The effect of land use regulations on farmland protection and non-agricultural land conversions in China

This paper examines the effect of the Prime Farmland Protection Regulation in protecting high quality farmland from urban development and the subsequent effect on non-farmland conversion in China in the first decade after the Regulation came into effect (1995-2005). The empirical evaluation is conducted with geo-referenced panel data for the entire country. Results indicate that the rate of farmland conversion was reduced during 1995-2000. About two-fifths of the reduction results from the protection of farmland with high grain productivity. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of the Regulation in protecting farmland during the period 2000-2005, regardless of land quantity or quality. Farmland development was accompanied by a reduction in forests and grasslands during the period from 1995 through to 2005.