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LAND REFORMS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2010

Hans Gersbach  and
Lars-H. R. Siemers
Hans Gersbach*
Affiliation:
Center of Economic Research and CEPR, ETH Zurich
Lars-H. R. Siemers*
Affiliation:
RWI Essen
*
Address correspondence to: Hans Gersbach, Center of Economic Research, ETH Zurich, ZUE D7, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland; e-mail: hgersbach@ethz.ch.
Address correspondence to: Lars Siemers. Department of Public Finance, RWI Essen, Hohenzollernstrasse 1-3, 45128 Essen, Germany; e-mail: siemers@rwi-essen.de
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Abstract

We examine the nexus between land transfers and human capital formation. A sequence of land redistributions enables the beneficiaries to educate their children and thus to escape from poverty. A successful land reform allows the transition of a society from an agriculture-based state of poverty to a human capital–based developed economy. We find that a temporary state of inequality among the poor is unavoidable. Finally, we discuss the political economy of land reform, whether access to land markets should be allowed for beneficiaries of land reforms, and property rights issues.

Keywords

PovertyLand ReformsLand Market AccessTransition
Type
Articles
Information
Macroeconomic Dynamics , Volume 14 , Issue 4 , September 2010 , pp. 527 - 547
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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