Fiscal Support Policies and Village-Level Collective Economy Development in Frontier Regions: Land-Based Micro-Evidence from 2195 Administrative Villages

This study evaluates the impact of fiscal support policies on village-level collective economies in Province S, a frontier region in China. Using panel data from 2195 administrative villages (6585 village-year observations) spanning the period before, during, and after policy implementation, we construct a “policy empowerment–resource matching–governance synergy” framework and employ two-way fixed effects, instrumental variables, heterogeneity analysis, and mediation models. The results show that (1) fiscal support significantly increases village collective income by about 7%, a finding that is robust to endogeneity and various checks; (2) the policy works better for mid-to-distant suburban villages, those without collective land, villages with pre-policy income below 50,000 yuan, and villages that adopted models of land transfer, high-standard farmland, equity dividends, specialty agriculture, or factory leasing, confirming resource matching; (3) the policy operates through increased project net returns, social capital, farmer participation, and multi-departmental coordination, validating governance synergy. This study provides micro-evidence from a frontier region and practical insights for optimizing fiscal support policies.