(1) Title: Individual response and policy implications about rural-urban migrants on neighborhood urbanization
Speaker: Prof. Xianli Xia 
Time: 15:00-16:00, May 5, 2017 
Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture 

Abstract: Based on survey data about rural-urban migrants in Shaanxi Province in 2015, we used a multinomial logistic regression model to analyze factors affecting rural-urban migrants’ individual response on neighborhood urbanization. We found that many rural-urban migrants agreed with the neighborhood urbanization. Gaps among occupation, education level, life satisfaction and benefit from urban development lead to more than 50% of the responders believing implement neighborhood slowly. The rural-urban migrants who have transfer into farmland insisting on not implement neighborhood urbanization. Thus we state raising awareness of rural-urban migrants on neighborhood urbanization, improving the individuals’ entrepreneurial skills and creating effective integration for rural-urban migrants to fit into the environment of town. At the same time, deepening the reform of rural land and financial system and guaranteeing rural-urban migrants’ rights in rural are both important for neighborhood urbanization. 

(2) Title: Effects of farmers' adaptive behavior to climate change on agricultural production
Speaker: Prof. Xiaolong Feng (A PhD Candidate) 
Time: 16:00-17:00, May 5, 2017 
Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture 

Abstract: Climate change had serious influence on agricultural production. Farmers as micro body of agriculture have taken various adaptive measures to induce the negative influence of climate change. The effectiveness of adaptive measures can promote the extension of adaptive measures to climate change, stable farmers’ agricultural production, and ensure the sustainability of agriculture. Based on the survey data of 660 apple farmers from 8 apple base counties in Shaanxi, this paper firstly built a theoretical model of the impact of farmers’ adaptation to climate change on agricultural yield and the risk of yield, then estimated the risk of yield by utilizing moment-based approach, and finally analyzed empirically the impact of farmers’ adaptation to climate change on agricultural yield and the risk of yield by using endogenous switching regression, followed by estimating average treatment effect. The results showed that: firstly, measures that farmers take to adapt to climate change include covering black plastic film mulch, planting artificial grass, laying the straw and irrigation, which accounts for 38.03% of total farmers. Secondly, adaptation can help farmers to increase their agricultural yield and decrease the risk of yield. Under counterfactual assumptions, farmers who adapted would reduce agricultural yield by 3.72% and increase the risk of yield by 107% if they had not adapted; Farmers who did not adapt would increase agricultural yield by 5.54% and reduce the risk of yield by 24.4419.64% if they did adapt. Finally, the increase of rainfall, education of household head, cooperative membership and the service of adaptive measures in villages have positive influence on farmers’ adaptation while the apple trees age negatively affects farmers’ adaptation. Strengthening the research and development of adaptive measures, enhancing the function of public services and improving the relevant functions of farmers' cooperatives can promote farmers to adapt to climate change. 

Welcome the related professional teachers or graduate students to take part in the forum. 

College of Economics and Management
May 3, 2017