Understanding the Role(s) of Social Networks in the Transition from Farmers’ Willingness to Behavior Regarding Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads: A Research Study Based on Typical Regions of Sichuan Province

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The article describes the main questions about the relationship between withdrawal from rural homestead willingness. Social, Economic and Political community considerations were considered.
The sampling and methodology of data analysis are right, but some items should be improved to enhance the understanding and meaning of the manuscript.

The abstract should be rewritten because the present form could take us to misunderstand the implications of different economic, social, and political considerations in farmers’ willingness to withdraw.
Line 41. “Increasing homesteads are unused are ….  The meaning of this sentence is not clear.

Line 47. It is not clear what the authors want to mean when they write about land right.
Line 65.  ..?  And through the text, please check the indications of the reference.
Lines 194-195. The authors should show the representative percentage of 299 questionnaires in relationship with the whole sampling universe from the studied zone, discuss their representative level, and perhaps introduce in the title something like  “approximation, case study…”
Line 205.  WRT???
Line 231. Why do the authors understand Control variables.?
Table 3-3. My suggestion is only to use two decimals, and Mean value and Standard Deviation, or Coefficient of Variation could be enough (and more informative data).
Results. The higher variation for some variables should be discussed.
Line 330, This phrase does not add valuable information.

Author Response

We would like to greatly thank you for your constructive suggestions and comments. Please find the response letter for the details.

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Reviewer 2 Report

Social network is an important perspective for understanding rural society, farmers' relationships, and the relationship between cadres and the farmers. The manuscript proposes an interesting question and promotes the understanding of social network’s roles in the WRH using 299 peasant survey data in Sichuan Province and the binary logistic regression model. It gives a significantly contribution on the rural homesteads reform in China. However, some following minor revisions should be addressed:
1. Is there a causal relationship between social networks and the withdrawal of rural homesteads? The manuscript should provide necessary explanations for this question.
2. In the Section 2, the authors should more prominently explain the differences between the impact of social networks on farmer’s willingness and their impact on farmer’s behavior.
3. It would be much better if policy recommendations are more specific and focused.

Author Response

We would like to greatly thank you for your constructive suggestions and comments. Please find the response letter for the details.

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Reviewer 3 Report

With the pilot reform of the homestead system, the topic is more and more important in China rural revitalization, also I believe that it is interesting in international readers. The manuscript provided a good perspective to understand the influencing mechanism of social network on WRH, but there are several issues to be improved.

1. Regarding the theoretical framework and hypothesis, the author should distinguish the differences in the impact of social networks on farmer’s willingness and their impact on behavior.

2. According to the model results, there are significant differences in the impact outcomes of three different types of social networks. It is recommended that the article further summarize the implications of these differences in impact.

3. What is the logic of the transition from farmer’s willingness to behavior in WRH? It is suggested that the manuscript give a clearer explanations.

none

Author Response

We would like to greatly thank you for your constructive suggestions and comments. Please find the response letter for the details.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx