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Enhancing Rural Governance Effectiveness: The Role of Population Mobility and Social Capital in Zhejiang Province

Author(s)

Zhiyong Wan1, Zhensheng Xu2, Xinyi Zhang3, Junjie Zhong4, Li Wu5,*

Affiliation(s)

China Jiliang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China *Corresponding Author

Abstract

Enhancing rural governance effectiveness is a core task of rural revitalization strategies. This study employs 2023 village-level survey data from Zhejiang Province to dissect the nuanced relationship between population mobility and governance performance, with a specific focus on the mediating role of social capital. Moving beyond a monolithic view of mobility as merely disruptive, we introduce and test the concept of mobility heterogeneity. The findings reveal a dual-path mechanism: while the mere existence of household mobility exerts a significant negative effect on governance β=-0.32, p<0.01 by depleting local social capital, the direction of mobility critically moderates this outcome. Villages characterized by bidirectional mobility (featuring both inflow and return flows) exhibit significantly higher levels of social capital and show no significant governance loss, in stark contrast to villages with unidirectional outflow. This indicates that bidirectional flows can mitigate negative impacts by introducing external resources and reinforcing networks. Furthermore, high-frequency mobility is associated with greater volatility in governance outcomes. The study concludes that policy interventions should shift from simply counteracting mobility to strategically managing its forms-actively fostering bidirectional flows, cultivating context-specific social capital, and building adaptive governance systems resilient to population fluidity.

Keywords

Population Mobility; Rural Governance Effectiveness; Social Capital; Mediation Effect; Mobility Heterogeneity; Zhejiang Province

References

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