We’re pleased to welcome Dr. Luo Xi to the Rural Sociology Group (RSO) as a visiting scholar from Sichuan Normal University, China. Luo Xi is Associate Professor at the School of Economics and Management and a postdoctoral researcher at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences. During her eight-month stay, she is developing comparative research on cooperative governance and institutional arrangements in China and the Netherlands.
Research focus
Luo Xi’s research focuses on farmers’ organizations, agricultural cooperatives, and the rural collective economy in China. She examines how institutional arrangements shape collective action, farmers’ participation, and smallholder livelihoods.
Her work combines extensive fieldwork with policy-oriented research, including a large-scale assessment of agricultural cooperatives in Sichuan Province. She aims to connect farmers’ experiences and local institutional practices with academic research and practical policy recommendations.
Her current research includes a project funded by the National Social Science Fund of China on rural collective economic organizations and stable income growth among smallholders in less-developed regions of western China. She is also working on a project funded by the Sichuan Provincial Philosophy and Social Sciences programme, which examines the role of rural collective economic organizations in addressing farmland fragmentation. In addition, she participates in an international comparative case study project on agricultural cooperatives.
Current work at RSO
During her eight-month stay at the Rural Sociology Group, Luo Xi is developing comparative research on cooperatives in China and the Netherlands. She examines how governance arrangements influence members’ participation, communication, and decision-making.
Through case studies, fieldwork, and exchanges with RSO colleagues, she hopes to deepen her understanding of cooperative practices and explore their implications for rural development in China.
Why RSO and Wageningen?
Coming to Wageningen has been a long-standing aspiration for Luo Xi. She was drawn to the university’s reputation in agricultural research and the Netherlands’ long history of agricultural cooperatives.
She chose RSO because her research is fundamentally concerned with people: how farmers interact, make decisions, and organize collectively. This closely aligns with RSO’s sociological approach to rural development. During her stay, she also hopes to exchange research perspectives, share experiences from China, and learn from Wageningen’s teaching approaches.
Beyond research
Outside academia, Luo Xi enjoys travelling and exploring local history and cultures. She also has a passion for jade and gemstones and enjoys designing and making her own jewellery. During her stay in Europe, she looks forward to discovering new places and experiencing different ways of life.
