The impact of land transfer on peasant stratification——An analysis based on a survey of Jingshan country,Hubei province

Peasants' motivation and purpose for transferring land vary from time to time. Based on a survey of 10 villages in Jingshan county, Hubei province, this article finds that the specific forms of rural land transfer include active long-term transfer, passive long-term transfer and short-term transfer. Land transfer has an important impact on the stratification of the peasantry. Present institutional arrangements for land ignore the legitimate interests of migrant families and poor and weak villagers and therefore they hold different attitudes toward land tenure institutions than middle peasants do. Based on the conclusions of an empirical analysis, this article puts forward a series of policy recommendations aimed at protecting the land rights of poor and weak peasant households.