The Effect of the Sloping Land Conversion Programme on Farm Household Productivity in Rural China

The objective of this paper is to examine the treatment effect on farm household productivity induced by the Sloping Land Conversion Program. Using large balanced household level data from five provinces during 1996–2010, this study shows that the SLCP significantly improved the productivity of participants during the first round of funding of the programme until 2008, while the effects decreased gradually in the second round with most years not showing significant differences. Moreover, it is found that there are heterogeneous effects on farm household productivity between the south and north, as well as between poor and rich regions.