Impact of rural capital outflow on sustainable economic growth: evidence from Shaanxi Province of China

Abstract

The capital constraint and underinvestment faced by rural residents are the pivotal factors limiting economic growth. The rural capital outflow further magnifies the income gap between urban and rural residents, seriously undermining rural areas’ capital accumulation and sustainable development. For this purpose, we perform a theoretical and empirical investigation of the impact of rural capital outflow on economic growth. The results reveal that rural capital outflow occupies investment opportunities for rural economic development that adversely affect economic growth. Secondly, rural economic growth has an inertial effect and generates path dependence on capital outflow. The calculation of rural capital outflow in northern Shaanxi, Guanzhong, and southern Shaanxi regions of China reveals that capital outflow in northern Shaanxi is insignificant and shows signs of capital return, while southern Shaanxi and Guanzhong emerge as key regions for capital outflow.Policymakers must adhere to long-term initiatives to reform and refine multi-level capital markets that support agricultural development in rural areas and build a sound rural financial market order for sustainable economic growth.

Keywords:

• Rural finance
• rural capital outflow
• rural economy
• economic growth
• regional differences

JEL CODES:

• O30; O44; I25

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.