The Impact of Rural Land System Reform on Fiscal Pressure in County Governments: A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on the “Three Land Plots” Reform Pilot

In the process of deepening rural land system reform and advancing comprehensive rural revitalization, it is crucial to clarify the relationship among rural areas, land and finance. This paper used county-level panel data from China for 2010−2020 and employed a difference-in-differences model to analyze the impact of the “Three Land Plots” reform pilot on county governments fiscal pressure. The results showed that, the reform significantly reduced fiscal pressure for county governments, especially in agricultural and mountainous counties. Therefore, this study recommended that, rural land system reform should be advanced in a coordinated manner, tailored to local conditions, and supported by strong safeguards.