Understanding pollution behavior among farmers: Exploring the influence of social networks and political identity on reducing straw burning in China

作者：Zheng, Wolin; Luo, Biliang^*

来源：Energy Research & Social Science, 2022, 90: 102553.

DOI：10.1016/j.erss.2022.102553

• Social network
• Clan culture
• Straw burning
• China

Burned areas and the proportion of straw in a fast-growing economy vary on an annual basis, creating a significant obstacle to global ecological security. Extant studies have made efforts to improve the policy of banning straw burning; however, these studies have neglected the influence of "social networks" on farmers' strawburning behavior. To address this gap, the present study uses data using a microsurvey collected from rural China and tries to find how social networks have become a factor in promoting farmers' straw-burning behavior. The key findings show that (1) social networks positively affect farmers' straw-burning behavior, and (2) external organizations and political identity weaken the effectiveness of social network's enabling effect on farmers' strawburning behavior. The study reveals that it is not enough to rely solely on the policy of just prohibiting straw burning. Paying attention to external organizations and political identity factors can impact farmers' responsibility toward sustainable agriculture. The contribution of this study lies in providing a new perspective on how farmers' straw-burning behavior in a fast-growing economy fluctuates in terms of behaviors impacted by the degree of access to social networks.

• 单位
  广东金融学院; 华南农业大学