of “respecting, loving and respecting parents” in rural areas.

China is an important cotton production area in the world. Since 2014, China has implemented a cotton target price subsidy policy in Xinjiang for 7 years. As the policy implementation time has lengthened, some deep-seated problems have started to emerge. Therefore, it is necessary to summarize and evaluate to clarify the future policy direction of the cotton target price subsidy policy. Based on county-level panel data of Xinjiang and Shandong from 2011 to 2018, this paper used the Propensity Score Matching—Difference in Difference method to analyze the impact of the implementation of cotton target price subsidy policy on cotton planting in Xinjiang. The results showed that: (1) after the implementation of the cotton target price subsidy policy, cotton production was stimulated by the transition, cotton producers’ enthusiasm for cotton production was higher, cotton production increased rapidly, and the yield per unit area decreased, indicating that there was a ’bubble’ in cotton cultivation. (2) The target price subsidy policy mainly achieves the expansion of the cotton planting scale by reducing the area of competitive crops. In view of the above research conclusions, this paper further explains its policy implications. It is proposed that the future cotton target price level should be formulated to fully consider the comparative benefits between different crops, to restrict the subjects that enjoy subsidies and the upper limit of subsidies, and strictly implement the concept of green development; it is necessary to guide cotton production out of ecologically vulnerable areas.

The influence of informal employment on residents’ happiness has gained wide attention around the world. However, few studies focus on this topic in China. Using the 2016 wave of the China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) data, we examined the effect of informal employment and its mechanisms on residents’ happiness in China. Our study shows there is a significant negative correlation between informal employment and residents’ happiness in China. Moreover, the correlation between informal employment and residents’ happiness is stronger for residents who are female, migrating, and with a rural household registration. In addition, we investigated possible mechanisms of the effect, including individual income, social respect, unemployment expectations, and social security, and found that informal employment reduces the happiness of residents by widening the gap in unemployment probability and social insurance level among residents.