Rural Living Environment Improvement (RLEI) is crucial for constructing an ecological civilization and revitalizing rural areas. This study conducts an empirical analysis of the influence of capable village cadres on RLEI effectiveness, using microeconomic data from 173 villages across seven Chinese provinces between 2012 and 2019. The findings reveal a progressive enhancement in the RLEI among the surveyed villages over this timeframe. However, disparities persist in meeting farmers’ aspirations for an improved quality of life. Notably, village secretaries with business experience significantly contributed to advancements in domestic waste and sewage treatment (WST) and sanitary toilet coverage (STC). The robustness of these conclusions is upheld after adjusting the regression model and reassessing the sample data. Furthermore, capable village cadres can conveniently access government project support and promote the development of rural collective economy, thereby improving the RLEI. Comprehensive measures and substantial guarantees should be implemented to incentivize individuals with both integrity and competence to assume roles as village cadres. The monitoring system should be modernized, paving the way for a new paradigm of “strong state and strong society” in RLEI.

This paper investigated the determinants, especially labor transformation, and differences of technical efficiency between main and non-main grain-producing area in China based on a panel data from 30 provinces in the period of 2001–2017. Stochastic frontier production function was used to estimate the level of technical efficiency and the marginal productivity of different inputs. The estimated results showed that land is the most important factor to improve China’s grain output, followed by fertilizers, labor, and machinery inputs. There was a significant 4.6 percent gap of production efficiency between main and non-main producing provinces. Influence of rural labor transformation was confirmed to be positive to improve technical efficiency.

Poverty alleviation through relocation (PAR) is a milestone project in winning the battle against extreme poverty. Its aim is to relocate poor people from inhospitable areas and lift them out of poverty. Assessing the vulnerability to multidimensional poverty (VMP) of relocated households is of great significance for consolidating the achievements of targeted poverty alleviation and preventing a large-scale return to poverty. This study constructed a multidimensional poverty index (MPI) of relocated households and analyzed relocated households’ VMP and its influencing factors using panel data of 1009 households in 16 counties across eight provinces in China. The results reveal that the mean VMP of the relocated households gradually decreased from 2016 to 2020. Moreover, the VMP of the relocated households that have moved into centralized resettlement communities is relatively low compared to those that have moved into decentralized resettlement communities. In addition, the impact of household endowment on VMP is the highest, followed by supporting policies, such as PAR, industrial development, and employment policy. Therefore, the assistance mechanism must be improved to prevent a return to poverty, enhance the sustainable development capacity of relocated households, and optimize follow-up policies for PAR.

This study examines the role of social capital, at both individual and community levels, in promoting farmers’ participation in providing rural public goods in China. Based on the survey data of 622 farmers from 82 villages across Hebei, Shaanxi, Jiangsu, and Fujian provinces, we used a generalized hierarchical linear model (GHLM) to empirically estimate the effects of social capital on farmers’ participation in rural public goods supply. The findings indicate that: (1) community-level factors account for 42.3% of the variance in farmers’ participation behavior. The transparency of the public goods construction fund significantly encourages farmers to participate, while the rural collective economy income and the village’s geographical location—the distance to the township government—have a significant and negative effect on farmers’ participation. (2) On the individual level, social norms, social networks, and social engagement have a positive effect on farmers’ participation. The effect of individual social norms is particularly high compared to that of the other two factors. (3) When social capital at the community level is high, the positive effect of individual social networks on farmers’ participation is even more significant. Therefore, to encourage farmers to participate in the rural public goods provision, local government should not only pay attention to improving the publicity of public affairs but also cultivate social capital at both the individual and community levels.

Maximizing rural residents’ primary role in domestic waste sorting and management is critical to improving the rural living environment and advancing socioeconomic development. This study aims to analyze the entire process of domestic waste sorting by rural residents using sample data from 2420 rural households surveyed in the 2021 China Land Economic Survey (CLES). Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), this study develops a research framework for analyzing the entire process of rural residents’ domestic waste-sorting behavior. It examines the inter-relationships among behavioral cognition, behavioral intention, and behavioral response and employs structural equation modeling (SEM) for empirical verification. The results demonstrate that subjective norms, classification attitudes, and perceived behavioral control exert statistically significant positive effects on both rural residents’ intention and behavioral responses toward domestic waste sorting. Moreover, sorting intention demonstrates a significant predictive effect on actual sorting behavior. This study further identifies a mediating role of sorting intention throughout the behavioral process, while potential correlations among subjective norm, behavioral attitude, and perceived behavioral control suggest additional mechanisms underlying rural residents’ waste-sorting responses that warrant further exploration.

Talent revitalization is the basis of rural revitalization, and the return of migrant workers to their hometowns is a critical way to improve rural human capital. Based on the perspective of individual–family interaction and collaboration, we constructed a theoretical model for maximizing the net benefits of rural migrant workers. Then, we use it to explore the impact of family support pressure and urban housing purchase on individuals’ homecoming decisions. Firstly, we find the odds ratio of migrant workers with support pressure to return home is 14.013 times higher than those without, and the odds ratio of migrant workers with urban housing is 42.94% lower than those without. Secondly, in the process of supporting, the family, as a link between individuals and rural society, can enhance the connection for migrant workers, thus promoting their return behavior. The mediating effect of hometown connection is 1.342, accounting for 50.83% of the total effect. However, buying a house in the city reduces individuals’ homecoming behaviors by encouraging “trailing spouse”. Thirdly, individuals’ homecoming intention is not consistent with their behavior. The moderating effect of a future house purchase plan changes the influence of support pressure on individuals’ intention to return home to some extent. Finally, we should further strengthen rural infrastructure construction and elderly care service supply to reasonably guide capable and willing talents to return to the township. This study provides some implications for the revitalization of rural talent.