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Rural areas are at the forefront of achieving sustainable development goals, and elite actors tend to be the most influential local decision-makers in rural development. Nevertheless, improving the effectiveness of governance by elites and avoiding or redressing "elite capture" remain key challenges for sustainable rural development globally. This research integrates a large-scale quantitative dataset consisting of 604 villages in seven counties of Jiangsu province in China with qualitative data from eight villages in three out of the seven counties to examine whether and how collective action mediates the correlation between rural elites and rural development. Our quantitative analysis using multiple regression and path analysis indicates that collective action is a mediator, but it is more influential in linking governing elites than in linking economic elites with rural development. Our case studies with interviews further illuminate that collective action fuels rural development by improving resource reallocation and resource-use efficiency with the participation of both elites and non-elites. Innovative collective action designs that leverage a reputation effect to foster reciprocity norms promote the participation of elites while discouraging elite capture. Additionally, this research contributes to longstanding debates in commons governance about the role of authority interventions: we find evidence justifying the benefits of authority in catalyzing and sustaining collective action while also corroborating the critical role of democratization in improving rural governance by elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Villages are homes for most rural residents and powerhouses of the rural economy, with a vital role in reducing rural-urban disparity. It raises the need to explore the driving forces of village development, which in turn sheds light on strategies to secure rural revitalization. This research aims to dissect the factors contributing to village economic development through quantitative analysis of 338 villages in the traditional agricultural area of northern Jiangsu Province, China. This research leverages an integration of the econometric modeling and machine learning methodologies (multiple regression model and Boosted Regression Trees method) to ensure our findings' accuracy and comparativeness. This research finds: (1) village economic development depends more on the intensity of land-use than the absolute amount of farmland resources; (2) transportation infrastructure, labor outmigration, and land transfer are determinants of village economic development with increasing marginal effects; non-farm employment, entrepreneurship, and bottom-up partnership are also positively related to village economic development despite their non-linear effects. (3) Large-scale labor outmigration would brings a short-term positive effect but poses a long-term challenge to village development. The authors suggest that priority should be given to the construction of transportation infrastructure, regulation of farmland transfer, industrial integration, promotion of rural entrepreneurship, and land consolidation to achieve sustainable development of the village economy. •We demonstrate the relative impact and marginal effect of factors contributing to village development. •The intensity of land-use weighs more than the absolute amount of farmland resources. •Labor outmigration will be detrimental to the village development in the long-term, albeit beneficial in the short term. •Rural elites with entrepreneurship are crucial to sustainable village development. •Priority should be given to transportation infrastructure construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]