Impact of capital endowment on herders’ willingness to pass on livestock farming operations across generations in the Inner Mongolia pastoral region of China

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction The willingness of herders to pass on their livestock operations across generations is crucial for the sustainable development of pastoral areas, the optimization of capital allocation, and the improvement of sustainable management capabilities among herders. However, limited attention has been paid to how capital endowment affects herders’ willingness to achieve intergenerational succession of livestock operations, particularly under the context of ecological subsidy and reward policies. Methods This study utilizes field survey data from 1,042 herding households in the Inner Mongolia pastoral region of China. The entropy-weighted TOPSIS method is employed to measure the capital endowment levels of herding households. From the perspectives of capital endowment level and structure, this study empirically examines the impact of capital endowment on herders’ willingness to pass on livestock operations across generations, while further exploring the mediating role of non-agricultural income and heterogeneity effects. Results The results show that: (1) the overall level of capital endowment among herding households is relatively low, with the mean values ranked as follows: financial capital > social capital > physical capital > human capital > natural capital; (2) natural capital, physical capital, and capital structures dominated by natural capital have significant positive effects on herders’ willingness to pass on livestock operations across generations, whereas total capital endowment, human capital, financial capital, and capital structures dominated by human capital have significant negative effects; (3) non-agricultural income plays a mediating role in the relationship between capital endowment and herders’ willingness to pass on livestock operations across generations; and (4) heterogeneity analysis reveals that, compared with areas with balanced grass-livestock ratios, capital endowment has a stronger positive effect on willingness to transfer livestock operations across generations in grazing-restricted areas. Moreover, compared with younger herders, capital endowment has a stronger negative effect on the willingness of middle-aged and older herders to pass on livestock operations. Discussion These findings highlight the differentiated impacts of capital endowment dimensions on intergenerational succession of livestock operations and provide valuable implications for improving ecological compensation policies, optimizing livelihood capital allocation, and promoting the sustainable development of pastoral areas.