Non-Cognitive Ability and Relative Poverty in Farmer Households: An Empirical Study from Rural China

Bochi Sun Han Yin ^*

• Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China

Exploring the cognitive aspects of pro-social behavior is crucial for improving social well-being and strengthening social identity. Specifically, in today's post-poverty alleviation era, it is vital to pay attention to how non-cognitive ability can alleviate the relative poverty of farmers and further promote the consolidation and expansion of poverty alleviation achievements from the perspective of pro-social behavior. This study incorporates non-cognitive abilities into a traditional economic model, constructing a theoretical framework to analyze their impact on the economic decisionmaking of farmer households. Utilizing rural sample data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, we employed the instrumental variable and two-stage least squares methods to empirically examine this effect. The main findings of the study are as follows. (1) The empirical test results of Hypothesis 1 indicate that an enhancement in non-cognitive abilities significantly reduces relative poverty, particularly traits such as conscientiousness and extraversion, whereas agreeableness, openness, and emotional stability show no significant impact. Notably, non-cognitive abilities have a more pronounced effect on female-headed and low-educated farmer households in Western China, thereby demonstrating inclusiveness. (2) The empirical test results of Hypothesis 2 indicate that improved non-cognitive abilities enhance the quality of economic decision-making by alleviating constraints, adjusting preferences, and enhancing expectations, thereby reducing relative poverty. To effectively mitigate relative poverty among farmer households, governments must promote and provide training for these non-cognitive abilities, thus bolstering self-development capabilities and improving economic decision-making.