Time:  December 13rd, 2013
Topic: The Economic Nature of the Permanent Land Tenancy
Lecturer: SHENG Hong

Commentators: ZHENG Zhenyuan, TAN Shuhao, GAO Wangling, YANG Xiaowei, ZHAO Nong, LIU Yejin

Professor SHENG Hong has introduced the economic nature of the permanent land tenancy and its contemporary significance. He believes that the permanent land tenancy is a peculiar economic institution. As a product of property division, the permanent land tenancy seems to be a sort of right of land ownership. The segmentation of permanent tenancy rights and land ownership can be considered as a division of labor in property rights among  several activities. Permanent land for rent with its stable rents will bring great changes to the property boundary. At the same time, he also explained that the permanent tenant farmers’ direct control of land assets would bring some influences to the property right, as well as the permanent tenancy efficiency implications. Permanent tenancy is an effective system. It not only guarantees the permanent contracts, but also helps the allocation of property resources among people. Based on the incentive for landlords, it can solve the protection for the land property rights. It can also narrow the scale of land property and reduce the financing cost of land transactions. Finally, he pointed out that permanent land tenancy can provide reference and solutions to the problem of leisure internal institution.

All the commentators admitted that the research theory has practical significance for the contemporary land system. ZHENG Zhenyuan believed that both the permanent land tenancy and the contracting right, separated from the ownership, are a kind of useful property system. They believed that the ancient permanent tenancy can still be applied to the present and give significant reference to the reform of the land system, like the family-contrast responsibility system. The permanent land tenancy can be used as a path or a choice to our future reform (ZHENG Zhenyuan, ZHAN Nong, LIU Yejin). GAO Wangling believed that tenant farmers will have the advantage of landlords when they have conflicts of property rights. Professor YAO Xiaowei pointed out both the division of permanent tenancy rights and its efficiency can be generally further studied. That means the more segmentation, the better the efficiency. Professor LIU Yejin claimed that property is a kind of adaptive device for refinement and it contributes to the overall social productivity. In reality, the “real collective position” of the collective land ownership should be recognized in the land reform.

At the same time, some commentators held that this study has ignored the relationship between the fully utilization of entrepreneurial spirit and the property right system (LIU Jinye). TAN Shuhao said this study must focus on the origin of permanent land tenancy, its existence and its historical development. Professor YANG Xiaowei has questioned whether land cost is constant, and whether it will be influenced by natural disasters, population change, wars and other factors.