Can the Agricultural Support Relending Promote Rural Residents' Non-Economic Collective Action: An Empirical Analysis Based on CLDS Data

The non-economic collective action of rural residents constitutes an indispensable component of rural public affairs governance and rural residents' spontaneous operations, and serves as a vital pathway toward comprehensive rural revitalization. Drawing on micro data from the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) and employing a panel fixed-effect model, this paper empirically investigates the effects and mechanisms of agricultural support relending. The findings reveal that agricultural support relending not only positively promotes the overall non-economic collective action of rural residents, but also exhibits varying degrees of facilitating effects on different types of collective action. Mechanism tests demonstrate that agricultural support relending plays a mediating role in fostering rural residents' non-economic collective action through three channels: raising rural residents' income levels, improving the construction and operation of rural infrastructure, and expanding the boundaries of villagers' social networks. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the promoting effect of agricultural support relending on collective action is more pronounced among credit beneficiary groups and collective fund-raising participants, as well as in large villages and villages with moderate economic development. This paper provides micro-level evidence on the impact of agricultural support relending on rural residents' non-economic collective action, aiming to uncover the specific pathways through which financial instruments, by alleviating economic constraints, induce the accumulation of social capital and improvements in social governance. It thereby supplies a theoretical foundation and policy references for strengthening rural governance and advancing comprehensive rural revitalization.