ABSTRACT
Based on the perspective of combining informal and formal systems, this paper empirically explores the impact of neighborhood effects and policy interventions on the deviation of farmers' willingness and behavior of domestic waste separation (DWS) by using data from the China Land Economy Survey (CLES) and constructing a probit model. It should be explained that the neighborhood effect in this paper refers to the fact that the behavior of farmers is highly susceptible to the behavior of their neighbors in the process of production and living. The results of the study show that neighborhood effects and policy interventions have a significant negative impact on the deviation of farmers' willingness and behavior of DWS, respectively. Comparison of marginal effects shows that neighborhood effects > environmental advocacy > reward and punishment policies. From the interaction effects as a whole, neighborhood effects and policy interventions have complementary effects on the deviation of farmers' willingness and behavior of DWS, with the complementary effects of neighborhood effects and environmental advocacy being more significant. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that neighborhood effects completely replace the inhibitory effect of policy interventions on the deviation of high-income farmers' willingness and behavior of DWS, but have no effect on political elite farmers. The interaction between neighborhood effects and policy interventions has complementary effects on low-income farmers and ordinary farmers, with the complementary effects of neighborhood effects and environmental advocacy being more significant.
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The management of rural domestic waste is directly related to the quality of China's rural habitat and the ecological security of the countryside, and is one of the important tasks of rural revitalization. Methods: Based on the perspective of digital technology empowering rural governance, this study uses the China Land Economic Survey (CLES) data to empirically test the impact of digital governance on the level of domestic waste separation for rural residents by constructing the ordered probit model. Results and discussion: The results show that in the process of rural governance modernization, digital governance helps to improve the level of domestic waste separation for rural residents in the process of rural governance modernization, and the findings still hold after robustness tests. Mechanistic tests showed that digital governance can impact the level of domestic waste separation for rural residents through cadre-mass relationship and institutional trust. The findings of this study provide a new perspective on good environmental governance in China's countryside and have important implications for promoting the improvement of rural habitat quality.